Where will your channel be in 6 months?
Growth feels slow when you're in it — but compounding works fast over 6 to 12 months. This simulator models your subscriber and revenue trajectory using compound monthly growth, so you can see where your current momentum leads and set concrete goals.
How it works: subscribers and views grow at your monthly growth rate compounded each month. Ad revenue is calculated as (monthly views / 1,000) × CPM × 0.55 — because YouTube keeps 45% of ad revenue. The cumulative totals add up each month's revenue, not just the final month.
US CPM benchmarks: general content $2–$5, personal finance $15–$30, tech $5–$12, gaming $1–$4. Your actual CPM depends on your audience demographics, content type, and ad inventory availability. Check YouTube Studio for your real CPM data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Unlikely — growth tends to accelerate early and plateau later. Use this as a benchmark scenario: run it at your current rate, then compare a conservative (half the rate) and optimistic (double the rate) version to get a realistic range.
You need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours (or 10M Shorts views) in the past 12 months to join the YouTube Partner Program. Once monetized, payments are monthly via AdSense.