If your YouTube Short hits a million views in 2025, you can expect to earn somewhere between $8 and $330. Most creators will fall somewhere in the middle of that range. And that’s not because of your niche, editing skills, or titles. It’s how YouTube’s system for Shorts monetization is built.
The revenue per thousand views (RPM) on Shorts is much lower than on long-form videos, but the volume of views you can reach makes the equation worth it if you use Shorts wisely.
Let’s break it down.
How to Earn Money From Shorts in 2025
The idea of earning from YouTube Shorts started with the YouTube Shorts Creator Fund. It was a bonus pool where YouTube paid creators for high-performing Shorts, but the rules were vague and payouts unpredictable.
In 2023, YouTube changed the system. Shorts monetization became part of the YouTube Partner Program. That means YouTube Shorts video revenue now comes from ads shown between Shorts in the feed, not directly on your videos.
Here’s how it works:
- YouTube shows ads between Shorts.
- Revenue from those ads goes into a pool.
- You get a slice of that pool based on how many views your Shorts brought in and how much music licensing costs.
YouTube takes its part. Creators split the rest. If you use licensed music, your share is reduced before the split. If you don’t, you get the full cut of your portion.
What’s the RPM for Shorts?
RPM (Revenue Per Mille) is the key number. It’s how much money you earn per 1,000 views after YouTube’s cut. It’s not CPM. Shorts don’t work like long-form, where the advertiser pays directly for impressions on your content.
We analyzed data from thousands of creators in 2025. Here are some real RPM averages:
High-RPM Countries:
- United States - $0.328
- Switzerland - $0.205
- Australia - $0.193
- United Kingdom - $0.166
- Canada - $0.165
Lower-RPM, High-Traffic Countries:
- India - $0.008
- Indonesia - $0.012
- Brazil - $0.045
- Philippines - $0.023
- Mexico - $0.040
These numbers explain why one creator earns $100 from 1 million views, and another earns $25 or less. Because how much YouTube pays for Shorts depends on where your views come from, what music you used, and how engaged your audience was.
Can RPM Improve?
Yes. Shorts RPM has been slowly increasing year over year. YouTube keeps adding more ad placements, better audience data, and more ways for brands to target content. We’re already seeing improvements compared to early 2023.
But even with that, RPM on Shorts will never match long-form. A 10-minute video in a finance niche might pull $8-$20 CPM. Shorts in the same niche might still be looking at $0.15-$0.30 RPM if you’re lucky.
But here’s what makes Shorts valuable: the volume of traffic is much higher. Getting 1 million views on a Short is way more achievable than hitting a million on a long-form video.
So, Are Shorts Worth It?
Yes. But not for the money alone.
We’ve seen this again and again with ScaleLab partners:
- A channel hits a views stop.
- They start uploading Shorts consistently.
- Traffic, subs, and long-form views all go up.
That’s because Shorts fuel discovery. They push your channel to new viewers. The algorithm rewards consistency. The audience binge-watches when they’re hooked. And eventually, that translates into real channel growth.
Shorts are the fastest path to reach. They build audience attention. And that attention spills over into your high-RPM long-form videos.
Want proof?
- MacDannyGun gained 670K subs in 5 months with Shorts.
- Watch Me hit 1 billion views in 4 months from Shorts.
Want to earn more from Shorts?
Get in touch with us. We’ll help you turn Shorts into something sustainable.
YouTube Shorts Monetization Today: Beyond Ad Revenue
If you're still thinking of Shorts monetization as "ad revenue only," you're missing the point. In 2025, Shorts are part of a monetization ecosystem:
- Fan Funding: Super Thanks and Stickers in Shorts.
- Shopping Stickers: Add products to your Shorts.
- Affiliate tags: Monetize other people's products.
- Livestream gifting: Vertical livestreams now drive real cash.
- YouTube Premium: A slice of this still goes to Shorts.
When you look at what creators actually earn from Shorts, you can’t just focus on ad RPM. You have to zoom out. The income is in stacking multiple revenue streams onto the same Short.
And don’t forget localization. Translating your Shorts or using YouTube’s auto-dubbing feature can multiply your views in high-traffic countries.
If you want to double your reach, localize. We’ve seen creators gain over 100M views by translating Shorts into Spanish, Arabic, and Indonesian.
We’ve seen creators earn $100 from ad revenue...and another $400 from shopping tags on the same video. You’re building entry points to other revenue.
How to Use Shorts the Right Way
Don’t post one clip a week and hope it takes off. That’s not how this works. Treat Shorts like a testing lab.
Try different formats. Upload daily. Double down on what works.
Don’t repurpose the same 10-second joke six times. Instead:
- Tie your Shorts to a bigger series.
- Use them to tease long-form.
- Create content that stands alone but opens the door to more.
And most importantly: watch your funnel. Track the numbers from Shorts views to profile visits to long-form watches to subscribers.
The moment a Short starts pulling people into your channel, you’ll know you’re on the right path.
What Shorts Creators Should Actually Focus On
RPM is a data point. What matters more:
- Are your Shorts funneling traffic to high-RPM videos?
- Are they increasing subs?
- Are they unlocking fan funding, merch sales, or brand deals?
Don’t get hung up on a $0.03 RPM. Focus on stacking value:
- One Short feeds a video that earns $15 RPM.
- That Short also adds 200 new subscribers.
- A pinned comment leads to affiliate revenue.
Now the Short is part of a system.
What It All Means for Your Channel
So, how much does YouTube pay for Shorts?
If your Short hits 1 million views:
- In the US: around $330.
- In India: maybe $8.
- In most countries: somewhere between $20 and $150.
But that money is only part of the story. The real win is the traffic. Shorts help you grow faster. They revive dead channels. They feed your long-form. And they unlock all the monetization layers YouTube keeps adding.
The right approach in 2025 is to build a Shorts strategy that fuels your whole ecosystem, not chase views for views' sake.
If you want to grow your channel with Shorts and help make it work for your niche, reach out to us. We’ll help you build a real strategy, test content formats, localize for high-volume markets, and optimize for both views and revenue.
Shorts might not make you rich off RPM alone. But they will get you seen. And if you build it right, that attention pays.
