What are the best platforms to monetize short videos in 2025?
The short answer: Short answer: YouTube Shorts and TikTok, but with big caveats. YouTube Shorts is the most stable — you're building something that lasts. Their revenue share isn't great, but it's better than TikTok's chaos. TikTok pays peanuts unless you're doing lives or brand deals. That's where the money's at: brand deals. I'd focus on building an audience on both, then redirect them to something you own — a newsletter, a Patreon, your own site. That's what I learned from losing my crowdfunding platform. Don't trust platforms with your income. They change rules overnight. Use Shorts to drive people to your email list. That's yours forever.
Let's cut through the noise. YouTube Shorts pays about $0.01 to $0.03 per 1,000 views. That's worse than TikTok's Creator Fund, which already pays peanuts. So no — the revenue share alone isn't enough to compete.
But here's the thing nobody talks about: the ecosystem matters more than the payout per view. And that's where YouTube wins.
In this article
The Numbers Don't Lie
I'll be honest — when I first saw YouTube Shorts' payout structure, I actually laughed out loud. It's genuinely bad. We're talking $10 to $30 for a million views. That's not a living wage. That's busking money, and trust me, I know busking money — I spent months on the beaches of Tenerife after losing everything, playing guitar for whatever people dropped in my case.
TikTok's Creator Fund isn't much better. It pays around $0.02 to $0.04 per 1,000 views. So we're comparing two platforms that both pay terribly. The difference? YouTube's got a trick up its sleeve.
- YouTube Shorts: $0.01–$0.03 per 1,000 views (direct payout)
- TikTok Creator Fund: $0.02–$0.04 per 1,000 views (direct payout)
- Instagram Reels: Basically nothing unless you're invited to their bonus program — and that's a whole other headache
None of these pay enough to build a career on. Period. But that's not the whole story.
The Ecosystem Advantage
Here's what I wish someone told me when I was 21, holding that record deal contract: the platform that pays you the least per view can still make you the most money.
YouTube's secret weapon isn't Shorts — it's the rest of YouTube. A viral Short can drive people to your long-form content, which pays 10x to 100x better. It can push people to your channel page, your community tab, your livestreams. And those things build a relationship.
When I was busking outside Mercadona in Los Cristianos, I learned one thing: you don't compete on the street corner where everyone's fighting for the same coins. You find a better spot. YouTube's the better spot if you're building a career, not just chasing pennies.
But here's the honest truth: neither platform's enough alone. And I say that as someone who's been at the top, lost it all, and rebuilt from nothing.
How I Learned to Stop Chasing Pennies
Can I be real with you for a second? I used to chase every platform payout like it was gold. When Dream or Donate was running, I was obsessed with what each platform could give me. Then I lost everything — the platform got hacked, I got cancelled by national media, and I sold everything I owned to pay people back.
That experience taught me something I'll never forget: platforms are not banks. They're funnels.
When I was living in a campervan, playing guitar on the streets, I didn't care about TikTok's Creator Fund or YouTube's payout per view. I cared about one thing: did the person who stopped to listen walk away with something? A connection. A memory. A way to find me later.
That's the same principle for digital platforms. Every view should have a job to do. Not just sit there earning you a fraction of a cent.
The Real Strategy: Turn Views Into Ownership
Stop chasing views. Start chasing connections. I know that sounds like a cliché, but I mean it practically.
Every viral clip should have one goal: get people to sign up for something you own. I use short videos of my electronic worship music to drive people to my email list or my Selah.fm store. A single album sale from one email subscriber beats 10,000 views from a random viewer who'll forget you in five seconds.
I learned this the hard way. Dream or Donate taught me that platforms are funnels, not banks. Build a funnel that leads to your pocket, not theirs.
- Email list: The one thing nobody can take from you
- Direct sales: A $10 album sold to 100 fans = $1,000. That's 33 million TikTok views at Creator Fund rates.
- Your own platform: That's why I built Selah.fm — so artists can set their own budgets and own their promotion, not depend on black-box algorithms
Which Platform Should You Prioritize?
I go where I own the relationship. That's why I prioritize email lists and direct sales over any platform. But if I'm picking between TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram, I look at one thing: which one lets me drive people off-platform fastest?
- TikTok: Algorithm makes it hard to leave. You're in their garden, eating their food.
- YouTube: Searchability helps. People find your Shorts, then find your long-form, then find your link. It's a path.
- Instagram: Link-in-bio is okay. Reels monetization is basically nothing unless you're in their invitation-only bonus program. It's a club, not a system. I don't like clubs that decide who gets paid.
Don't be loyal to platforms. Be loyal to your audience. I've seen too many artists build on one platform, then lose everything when the algorithm changes. I know — I lost everything after Dream or Donate. Now I treat every platform like a street corner. You play there, you collect the crowd, then you lead 'em somewhere you own.
Chase new opportunities if they serve your people. But don't chase every shiny thing. I'm still figuring out this balance, honestly. Faith helps me focus on what lasts.
Key Takeaways
- YouTube Shorts pays worse than TikTok: $0.01–$0.03 per 1K views vs TikTok's $0.02–$0.04. But YouTube's ecosystem makes up for it.
- Ecosystem beats payout: A viral Short can drive people to long-form content, which pays 10x–100x better. That's the real value.
- Stop chasing views, start chasing connections: Every viral clip should drive people to something you own — an email list, a store, a platform you control.
- Don't be loyal to platforms: They change algorithms, change payouts, change everything. Be loyal to your audience and lead them somewhere stable.
- Build your own funnel: That's the lesson I learned losing everything. Selah.fm lets artists set their own CPM budgets and own their promotion — no black boxes, no hidden algorithms.
FAQ
How much does YouTube Shorts pay per 1,000 views?
About $0.01 to $0.03 per 1,000 views from the Shorts revenue sh
Ready to promote your music?
Join Selah.fm and connect with real creators who will promote your tracks on TikTok, Reels, and Shorts — you only pay for verified views.
