YouTube has made a few Kenyans millionaires and continues to pay others decent monthly salaries. But how much does YouTube Pay in Kenya? YouTube pays for monthly ad views rather than total channel subscribers. The more ad views you get from your videos, the higher you can make.
Before you create your first YouTube Channel in Kenya, discover how much money you could make from it. This article reveals the estimated monthly salaries of local YouTubers. Read it to approximate your potential earnings from a YouTube Channel.
How Much Does YouTube Pay in Kenya?
YouTube can only pay you if you have a minimum of 1,000 ad views. For every 1,000 ad views, YouTube could pay you Ksh.50 to Ksh.200. If one of your videos gets at least 100,000 views, YouTube could pay you Ksh.20, 000 to Ksh.30, 000.
If you are lucky to gather 1,000,000 views per video, YouTube could pay you Ksh.100, 000 to Ksh.150, 000. To understand the estimated YouTube salaries in Kenya, study the table below.
| Aggregate Monthly ads Views | Approximated Earnings in Kenya Shillings |
| 1,000 | 100 |
| 10,000 | 1,000 |
| 20,000 | 2,500 |
| 50,000 | 7,000 |
| 100,000 | 15,000 |
| 200,000 | 30,000 |
| 500,000 | 70,000 |
| 1,000,000 | 150,000 |
| 2,000,000 | 300,000 |
The above figures represent the potential incomes of YouTubers who only earn from the Google Adsense Program. Those who promote local brands like real estate companies earn more money.
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How YouTube Calculates Monthly Incomes
YouTube uses RPM (Revenue Per Mille) to determine every content creator’s monthly income. RPM refers to the approximate income you can get from every one thousand ad views. Many factors affect the RPM, including the number of ways you monetize your YouTube videos.
Most beginners rely on Google Adsense ads only. Google counts the number of times your visitors click these ads. Hence, it pays a minimum RPM of Ksh.100 for every 1,000 ad views. If you feature ads from local companies, your RPM could grow 20 times (ksh.2, 000).
Local content creators who target audiences in developed countries like the UK, the US, and Canada could earn up to Ksh.500 per 1,000 views. The niches you cover in your videos could also increase or decrease your RPM.
Top YouTube Earners in Kenya
A few YouTube content creators are minting millions of money from their ad views. Their success has made many Kenyans realize that YouTube income is not a fad. In no particular order, here are the salaries of the highest-paid Kenyan YouTubers :
| Top Earner’s Channel | YouTube Channel Theme | Number of Subscribers | Total ad of Views | Estimated Earnings per Month in Ksh. |
| Sauti Sol | Music | 971,000 | 265 million | 4,500,000 |
| Diana Bahati(Kevin Mbuvi) | family life, music | 945,000 | 169,804,602 | 400,000 to 1,000,000 |
| Henry Desagu | Youths, entertainment | 671,000 | 104,377,64 | 500,000 to 800,000 |
| Timothy Njuguna(Njugush) | Comedy, travel, lifestyle..etc | 632,000 | 102, 129,146 | 1,000,000 |
| Jalango TV | Interviews, politics, celebrity news | 603,000 | 65,186,277 | 4,000,000 |
| Flaqo Raz | Comedy/Family life | 676,000 | 104,648,144 | n/a |
| Crazy Kennar(Kennedy Odhiambo) | Comedy | 604,000 | 157,535,839 | 600,000 to 1,500,000 |
| Mungai Eve | Celebrity interviews | 744,000 | 146,755,596 | 700,000 to 1,500,000 |
| Otile Brown | Music | 1,340,000 | 354,108,20 | 4,000,000 |
| Maxine Wabosha | Fashion, make-up, skincare, and travel. | 237,000 | 21, 083,955 | 300,000 |
Do you still wonder how much does YouTube pay in Kenya? As you can see above, YouTube pays millions of cash to some local content contributors.
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How To Start a YouTube Channel in Kenya
Kenyan YouTubers make money from their talents, skills, and knowledge. The beginning is tough but if you persist, you could reap big later on. YouTube marketing is all about making engaging and valuable video content. The first thing to do is to create your first YouTube channel. Here are the steps:
- Create a Google account or sign in if you already have one.
- Move the cursor to the top right corner of your screen and choose “YouTube.” YouTube will automatically log you in.
- Click your “Google profile photo” in the top right corner to trigger a drop-down menu with options.
- Hit “Create a Channel,” and enter the details of your new YouTube channel. If you want to use a different profile picture, just upload it from your device. If not, use your Google account’s photo and name.
- Choose where to add new videos, your target audience, and other settings.
- Start adding new videos to your channel.
How to Monetize Your Kenyan YouTube Channel
There are some requirements to meet before you monetize your first YouTube Channel. Here is a brief outline:
1. Attain 4000 Watch Hours
YouTube measures watch hours by how long visitors view your video. You can only monetize your channel after attaining 4,000 watch hours. YouTube expects you to reach the 4000 watch hours target in one year.
2. 1,000 YouTube Subscribers
YouTube will let you monetize your channel if you have convinced 1,000 fans to subscribe. Although YouTube does not pay you for the number of subscribers you have gathered, keep on enlarging the list. Subscribers leave comments and likes after watching your videos, making your channel popular.
The more popular your channel becomes, the higher the odds of gathering many ad views and earning more profits.
3. Apply for the YouTube Partner Program
After reaching 4000 watch hours and hitting 1,000 subscribers, apply for the YouTube Partner Program. Being a member of this program will help YouTube count your RPM per video and compute your monthly income.
If YouTube accepts your application, create and link your Adsense account to the YouTube Channel. Here is how to do it:
- Log in to YouTube studio.
- Open the menu on the left side and choose the “Monetization” tab.
- The “sign-up for Google Adsense” card will pop up. Hit the “Start” button.
- Type the correct YouTube account password.
- Select the Google account you prefer to join the Adsense Program with.
- Confirm your Adsense email address.
- Enter your contact details before submitting your Adsense application.
- Wait for Google Adsense to tell you if it has accepted your application via an email message.
Note: If Google approves your Adsense account, ads will appear in all your videos. It will then pay you for the total ad views every month. For a view to be eligible for payment, a visitor must watch it for at least thirty seconds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will YouTube Pay You by Mpesa?
YouTube will not pay you by MPESA, although this is the most convenient payment method for Kenyan Content creators. One popular way to receive your earnings in Kenya is to open an account with Payoneer. This company will allow YouTube to pay you in US dollars and charge you a fee of 2% for every transaction.
Another similar payment processor for Kenyans is Intrasend.com. You can also open an account in a place where YouTube works, such as the US. Then, link this account to your YouTube Adsense Program to start receiving direct deposits.
How Much Does YouTube Pay in Kenya Per 1,000 ad Views?
One thousand ad views in Kenya can only pay you 100 to 200 shillings on YouTube. They are the lowest possible views that YouTube can pay you for. If you want to earn more from your video content, first choose the best-selling niches.
As you create more YouTube channels, consider choosing niches like gaming, comedy, music, personal finance, fashion, skincare and makeup, weight loss, software reviews, how to make money online, etc. Make every video more appealing to your audience and it will thirst for more.
Grab your viewers’ attention with fresh content often, encourage them to subscribe, and watch your ad views grow exponentially.
How Much Does YouTube Pay for 1,000,000 Views in Kenya?
According to local statistics, YouTube pays Ksh.150,000 for 1,000,000 ad views in Kenya. As you noted in the table above, top YouTubers in Kenya get millions of monthly views. To get one million views in Kenya is not as easy as you think.
Kenyans who reach this mark do not rely on Google Adsense clicks alone. They already command a large following on YouTube. Thus, most local companies choose to be part of this success by sponsoring their channels.
Successful YouTubers in Kenya get sponsorship from big companies like Unilever, KFC, BIDCO, etc. These companies pay YouTubers to demonstrate and sell their products or services to their audiences.
