The official thresholds
YouTube monetization is entry into the Partner Program, which shares ad revenue with creators who meet the official thresholds. YouTube reviews every channel by hand before acceptance, so history matters: gradual growth, original content, and consistent metrics carry more weight than any shortcut.
- 1,000 subscribers as the base for every full monetization path.
- 4,000 hours of valid public watch time in the last 12 months, the long video path.
- 10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days, the short format alternative.
Which pack fits each stage
Each service pushes a different metric, so the order must match the channel stage. This table summarizes the orientative dose we recommend:
| Channel stage | Service | Orientative quantity |
|---|---|---|
| New channel, under 100 subs | Subscribers | 100 to 500, in weekly steps |
| New video with no traction | Views | 1,000 to 5,000 by video length |
| Halfway to 4,000 hours | Watch hours | As the page states, with 8 min plus videos |
| Video that already retains | Likes for the video | 100 to 500 to reinforce social proof |
What the review does check
The Partner Program review checks original content, coherent history, and valid public watch time. Views that do not come from real viewers add nothing to that counter, and artificial spikes stay recorded in the channel history.
That is why we separate the roles: buying YouTube views gives visible traction to a specific video, buying YouTube subscribers gives the channel a base, and buying YouTube watch hours supports a long video strategy that already retains. None of them replaces publishing videos people finish watching.
A 90-day plan toward monetization
This plan combines content with measured boosts. It works for the long video path and leaves a base if you later attack Shorts:
- Weeks 1 to 3: publish two weekly videos over 8 minutes and take the channel to 300 subs in small steps.
- Weeks 4 to 6: find the video with best retention and give it views so the algorithm tests it with more viewers.
- Weeks 7 to 9: double down on the retaining format, open weekly streams, and complete the 1,000 subs.
- Weeks 10 to 12: measure hours in YouTube Studio and reinforce with watch hours only if the content already retains.