Creator income
YouTube 4,000 watch hours calculator.
Enter your subscribers, your public watch hours in the last 12 months and what you add each month. The tool projects the months to each Partner Program tier and shows when your pace can never reach the hours. Runs in your browser; nothing is sent or stored.
Hours per month needed = target hours / 12. Because watch hours count over a rolling 12 months, a pace below 4,000 / 12 = 333 hours a month can never reach 4,000.
Your numbers
Result
Worked example
With 120 subscribers, 600 watch hours, 60 new subscribers a month and 6 videos at 1,500 views and a 4-minute average view duration, the channel adds 6 x 1,500 x 4 / 60 = 600 hours a month. It needs 7 months for 500 subscribers and 4 months for 3,000 hours, so about 7 months for the early-access tier.
How it works
YouTube's help page on the expanded Partner Program lists two tiers. Early access to fan funding and Shopping needs 500 subscribers, 3 valid public uploads in the last 90 days, and either 3,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months or 3 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. Revenue sharing from ads and YouTube Premium needs 1,000 subscribers with 4,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months, or 10 million qualified public Shorts views in the last 90 days.
This tool covers the long-form watch hours path. Only public long-form watch time counts, and hours older than 12 months drop out, which is why a slow pace may never reach the figure. Meeting a threshold leads to a review, not automatic entry, and a creator also needs 2-Step Verification and an AdSense account.
Watch hours per month from your videos are views x average view duration / 60. Use the numbers in YouTube Analytics; the projection assumes your pace stays steady.
Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent or stored.
Terms and sources checked 2026-10-15
| Term | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Early-access tier | 500 subscribers, 3 public uploads in 90 days, 3,000 watch hours (12 months) or 3 million Shorts views (90 days) | YouTube Help: expanded YPP |
| Full tier | 1,000 subscribers with 4,000 watch hours (12 months) or 10 million Shorts views (90 days) | YouTube Help: expanded YPP |
Retrieved 2026-10. Terms change; confirm on the source before you rely on a number, and edit the fields if they have moved. This tool does not contact any of these services and is not affiliated with them.
Sources
FAQ
How many watch hours do I need to monetize on YouTube?
YouTube lists 3,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months with 500 subscribers and 3 public uploads in 90 days for early access to fan funding, and 4,000 hours with 1,000 subscribers for ad revenue sharing. Shorts paths use views instead of hours.
Why does the calculator say a pace is not reachable?
Watch hours count over a rolling 12 months. If you add fewer than the target divided by 12 each month, older hours drop out as fast as new ones arrive, so the total never reaches the target.
Do Shorts views count toward watch hours?
No. Qualified watch hours come from public long-form videos. Shorts have their own view-based thresholds, which this tool does not project.
Does meeting the numbers guarantee monetization?
No. YouTube reviews every channel that meets the threshold and also requires policy compliance, an eligible country, 2-Step Verification and an AdSense account.