With 400 million subscribers, American YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, popularly referred to as  MrBeast, is the highest-paid on the planet. His YouTube channel,  constructed on viral stunts and hair-raising problem movies, has turned thousands and thousands of views right into a  billion greenback  media empire. 

However this story isn’t about MrBeast. 

It’s about why that stage of success is way extra difficult and practically inconceivable for a Nigerian YouTuber.

Present me the Naira: How a lot do Nigerian YouTubers make?

In 2020, journey and way of life YouTuber Tayo Aina, in response to a Quick Firm article, admitted to creating round $132 for a video that garnered over 1,100,000 views on his channel. That’s not a typo. 

Aina’s $132 payout was “considerably lower than a creator with a predominantly Western viewers would have acquired for a similar efficiency metrics,” the article famous, pointing to the platform’s choice for Western audiences over these from Africa. YouTube creators with a Western viewers would probably earn 10x Aina’s quantity (you’d see this later within the article, as Aina explains) for comparable efficiency metrics. The rationale? Advert charges on YouTube should not created equal, and Nigerian creators are on the brief finish of the stick. 

Even with these disparities, Nigeria nonetheless boasts just a few high-performing YouTube channels main the nation’s native earnings chart.

In August 2024, Pastor Jerry Eze’s YouTube channel, was listed as Nigeria’s top-earning (incomes ₦7 billion  or $4.7 million from 2014 to 2024) YouTube channel, in response to information sourced from Playboard (a YouTube analytics web site) and reported by each Punch and Premium Occasions.

By March 2025, Pulse reported that Eze was racking up ₦7 million day by day, retaining him on the high of Nigeria’s YouTube earnings chart.

The figures make it straightforward to imagine that extra views imply more cash for Nigerian YouTubers, however YouTube math doesn’t work this fashion.

Views pay, not subscribers

The way in which YouTube pays is thru CPM (value per mille, or, merely put, value per thousand views). “YouTube doesn’t pay for subscribers or feedback, just for views,” Nigerian YouTuber Omokha Sandra clarified in a 2024 YouTube video.

However not all CPMs are equal. Nigerian views don’t pay as a lot as Western ones.

The reason being largely financial: advertisers within the US, UK, or Australia pay extra to focus on viewers, which boosts the CPMs for YouTube creators in these markets. A current 2025 article on the highest 10 nations with the best YouTube CPMs listed the US, Australia, and Norway on the high. 

Nigeria didn’t make the record.

Aina as soon as put it bluntly: In Nigeria, CPM might be as little as $1 per 1,000 views whereas within the US, it may well hit $10 for a similar variety of views. This implies, as I wrote earlier, {that a} Nigerian creator wants ten instances extra views than a US creator to earn the identical amount of cash. 

After all, “Nigerian” right here is semantics: a Nigerian residing in Nigeria with a predominantly Nigerian viewers. A Nigerian in, say, Canada with a western viewers wouldn’t fear about low earnings. 

Numbers aren’t every little thing

Based on Statista, Nigeria had 5.3 million YouTube customers in 2021, and that quantity is projected to hit 12 million by the top of 2025. But, as of July 2024, Nigeria’s inhabitants stood at round 229.5 million folks. 

There’s nonetheless an extended approach to go when it comes to web penetration and content material monetisation, however you cannot ignore the truth that the low earnings on Nigerian YouTube channels should not a number-of-views drawback.

A 2025 Enterprise Day article studies that YouTube’s watch time in Nigeria has grown by over 50% within the final yr, and that over 1,800,000 Nigerians now watch YouTube by way of linked Televisions. 

This surge in viewership displays a broader development within the continent’s booming creator economic system.

The African Creator Financial system valued at $5.10 billion in 2025, is projected to succeed in $29.84 billion by 2032. In Nigeria alone, the sector is price over ₦50 billion ($33 million). This additional proves that the viewers exists and remains to be increasing.

This enlargement may account for the truth that in 2024 alone, the variety of Nigerian YouTube channels incomes between ₦10 million and ₦100 million ($6,700 to $66,000) doubled.

Now that you’ve the numbers, allow us to get into the mechanics of how Nigerian YouTubers earn and compete with the opposite 113.9 million YouTube channels that exist worldwide.

How does a Nigerian YouTuber earn money?

YouTube monetisation works the identical in Nigeria as elsewhere, not less than in principle. To earn from the YouTube Companion Program which permits creators to monetise their content material, you want not less than 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in a 12 month interval  (or 10 million  YouTube Shorts views up to now 90 days).

From there, YouTubers (whether or not or not they’re a part of the accomplice program) receives a commission by the AdSense program , which permits creators to earn income from adverts displayed on their movies. This program is easy: Hyperlink your channel to an AdSense account, and start incomes a share of advert income generated by every content material. 

Past advert income, a Nigerian YouTuber has entry to different monetisation streams similar to channel memberships (although this requires 30,000 subscribers in Nigeria, vs. decrease thresholds elsewhere), Tremendous Chats (permits viewers to pay to pin a touch upon reside streams. This accounts for the majority of Eze’s earnings), and YouTube Premium income (creators earn a share of the income from YouTube Premium subscribers who watch their movies.). Earnings additionally come from affiliate marketing online and model sponsorships or offers, each of which permit creators to earn immediately from manufacturers.

These YouTube incomes choices don’t come with out their challenges. Most of the time, fee infrastructure in Nigeria makes it troublesome to obtain earnings in {dollars}, entry fan donations, or arrange merchandise shops. In distinction, western creators get pleasure from seamless payouts, direct integration with banks, and a broader pool of sponsors with deeper pockets.

Past YouTube: The hustle is diversified

As a result of AdSense earnings alone aren’t sufficient, Nigerian YouTubers diversify. Some construct content material for the diaspora to faucet greater CPMs. One widespread technique is creating content material that appeals to the Nigerian diaspora, particularly in high-CPM areas just like the US, UK, and Canada, the place advertisers pay extra to succeed in audiences. Others land model offers, principally with native companies or startups. 

YouTube is attempting to assist. Its Made for You program, launched in components of Africa, gives coaching on content material technique and monetisation. But, the Nigerian ecosystem is way much less mature than in Europe or North America.

Right here’s a great instance. Whereas YouTube advert attain in Nigeria sits at simply 11.5% of the inhabitants, the platform has far deeper penetration within the UK. As of 2024, 79% of the UK inhabitants (54.8 million folks) used YouTube. Ofcom additionally reported that YouTube was the most-used social platform amongst UK adults, with 94% (44.5 million) accessing it by way of smartphones, tablets, or computer systems in Could 2024.

This distinction highlights each the income potential for creators in additional saturated markets and the untapped progress in Nigeria.

Can a Nigerian YouTuber be the following MrBeast?

In principle, sure. Nigeria has the inhabitants, expertise, and rising digital infrastructure. However in observe, it’s not solely about creativity or hustle; it’s about the place your viewers are and what their views are price.

*Change price used is $1 to ₦1,500

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