YouTube Shorts Monetization in 2025

When YouTube first introduced Shorts in 2020, creators loved the reach but hated the payout. For years, Shorts ran on a “creator fund” that spread limited money across millions of videos. Even creators with millions of views often walked away with just a few dollars.

Fast forward to 2025, and things look very different. YouTube now shares ad revenue directly on Shorts, making it a serious competitor to TikTok. But how much can you actually earn? And is Shorts monetization worth chasing in 2025?

If you want to see how your own channel could perform, use our YouTube Earnings Calculator to plug in your views and CPM to estimate your potential revenue. Then compare it to the realities of Shorts earnings below.

What Changed: From the Shorts Fund to Ad Revenue Sharing

Remember the old YouTube Shorts Fund? Until early 2023, that was the only way creators could make money from Shorts — and honestly, it was a mess. The payouts were tiny and completely unpredictable. One creator might earn $20 from a million views while someone else pocketed $200 from a tenth of that. It didn’t make much sense, and for most of us, it barely covered a cup of coffee.

Then came February 2023. YouTube finally did what everyone had been asking for — they introduced ad revenue sharing. Now, ads play between Shorts in the feed, and creators earn a portion of that ad pool based on how many views they bring in. That shift turned Shorts from a “nice growth tool” into a real monetization opportunity.

How Shorts Monetization Actually Works in 2025

Here’s what’s happening behind the scenes. The ads you see in between Shorts all feed into one big revenue pool. YouTube takes its 45% cut off the top, and the rest is split among creators based on view share.

If you use music in your Short, YouTube also subtracts licensing costs from your portion. So, your actual payout depends not only on how well your Shorts perform, but on how much total ad revenue YouTube pulls in — and how your slice of the pie compares to everyone else’s.

CPM Rates for Shorts vs Long-Form Videos

This is where expectations often crash into reality. Shorts don’t pay anywhere near what long-form videos do.

Here’s a quick comparison:

• Average Shorts CPM: $1–$4

• Average Long-form CPM: $5–$20+, depending on your niche

Why the gap? Advertisers are still figuring out short-form content. Long-form viewers tend to stick around longer and are often more ready to buy, so advertisers pay more for that attention.

Shorts can explode with views — but you’ll need sheer volume to match the earnings from one strong long-form video.

Who’s Earning Big From Shorts (And Who Isn’t)

The creators who are winning big with Shorts right now fall into two camps.

The first are the high-volume posters — the ones pushing out multiple Shorts every day, banking on one or two to hit millions of views. They make up for low CPMs with scale.

The second are the hybrid creators. They use Shorts to build reach fast, but the real money comes when those viewers start watching long-form videos, joining memberships, or buying through affiliate links.

Who’s struggling? Creators who post inconsistently and rely only on Shorts ad revenue. The CPMs just aren’t high enough for that model to work long-term.

The Role of Views, Watch Time, and Audience Location

Not all views are equal. The same 100,000 views from different countries can pay wildly different amounts.

If your audience is mainly in the US, UK, Canada, or Australia, your CPM will naturally be higher than someone targeting countries where ad spend is lower.

Watch time also matters indirectly — longer Shorts (closer to that 60-second limit) tend to keep people in the feed longer, which makes ad slots more valuable. And as always, consistency wins. Daily uploads build momentum in the algorithm faster than sporadic posting ever could.

How Much You Can Realistically Make From Shorts

Let’s do a quick example.

Say one of your Shorts gets a million views at a $2 CPM. That’s $2,000 before YouTube’s cut. After they take their 45%, you’re left with around $1,100.

Compare that to a long-form video: a million views at a $10 CPM earns $10,000 before the cut — or about $5,500afterward.

It’s a big difference. Shorts can bring massive reach, but if you’re in it purely for ad revenue, temper your expectations. If you want to test your own numbers, run them through the YouTube Money Calculator — it’ll give you a much clearer idea of what to expect.

Strategies to Boost Earnings With Shorts

If you want to make Shorts work for you, here’s what’s working in 2025:

• Post in bulk. The more content you publish, the better your odds of hitting viral reach.

• Create mini-series. Give people a reason to binge multiple Shorts back-to-back.

• Use Shorts as a funnel. Send that traffic to your long-form content, where CPMs are higher.

• Add other income streams. Sponsorships, affiliate links, and merch can pay way more than ad revenue alone.

• Target Tier 1 audiences. Tailor your topics and language toward regions with stronger ad rates.

The Future of Shorts Monetization

In 2025, Shorts monetization is maturing fast. Advertisers are investing more, and rates will likely keep rising as brands figure out how to make short-form work for them. Still, it’s unlikely that Shorts will ever match the earning power of long-form content.

The smartest play is to treat Shorts as your growth engine — a way to reach new viewers cheaply and quickly — while your long-form and brand deals do the heavy lifting for income.

Final Thoughts: Should You Bet on Shorts in 2025?

Shorts have come a long way. They’re no longer a side feature — they’re a legitimate way to grow your channel and earn a bit along the way. But if you’re hoping to make a full living just from Shorts ads, it’s going to be an uphill battle.

Think of Shorts as your top-of-funnel strategy. They get you discovered. They bring in views. But the real money — and the real loyalty — still lives in long-form.

If you can master both, that’s where the magic happens.