How much a monetized YouTube channel is worth: table by tier
Short answer: a monetized channel is worth its revenue, not its subscriber count. The market prices it as a multiple of monthly earnings — which is why a channel with 8k subscribers and stable revenue can be worth more than one with 200k that's gone stagnant. In a survey of 77 Brazilian listings from August 2026, channels above 100k subscribers had a median price of $1,229.41, while the 10k-to-50k range came in at $566.80 — with highs of $50,871.93 at both ends of the table.
The short version
- A monetized channel is a business, and businesses are priced by a revenue multiple, not by audience size.
- Of the 77 active YouTube listings analyzed, only 15 reported being monetized — just under one in five.
- The average is wildly misleading in this category. In the 1k-to-5k subscriber range, the average listing price is $1,442.22 and the median is $254.36.
- Niche determines RPM, and RPM determines the multiple. Finance and tech pay far more than generic entertainment.
- An active strike and third-party content can drag the value to zero — it's a liability the buyer inherits in full.
The numbers, with methodology
Methodology: prices publicly listed on Brazilian digital-account marketplaces, collected in August 2026. A sample of 77 active YouTube listings with both price and subscriber count disclosed. These are asking prices, not closed sales. We report the median because the average is heavily skewed by a handful of very high-priced listings.
| Subscriber range | Listings | Minimum | Median | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 1k | 5 | $42.40 | $84.37 | $211.97 |
| 1k to 5k | 32 | $14.84 | $254.36 | $33,490.69 |
| 5k to 10k | 8 | $127.18 | $222.57 | $4,239.33 |
| 10k to 50k | 11 | $190.77 | $566.80 | $7,206.86 |
| 50k to 100k | 9 | $589.27 | $1,059.84 | $9,750.46 |
| Above 100k | 12 | $635.90 | $1,229.41 | $50,871.93 |
Look at the second row, because it's the whole lesson of this article: from $14.84 to $33,490.69, within the same subscriber range. A channel with 3k subscribers can be worth nothing or worth the price of an apartment. What separates the two isn't subscriber count — it's revenue.
15 of 78 active listings reported a monetized channel, priced from $211.97 to $50,871.93. The non-monetized ones ranged from $14.84 to $33,490.69. Channels for sale are listed under YouTube channels for sale.
How a monetized channel is actually priced
The digital asset market uses a monthly revenue multiple. The math is:
Value = average net monthly revenue × multiple
The multiple usually falls between 12 and 36 times monthly revenue, depending on four things:
| Factor | Pushes the multiple up | Pushes it down |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue stability | 12+ consistent months | Revenue concentrated in 1 viral video |
| Diversification | AdSense + sponsorships + products | AdSense only |
| Host dependency | Channel with no fixed host | Channel tied to one person who'd walk away with it |
| Account health | No strikes, original content | Active strike, third-party content |
The third factor is the most underrated. A channel where the owner appears in every video is worth less to a buyer — because the audience follows the person, not the channel, and the person isn't for sale. Compilation channels, narration-driven channels, and other faceless formats command a higher multiple precisely because they're transferable.
Why niche changes everything
RPM — how much a channel earns per thousand monetized views — varies enormously by topic, and YouTube itself warns in its Partner Program earnings overview that there's no guarantee of how much, or whether, a creator gets paid, because advertisers pay more to reach an audience with money to spend on that subject. Finance, tech, business, and insurance sit at the top. Generic entertainment, compilations, and kids' content sit at the bottom.
The practical consequence: two channels with the same number of views can earn very different amounts of revenue, and revenue is what sets the price. That's why there's no such thing as a "price per subscriber" on YouTube — there's a price per dollar earned.
What to demand before you buy
- Live YouTube Studio, screen shared. Don't accept a screenshot. Ask them to navigate the dashboard on a video call.
- Revenue from the last 12 months, broken down month by month, in Studio's Revenue tab. Twelve months, not three — seasonality and one-off viral spikes only show up over that stretch.
- Average RPM and revenue sources broken out separately: ads, memberships, Super Chat, YouTube Premium.
- Strikes dashboard and monetization status. An active strike can demonetize the channel at any moment.
- Average retention and traffic sources. A channel that lives on suggested traffic is more fragile than one built on search and direct subscriber traffic.
- Content rights. If the channel uses third-party material, you inherit the problem — a copyright claim doesn't expire just because ownership changed.
The fraud checklist is the same as for any account: the 11 warning signs of an account-purchase scam apply here in full.
One YouTube-specific detail: the transfer is of the Google Account
Unlike Instagram, a YouTube channel is tied to a Google Account. That changes how the transfer works: channels under a brand account can have ownership transferred between Google Accounts, which is far cleaner than handing over the login and password of a personal account; the procedure is documented in changing channel ownership, which requires 7 days as an owner before being promoted to primary owner.
That's the difference between a transfer that leaves a paper trail and one that runs entirely on trust. Whenever that option exists, it's the safe path — and it's worth insisting on. As with any transaction in this market, it goes against the platform's Terms of Use, a point covered in detail in the guide to buying and selling accounts.
What changes with the new February 2027 requirements
A change announced by YouTube will affect this article's math going forward, and it's worth factoring in before you buy or sell.
Starting February 1, 2027, a new channel will need 8,000 valid watch hours in 365 days (currently 4,000) or 20 million valid Shorts views in 90 days (currently 10 million) to join the Partner Program, according to the official YPP changes. The 1,000-subscriber requirement stays the same.
The effect on price is direct: if qualifying for the program takes twice the effort, eligibility becomes a scarcer asset — and scarcity sustains a premium. The gap that listings already show today between a monetized channel and an equivalent unmonetized one is likely to hold steady or widen after the switch.
If you're selling: your channel's eligibility becomes rarer starting in 2027, which works in your favor. But watch the other side of the rule — already-monetized channels need to accept the new terms by January 31, 2027 and meet a minimum activity requirement. An inactive channel that loses its eligibility loses the entire premium along with it.
If you're buying: confirm, before you pay, that the seller has accepted the new terms and that the channel meets the minimum activity requirement. And don't pay a rush premium: this change has been public knowledge for months.
The full numbers, the activity criteria, and a step-by-step breakdown by situation are in YouTube doubles monetization requirements in 2027.
What this means in practice
If you're buying: stop looking at subscriber counts. Ask for 12 months of revenue, calculate the multiple you're actually paying, and weigh it against the risk. A channel at 18 times monthly revenue with stable earnings and no dependence on a host is a good deal. That same multiple on a channel that made all its money in two months is a terrible one.
If you're selling: put together 12 months of revenue statements before you list it, clear up any strikes, and — if the channel is on a personal account — consider migrating to a brand account before the sale. That usually adds more to the final price than any amount of negotiating.
For the same method applied to Instagram profiles, where the logic is about audience rather than revenue, see how much my Instagram account is worth.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a YouTube channel with 100k subscribers worth?
In the August 2026 survey, channels above 100k subscribers had a median price of $1,229.41, ranging from $635.90 to $50,871.93. That spread shows subscriber count explains very little — what actually sets the price is monthly revenue and how stable it is.
Is a non-monetized channel worth anything?
Yes, but far less, and for a different reason: the buyer is paying for the history and the audience already built, with the work of enabling monetization still ahead of them. In the sample, only 15 of 77 active listings reported being monetized.
What revenue multiple is considered fair?
The digital asset market typically works between 12 and 36 times net monthly revenue. Revenue that's been stable for more than 12 months, diversified income sources, and a channel that doesn't depend on one host all push toward the top of that range.
Does buying a channel automatically transfer monetization?
It's neither automatic nor guaranteed. Monetization is tied to the account and to the account holder's acceptance of the terms, and YouTube can review the channel after any changes. It's one of the real risks of this kind of deal and should be reflected in the price.
What drags a channel's value down the most?
An active strike, using third-party content, and revenue concentrated in a handful of viral videos. All three are liabilities the buyer inherits in full.
Why is the average listing price so different from the median?
Because a handful of very high-priced listings skew the average. In the 1k-to-5k subscriber range, the average listed price is $1,442.22 while the median is $254.36 — a single $33,490.69 listing accounts for almost the entire gap.