Shorts income

How YouTube Shorts revenue share works.

The four steps Google describes, each as a number you can change: pool the Shorts Feed ad revenue, remove the music licensing share, split by engaged views per country, then apply the 45% creator share. Runs in your browser; nothing is sent or stored.

Pool = feed revenue x (1 - share using music x (1 - pool fraction)); allocation = pool x your share of engaged views; you keep 45%. Google's own example: $100,000 feed revenue, 20% of Shorts using one track, pool $90,000, 1% of views = $900, x45% = $405.

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Your numbers

Country 1 (prefilled with Google's example)
$
Country 2 (optional)
$
Country 3 (optional)
$
Music

Result

Worked example

Google's example in Country A: $100,000 earned from ads between Shorts; 20% of Shorts use one track, so the pool is $100,000 x (1 - 0.20 x 0.5) = $90,000.00 and $10,000 covers music licensing. With 1,000,000 of 100,000,000 engaged views (1%), the allocation is $900.00 and the creator keeps 45%: $405.00. The default fields reproduce this exactly.

How it works

Step 1, pool. Each month, revenue from ads that run between videos in the Shorts Feed is added together. It funds both creator payouts and music licensing.

Step 2, Creator Pool. A Short with no music sends all of its associated revenue to the pool. With music, revenue is split between the pool and music partners by track count: one track gives the pool one half, two tracks give one third.

Step 3, allocate. The pool is divided by each creator's share of total engaged views from monetising creators' Shorts in each country. A creator with 5% of eligible engaged views in a country is allocated 5% of that country's pool.

Step 4, share. Monetising creators keep 45% of their allocation whether or not music was used. Google states your allocation is not reduced by your own use of a music track; music only shrinks the pool for everyone.

Eligibility change. From 2027-02-01 Google requires at least 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days to earn monthly Shorts ad and YouTube Premium revenue; the window ends on the 15th of the month before the earnings month. Views from before you accepted the Shorts Monetization Module do not count towards revenue, and some views (non-original content, for example) are not eligible. Targeted Shorts ads for groups of five or fewer channels follow separate rules from that date and are not modelled here.

Country figures here are numbers you type; Google does not publish pool sizes. Use the optional rows to see how several countries add up.

Methodology

All maths is plain arithmetic on the numbers in the form, run in your browser, with blank fields treated as zero and negative or non-numeric entries rejected. Published figures were read from the sources below in 2026-10; rates, RPMs, multipliers and probabilities are always inputs you control, never claims. Everything runs in your browser; nothing you type is sent or stored. Results come from the numbers you enter, not from your real account. Terms change: check each source before relying on a figure.

What this does not cover

This tool does not predict or promise earnings, does not read your real channel or account, and does not model income tax, self-employment tax, currency conversion, brand deals, YouTube Premium revenue or other revenue streams. Results vary and depend on the assumptions you enter.

Results vary. This is a model that uses the assumptions you enter. It is not a prediction, a forecast or a promise of earnings, and it is not financial or tax advice.

Sources

This tool is not affiliated with YouTube, Google or TikTok.

FAQ

How does YouTube split revenue when a Short uses music?

Revenue associated with the Short's views is split between the Creator Pool and music partners by track count: one track gives the pool half, two tracks give one third, no music gives all of it.

Does my own music use lower my payout?

Google's example says your allocation is not affected by your use of a music track; the music share reduces the pool before it is divided.

What is an engaged view?

YouTube uses eligible engaged views to calculate payments, and excludes ineligible ones such as non-original or reuploaded content. Google defines the term on its help page.

What changes on 2027-02-01?

Google says monthly Shorts ad and Premium revenue will need at least 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days, and updated YPP terms start that day. Check the help page for details.

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