YouTube Shorts Statistics: Users, Growth & Revenue 2025

YouTube Shorts has become a game-changer, with over 70% of YouTube's total watch time now coming from Shorts.

This short-form video content has quickly captured the attention of millions, making it one of the most popular ways to consume entertainment online.

Whether you're a creator looking to grow your channel or a viewer enjoying bite-sized videos, YouTube Shorts offers something for everyone.

With its rapid growth, understanding YouTube Shorts statistics is crucial for maximizing the potential of this exciting trend.

YouTube Shorts: How Big is It Really?

To put it simply, the scale of YouTube Shorts is almost hard to comprehend. It has become one of the most-watched video formats on the entire internet.

• Every month, over 2 billion people log in and watch YouTube Shorts. That’s more than a quarter of the entire world’s population.
• Every single day, people watch 70 billion YouTube Shorts.

To give you some perspective, that daily view count has more than doubled since 2021. The growth has been nothing short of explosive.

The Explosive Growth of Daily Short-View Videos

Year	Daily Views on YouTube Shorts	What This Shows
June 2021	30 billion	Shorts was already a huge success just a year after its global launch.
February 2022	50 billion	The platform was growing at a staggering pace, adding 20 billion daily views in under a year.
2025	70 billion	Shorts has solidified its place as a dominant force in short-form video, with no signs of slowing down.

This isn't just a passing trend. It's a fundamental shift in how people consume content. And for creators, it means an ocean of opportunity.

• Content is booming: Over 12 million Shorts are uploaded every single day.
• It’s a daily habit: Around 55% of YouTube’s daily active users now engage with Shorts. It's become a core part of the YouTube experience.

The Perfect Short: What the Numbers Say About Length and Performance

Okay, so the audience is massive. But what kind of Shorts do they actually want to watch? The data gives us some incredibly clear clues about what works best.

How Long Should Your Shorts Be?

While you can make a Short up to 60 seconds long, the ideal length is a hot topic of debate. The numbers show a fascinating trend.

Shorts Length vs. Average Views

Length of Short	Percentage of All Shorts	Average Views Gathered	What This Tells You
0-20 seconds	~17%	~80,000	Very short videos are quick and easy to make, but they often get fewer views.
20-40 seconds	~48% (The most common)	~575,000	This is the sweet spot for many creators. It’s long enough to tell a small story but short enough to keep attention.
40-50 seconds	~10%	800,000	Getting longer, these videos perform well if the content is compelling.
50-60 seconds	~14%	A massive 1.7 to 4.1 million	This is the money zone. Longer Shorts that can hold a viewer's attention are heavily rewarded by the algorithm with huge view counts.

The key takeaway: While most creators make Shorts under 40 seconds, the data shows that if you can create a compelling story that keeps people watching for closer to a minute, your potential for viral views skyrockets. Don't be afraid to use the full 60 seconds if your idea is strong enough.

The First 3 Seconds are Everything

The average viewer decides whether to keep watching or swipe away in the first few seconds.

• Shorts with a strong, immediate hook in the first 2-3 seconds retain 19% more viewers.
• The average time a viewer watches a Short before swiping is just 5.8 seconds.

If you don’t grab their attention instantly, they are gone. Your first few seconds need to pose a question, show something shocking, or promise an exciting outcome.

Who's Watching Shorts the Most?

To create content that connects, you need to know who you’re creating it for. The audience for Shorts is global, diverse, and skews toward younger adults.

The Age Breakdown

The core audience for YouTube Shorts is made up of millennials and older Gen Z.

• The single largest age group is 25 to 34-year-olds, who make up 21.5% of all viewers.
• Together, users aged 18 to 34 account for a massive 64% of all Shorts views.

Here is a full breakdown of the Shorts audience by age:

Age Group	Percentage of Viewers	What This Means for Creators
18-24 years	15.7%	This audience loves trends, memes, gaming, and creator-led content.
25-34 years	21.5% (The largest group)	This demographic is interested in entertainment, but also how-to, finance, and lifestyle content.
35-44 years	17.9%	A significant audience that engages with tutorials, family content, and news.
45+ years	~22%	A smaller but still important group, often interested in hobbies, news, and more traditional content formats.

Gender and Location

• Gender: The audience is fairly balanced, but leans slightly male. 58% of Shorts viewers are male, and 42% are female.
• Location: The United States is the single biggest market, with over 164.5 million Shorts users. However, the platform is truly global. The top countries by views are:
  1. United States (18% of views)
  2. India (14%)
  3. Brazil (9%)
  4. Indonesia (7%)

In fact, 75% of all Shorts views come from outside of a creator’s home country. This means your content has the potential to reach a massive, international audience.

How Creators Make Money and Succeed?

For creators, Shorts is more than just a fun feature it's a powerful tool for channel growth and a source of income. But what does it really take to make it?

How Much Do Shorts Creators Earn?

Let's be direct: you won't get rich from the ad revenue of a single Short. But at scale, it adds up.

• Creators earn between $0.01 and $0.06 per 1,000 views.
• This means for 1 million views, a creator can earn anywhere from $10 to $60.

While this is much lower than what long-form YouTube videos pay per view, the sheer volume of views on Shorts can make it a significant income stream.

The Real Money is in Brand Deals

The ad revenue is just one piece of the puzzle. For top creators, the real money comes from other sources.

• An incredible 76% of top-earning Shorts creators make more money from brand deals and sponsorships than from ad revenue.
• Only 8% of Short creators rely solely on ad revenue. The rest use a mix of sponsorships, affiliate marketing, channel memberships, and Super Thanks to build their income.

What Does it Take to Grow? The “Grind” in Numbers

Success on Shorts requires consistency. The data shows that you need to be prepared to post a lot of content to see significant results.

• On average, creators post between 220 and 300 Shorts before they hit 1 million subscribers.
• Channels that post Shorts consistently for six months see a 44% increase in overall channel growth.

The message is clear: treat it like a marathon, not a sprint.

Cracking the Code: How the Shorts Algorithm Works

The Shorts algorithm is designed to do one thing: keep people watching. If you can help it do that, it will reward you with views. Here are the key signals the algorithm looks for.

1. Watch Retention is King
This is the most important metric. The longer you can keep someone watching, the more the algorithm will push your video.

• The average retention rate for a viral Short (over 1 million views) is 76%.
• Shorts with a retention rate above 75% have a 3x higher chance of being pushed to new audiences.

2. Early Engagement is Critical
What happens in the first few hours after you post is crucial.

• 85% of a Short’s impressions come within the first 48 hours.
• Shorts that get strong engagement (likes, comments, shares) in the first hour are far more likely to be promoted by the algorithm.

3. The Power of Non-Subscribers
Shorts is an incredible discovery tool. It’s designed to put your content in front of people who have never heard of you.

• A massive 74% of all Shorts views come from non-subscribers.

This is why Shorts is the single best way for new channels to grow quickly. It gets you out of your subscriber “bubble” and introduces you to a massive new audience.

Shorts vs. The World: How it Stacks Up Against TikTok and Reels

Shorts don't exist in a vacuum. It's in a constant battle with TikTok and Instagram Reels for viewers' attention. Here’s how they compare.

Shorts vs. TikTok vs. Reels

Metric	YouTube Shorts	TikTok	Instagram Reels
Daily Views	~35-70 Billion	~50 Billion	~18 Billion
Average Retention Rate	73%	78%	65%
Creator Ad Revenue	Highest (	Lowest (0.02−0.02−0.04 per 1k views)	Monetization is less direct.
Best for…	Channel growth, discovery, long-term audience building.	Setting trends, viral sounds, creative editing.	Brand sponsorships, visual-first content.

Key Takeaways from the Competition:

• TikTok is still the king of trends. Most viral sounds and trends start on TikTok before they make their way to Shorts and Reels.
• YouTube Shorts pays creators better on average from its ad revenue sharing program.
• Shorts is the best platform for building a long-term audience because it's directly connected to a creator's main YouTube channel, making it easy to convert a Shorts viewer into a long-form subscriber.

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Final Thoughts: YouTube Shorts Statistics 2025

The numbers don't lie. YouTube Shorts is a global phenomenon that has fundamentally changed what it means to be a creator on the platform.

It is the most powerful tool available right now for reaching new audiences, growing a channel, and building a community.

Here are the key takeaways to remember:

• The scale is enormous: With 2 billion monthly users and 70 billion daily views, the audience is there.
• Retention is everything: Your number one job is to keep people watching. Aim for a high retention rate by creating compelling content, especially in the first 3 seconds.
• Don't be afraid to go long: While shorter videos are easier to make, the data shows that 50-60 second Shorts have the highest viral potential.
• It’s a discovery engine: Most of your views will come from people who don't subscribe to you. Use this to grow your channel.
• Consistency is crucial: Be prepared to post a lot of content. Success is a marathon.

The era of short-form video is here to stay, and YouTube Shorts is leading the charge. Use these insights, start creating, and claim the audience that is waiting for you. The time to grow is now.