How to Check if Someone's YouTube Video Is Monetized

The short version: you cannot see someone else's exact earnings, but you can tell whether a video is monetized by checking for ads, looking at the channel's eligibility signals, and reading the small clues YouTube leaves on screen. There's no official "is this monetized" button for outsiders, so you're reading evidence, not pulling a report.

Why you can't just look this up directly

People ask me this a lot, usually because they're trying to work out if a competitor's channel is making money, or they've been approached by a brand and want to sanity-check a creator before pitching a collaboration. The frustrating truth is that YouTube Studio analytics, including monetization status and estimated revenue, are private to the channel owner. There's no public dashboard anywhere on YouTube.com that shows "this video earns money." If you see a tool or Chrome extension claiming to pull exact ad revenue for any random video, be sceptical. That data simply isn't exposed by YouTube's public API in a way that gives real figures.

What you can do is read the signals YouTube does show publicly. None of them are 100% proof on their own, but stack three or four together and you'll get a reliable answer in about 90% of cases.

Step 1: Watch for actual ads

This is the most obvious signal and the one most people skip because they've got an ad blocker running. Turn it off, then watch the video.

• A skippable or non-skippable ad before the video starts (pre-roll)
• Ads appearing mid-video on longer content, usually every 8 to 10 minutes
• A small banner ad overlay across the bottom third of the video on desktop
• An end-screen ad slot after the video finishes

If you see any of these, the video is monetized through the YouTube Partner Programme. If you watch the whole thing with no ad blocker and see nothing at all, that's a strong sign it isn't monetized, or the creator has disabled ads on that specific video, which some creators do deliberately for sensitive topics.

Step 2: Check the channel's eligibility, not just the video

A channel needs 1,000 subscribers and either 4,000 valid public watch hours in the past 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in the past 90 days to qualify for the YouTube Partner Programme. If a channel clearly has, say, 400 subscribers and three videos, it almost certainly isn't monetized yet, no matter how good the content looks. Check the subscriber count on the channel page and scan a few videos for view counts. A channel sitting at 15,000 subscribers with videos averaging 20,000 to 50,000 views each has comfortably cleared the bar and is very likely monetized, assuming the content follows advertiser guidelines.

Worth noting: hitting the threshold doesn't guarantee approval. YouTube also checks for policy violations, reused content, and advertiser-friendly guidelines. A channel can have 50,000 subscribers and still be demonetized or never approved if it leans on reaction content, copyrighted clips, or borderline material. So subscriber count is a filter, not a verdict.

Step 3: Look at the video description and comments for monetization clues

Creators who are monetized often mention it indirectly. Look for phrases like "thanks for watching ads" in community posts, or pinned comments asking viewers not to skip ads because "it supports the channel." Some creators also run sponsorships alongside AdSense, so a video might have both a sponsor read and pre-roll ads, which tells you they're treating the channel as a real income stream rather than a hobby.

Also check whether Super Thanks, channel memberships, or a "Join" button appear under the video. These are separate monetization features that require the same Partner Programme approval, so if you see a Join button, the channel is definitely monetized.

A worked example

Say you run a small skincare brand and a creator with 22,000 subscribers pitches you for a paid collaboration, claiming their videos get strong engagement and "the audience is primed to buy." Before agreeing a fee, you'd check three things. First, watch two of their recent videos with ad blockers off; you see a 15-second pre-roll ad on both. Second, check average views across their last ten uploads; they're sitting around 8,000 to 12,000 views each, comfortably above the watch-hour threshold. Third, you notice a channel membership tier advertised in the video description. All three signals point the same way: this channel is monetized and treats itself as a business, not a side project. That doesn't tell you their exact AdSense income, but it tells you they understand retention, consistency, and audience value, which is exactly what you want from a paid partner.

If instead you'd found no ads, patchy upload history, and view counts under 1,000, that's a channel still finding its feet, and you'd negotiate a smaller fee or ask for a trial post before committing a full campaign budget.

The uncomfortable bit people don't like admitting

A monetized video is not the same as a profitable channel. Loads of creators pass the Partner Programme threshold, see ads running on every video, and still earn less than minimum wage once you account for editing time, equipment, and the hours spent on thumbnails and scripting. Seeing ads on a video tells you AdSense is switched on. It tells you nothing about whether that creator is making a living, because RPMs (revenue per thousand views) vary wildly by niche, from under £1 for general vlogging to £15 or more for finance and business content. If you want a realistic sense of what views convert to in actual pounds, our free YouTube money calculator is more useful than guessing from ad placements alone, and our piece on what YouTube pays once you're monetized breaks down why two channels with identical view counts can earn wildly different amounts.

What to do if you're checking your own channel instead

If this is about your own videos rather than someone else's, the process is completely different and much easier, because you have full access. Go into YouTube Studio, click on the specific video, and check the "Monetisation" tab in the left sidebar. It will show you one of several statuses: Monetised On, Limited, or Not monetised, along with the reason if something's restricted. For a full walkthrough of reading your own numbers, including which metrics matter beyond the headline view count, see our guide on how to check your YouTube channel earnings and analytics. And if you're newly eligible and waiting on approval, our post on how long YouTube takes to approve monetisation explains why the wait is sometimes about manual review rather than a problem with your channel.

Unrelated but often confused with monetization questions: if you're trying to find your stream key for live content, that's a separate settings area entirely, covered in our piece on where to find your YouTube stream key.

A quick checklist

• Watch with ad blockers off and look for pre-roll, mid-roll, or overlay ads
• Check subscriber count against the 1,000 subscriber and 4,000 watch-hour threshold
• Scan recent videos for average view counts to judge consistency
• Look for a Join button, Super Thanks prompt, or membership tiers
• Read pinned comments or descriptions for direct mentions of ad support
• Remember that running costs vary by region too; our breakdown of what it costs to run a YouTube channel in India shows how different the economics look depending on where a creator is based

If you want the full set, start at the YouTube Help: 30 Guides to Channels, Subscribers, Monetisation, Thumbnails and Fixes.

Frequently asked questions

Can I see exactly how much money a YouTube video has made?

No. Estimated revenue is private to the channel owner inside YouTube Studio and is never exposed publicly, no matter what a third-party tool claims to show you.

Does seeing ads on a video mean the creator is earning a lot of money?

Not necessarily. Ads being present only confirms the channel is enrolled in the Partner Programme. Actual earnings depend heavily on niche, audience location, and RPM, which can range from under £1 to over £15 per thousand views.

Why would a monetized channel have no ads on a specific video?

Creators can manually disable ads on individual videos, often for sensitive topics, copyright concerns, or advertiser-friendly guideline issues, even while the rest of the channel is fully monetized.

What's the minimum a channel needs before it can be monetized at all?

1,000 subscribers plus either 4,000 valid public watch hours in the past 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in the past 90 days, alongside meeting YouTube's content and policy guidelines.