Note the change: YouTube has announced that from February 1, 2027, new applicants for ad revenue need 8,000 qualified watch hours (or 20 million Shorts views) instead of 4,000 (or 10 million). The 500-subscriber fan-funding tier stays at 3,000 hours.
How to use the watch time calculator
- 1Enter views and average view duration (from YouTube Studio).
- 2Add your current watch hours and daily views to project a date.
- 3Compare against the 3,000, 4,000 and 8,000-hour thresholds.
How it works
Watch hours = views × average view duration (minutes) ÷ 60. Days to target = remaining hours ÷ daily hours gained. Only public long-form watch time from the last 365 days counts — Shorts feed views, private/unlisted videos, deleted videos and ad-driven views don't.
Frequently asked questions
How many views do I need for 4,000 watch hours?
It depends on view duration. At an average of 4 minutes per view you need 60,000 views; at 8 minutes, 30,000.
Do Shorts count toward watch hours?
No. Watch time from the Shorts feed doesn't count toward the long-form threshold; Shorts have their own views threshold.
Do live streams count?
Live streams count once they're archived as public videos. Unarchived streams don't.