CREATORSCREATOR GUIDE
How to monetise YouTube: requirements in Spain and Mexico and six ways to earn
YouTube pays creators through its Partner Program, which is open in Spain and Mexico. With 500 subscribers you can already turn on channel memberships, as long as you also have 3 public uploads in the last 90 days and 3,000 watch hours in a year or 3 million Shorts views in 90 days. Ad revenue comes with 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in a year or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days. Note that from 1 February 2027, new channels will need 8,000 hours or 20 million Shorts views to earn from ads. Brand deals and a business of your own do not depend on those thresholds.
Requirements to monetise YouTube
To join the YouTube Partner Program you must live in a country where it is available (Spain and Mexico are), have no active Community Guidelines strikes, have 2-Step Verification and access to YouTube's advanced features turned on, and link an AdSense account to your channel. Each revenue stream also has its own threshold:
| Revenue stream | Subscribers | Also required | From 1 February 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Channel memberships | 500 | Aged 18+, 3 public uploads in the last 90 days and 3,000 long-form watch hours in a year or 3 million Shorts views in 90 days | No change |
| Super Chat, Super Stickers and Super Thanks | No minimum | Aged 18+, living where the feature is available and accepting the Commerce Product Module | No change |
| Ad revenue | 1,000 | 4,000 long-form watch hours in 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days | New channels: 8,000 hours in a year or 20 million Shorts views in 90 days |
| YouTube Premium revenue | No minimum of its own | Being in the programme, accepting its modules and being watched by Premium members | Premium Lite arrives in countries with YouTube Premium |
How to check whether your channel can be monetised
In YouTube Studio, open the monetisation section: it shows how far you are from each threshold and, once you reach one, lets you apply to the programme and accept its modules. Before that, turn on 2-Step Verification for your Google account and have the details ready to create or link the AdSense account you will be paid through.
Six ways to earn money on YouTube
1. Ad revenue
YouTube shares with you what advertisers pay for ads on your long-form videos and Shorts. You need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in a year or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days, and you need to keep the channel active: YouTube may turn off monetisation on a channel inactive for six months or more.
2. Channel memberships
Your followers pay a monthly fee for badges, emojis, exclusive videos or other perks you choose. It can be turned on from 500 subscribers and is one of the steadiest income streams if your community is loyal.
3. Super Chat, Super Stickers and Super Thanks
Your followers pay to highlight a message in your live streams and premieres, or to thank you for a video. There is no subscriber minimum, but they only pay off with a community that takes part.
4. YouTube Premium
When a YouTube Premium member watches your videos, you receive part of what they pay for their subscription. All you need is to be in the programme and accept its modules.
5. Brand deals
A brand pays you, or gives you a product or an experience, to integrate it into your videos, mention it or dedicate a video to it. You can land deals by pitching brands with a media kit or on platforms such as VIVIO Club, where brands post collaborations and you apply to the ones that fit you. If you are paid, tick the paid promotion box in YouTube Studio.
6. A business of your own
Once your community trusts you enough to buy from you, you can sell something of your own: a product, a course, a paid community or your own brand, and feature it in your videos with YouTube Shopping. It takes the most work and depends least on the algorithm.
How much does YouTube pay?
YouTube publishes no rate per view. What measures your earnings is RPM: revenue per thousand views after YouTube's share, including views that show no ads. CPM, by contrast, is what advertisers pay per thousand ad impressions, before the revenue share. Both change with the time of year, your viewers' countries, the ad formats and the share of views without ads, so two channels with the same views can earn very different amounts.
With brand deals, your fee depends on your audience, your niche, the format (a mention or a dedicated video) and what the brand wants to do with the content: using it in ads or asking for exclusivity is paid separately.
How much an influencer charges per post in Mexico (in Spanish) ↗
What changes on 1 February 2027
More hours to earn from ads
Channels joining from that date will need 1,000 subscribers and 8,000 watch hours in a year or 20 million Shorts views in 90 days. The requirements for memberships, fan funding and YouTube Shopping do not change.
Active channel
A channel will count as active if it has 1,000 watch hours in a year, 1 million Shorts views in 90 days or posts 2 long-form videos or 5 Shorts every 90 days. Channels that fall short will have 90 days to get back to active status.
Shorts
To be paid from the Shorts revenue pool each month, you will need to keep 10 million valid Shorts views in 90 days. If you fall short, you do not leave the programme or lose your other income.
Accepting the new terms
If you already monetise, review and accept the updated terms in YouTube Studio before 31 January 2027. If you do not, from 1 February you will stop earning from the affected features until you accept them.
Mistakes that keep you from monetising on YouTube
Buying subscribers or views
Only valid watch hours and views count towards the thresholds: bought traffic adds nothing and can cost you access to the programme.
Uploading reused content
The programme's policies do not reward other people's videos with minimal changes. What keeps you in is your own content with your own input.
Not ticking paid promotion
If a brand pays you, tick the paid promotion box in YouTube Studio: advertising rules require ads to be clearly identifiable.
Letting the channel go quiet
A channel inactive for six months or more can lose monetisation, and from 2027 there will be an active-channel test every 90 days.
When it pays to get help
If you want brand deals to stop depending on brands writing to you, VIVIO Representation finds brands that fit you, negotiates for you and coordinates every agreement. If your community already buys what you recommend, VIVIO Creator Business builds a business of your own with you, using your audience as its sales channel. And before deciding, Audience Audit reviews your profile and helps you see which route makes most sense for you.
See Representation ↗See Creator Business ↗How to monetise TikTok ↗How to monetise Instagram ↗How to monetise Facebook ↗Influencer media kit ↗
Frequently asked questions about monetising YouTube
How many subscribers do I need to monetise YouTube?
500 to turn on channel memberships, with 3 public uploads in 90 days and 3,000 watch hours in a year or 3 million Shorts views in 90 days. To earn from ads, 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours in a year or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days; from 1 February 2027, new channels will need 8,000 hours or 20 million Shorts views.
Can you monetise YouTube in Spain and Mexico?
Yes. The YouTube Partner Program is available in both countries with the same requirements: living there, no active strikes, 2-Step Verification turned on and a linked AdSense account.
How much does YouTube pay per 1,000 views?
There is no fixed rate. What you earn per thousand views is your RPM, which YouTube calculates after its share and which changes with the time of year, your viewers' countries, the ad formats and how many views show no ads. You can see it in YouTube Studio analytics.
Can you monetise YouTube Shorts?
Yes. With 1,000 subscribers and 10 million Shorts views in 90 days you join the programme with ad revenue, and Shorts also count towards channel memberships. From 1 February 2027, to be paid from the Shorts pool each month you will need to keep 10 million valid views in 90 days.
How do you turn on monetisation on YouTube?
In YouTube Studio, from the monetisation section, once you reach the threshold. Before that you need 2-Step Verification on your Google account and an AdSense account linked to the channel; then you accept the module for each revenue stream.
What changes on YouTube in 2027?
From 1 February 2027, new channels will need 8,000 watch hours or 20 million Shorts views to earn from ads, there will be an active-channel test every 90 days and Premium Lite will arrive. If you already monetise, you must accept the updated terms before 31 January 2027.