The reward for reaching 100 million subscribers on YouTube is the Red Diamond Creator Award, a unique physical plaque featuring a red crystal in the shape of the YouTube play button, signifying a massive achievement in channel growth, with only a handful of channels receiving it.
Red Diamond Creator Award
Awarded to channels that reach or surpass 100 million subscribers. Inspired by the Diamond Creator Award, it features a play button triangle with a large dark red crystal.
This Play Button was revealed through a tweet from YouTube themselves on September 6th, 2019. The Red Diamond Play Button is a special award by YouTube given to channels who reach 100,000,000 (100 million) subscribers.
You don't need a fixed number of subscribers for $2,000/month; it depends more on views and niche, but generally, 10,000 to 100,000 active subscribers generating consistent views (hundreds of thousands monthly) in a decent niche (like finance or tech) is a common range for that income, often through a mix of AdSense, sponsorships, and affiliate marketing, not just subscribers. Reaching 100,000 subscribers often puts channels in the $2,000-$10,000/month range, especially with strong engagement.
The #1 richest YouTuber in the world is MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson), consistently topping lists with an estimated net worth often cited over $500 million, potentially reaching $1 billion, driven by viral content, massive giveaways, and successful business ventures like Feastables and MrBeast Burger, making him the highest-earning creator globally.
While creators will still need to hit 4,000 watch time hours and 1,000 subscribers to earn ad revenue on YouTube, they only have to hit 3,000 hours of YouTube watch time and 500 subscribers to access the early route to the program.
To make $5,000/month on YouTube, you generally need 500,000 to over 2 million monthly views, depending heavily on your niche, audience location, and monetization strategy (ads vs. products/sponsors). High-CPM niches (finance, tech) can earn this with fewer views (e.g., 400k), while low-CPM areas (gaming) need significantly more, with some creators needing 1.5 million+ views for $5k from ads alone.
The "30-second rule" on YouTube refers to the critical first moments of a video, where creators must hook viewers within about 30 seconds to get them to keep watching, as YouTube registers meaningful engagement after this mark, impacting visibility and watch time. It's a key focus for audience retention, with strategies involving dynamic editing (B-roll, angles), emotional hooks, and clear value propositions, but it's distinct from copyright myths about using 30-second music clips.
Creators in eligible countries can apply to the expanded YouTube Partner Program when they reach either of the below eligibility thresholds: Get 500 subscribers with 3 valid public uploads in the last 90 days, and 3,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months, or.
The top 1 most-subscribed channel on YouTube is MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson), who surpassed the music giant T-Series in early 2025 to become the most-subscribed individual creator, boasting well over 450 million subscribers by late 2025/early 2026. His content focuses on high-budget stunts, massive giveaways, and philanthropy, attracting a massive global audience.
MrBeast recently celebrated reaching 100 million subscribers, prompting a reflection on his first subscriber, Roggan Minoggan, who subscribed in 2011. Minoggan created his YouTube account in 2006 and was the first to support MrBeast's initial channel, Beast5YT.
Ad formats influence your earnings per million views on a significant level. On average, a YouTube video with 1 million views can earn anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 in ad revenue alone. The number can shift depending on ad types (like display ads or video ads, skippable/un-skippable etc).
Takeaway: YouTube removes fake subscribers to ensure platform trustworthiness, create a fair environment for creators, and provide advertisers with reliable analytics. This reinforces its monetization policies, ensuring that earnings and recommendations are based on genuine engagement.
What is the Red Diamond YouTube Play Button? Think of the Red Diamond Button as the ultimate YouTube badge of honor. Awarded to channels that hit 100 million subscribers, it's named after the rare and precious red diamond. This award represents unparalleled popularity and influence.
The original "Baby Shark" video by Pinkfong is now the most viewed video on the site.
At 1,000 subscribers, Partners are able to unlock ad revenue and start earning money from the ads shown on their videos.
Is it hard to make money on YouTube? Making money on YouTube requires consistency and hard work. You'll be competing against thousands of other content creators, so you need to create high-quality videos that engage your viewers and provide them value.
How Much Do Small YouTubers Make? YouTube pays creators based on cost per mile (CPM). A small YouTuber can earn between $50 to $100 per month. However, the earning rates may vary from a few cents, depending on multiple factors.
Eligibility for three-minute Shorts
Videos uploaded after October 15, 2024: Any videos uploaded on or after this date with a square or vertical aspect ratio up to three minutes in length will be categorized as Shorts on YouTube. These videos can be monetized in the Shorts revenue sharing model from the Shorts Feed.
No, 7,000 views is generally not considered viral, as virality usually means reaching hundreds of thousands or millions of views rapidly, but it can be very successful for a small creator, representing a huge spike over their usual numbers and indicating good performance for their specific audience. Virality depends on your baseline: for a large account, 7,000 is low, but for a micro-influencer getting 100 views, 7,000 is a massive viral hit for them.
Quite recently one of my clients hit the 500 subscriber mark with a 3000 watch time which is the holy grail for a new YouTube channel. It means as a creator you unlock new monetisation features, not all of them but some of them.