How many YouTube views South Africans need to kiss their 9-to-5 goodbye

South African content creators will need to generate hundreds of thousands of views to replace the income from the average salary-paying job in the country.

People who can create engaging video content that draws in online users can earn income on multiple websites and apps.

YouTube is the world’s biggest video-sharing platform and has a well-developed programme for sharing its ad revenues.

According to Similarweb, YouTube is the world’s second most-visited website, with only the Google.com home page ranking above it.

In its analysis for February 2025, Similarweb found the website was visited 26.5 billion times, over double the number of visits recorded by Facebook.

The Google-owned website offers creators the ability to earn a slice of its ad or Premium subscription revenue through its YouTube Partner Program.

To join the programme, a creator’s channel must have at least 1,000 subscribers and recorded 4,000 public watch hours in 12 months or 10 million Shorts views over 90 days.

While this will already require putting in many hours of brainstorming, shooting, and editing, earning substantial revenue as a partner will necessitate much harder work.

If a long-format video qualifies for monetisation, YouTube will pay the user a share of the revenue it makes from an ad as outlined in their specific partner agreement.

This amount can vary greatly depending on the type of content and geographical target audience.

Vapo.com estimates that creators can expect to earn between $3 and $5 (R54.45 to R90.74) in ad revenue per 1,000 views.

Social media analytics website Social Blade previously estimated that the top creators in South Africa earn between R1,826 and R1.4 million per month.

However, the far more common small channels with around 2,000 subscribers and 10,000 views a month only earn about R400 per month due to having fewer impressions and therefore, less value for advertising.

That means they are earning about R40 per 1,000 views, slightly less than Vapo.com’s estimate.

According to BankServAfrica’s latest analysis of take-home pay in South Africa, the average salary in the country was about R17,202 in December 2024.

To earn that salary, a small creator would have to record 430,000 new views on their videos every month, based on Social Blade’s estimates.

Using Vapo.com’s estimate, the target number reduces to 316,000 views.

Alternatives to ad revenue

Due to the difficulty of making a living solely from ad revenue, some of South Africa’s most successful YouTube creators supplement their earnings with additional income streams.

The channel merely acts as the main platform to attract viewers and

Successful YouTubers enter into partnerships or sponsorships with companies to promote their products, either directly or indirectly.

Brands can benefit from these deals by marketing their products with a creator that resonates with their target audience.

Some agreements also allow creators to earn a commission on sales of partner products or services through a referral code or affiliate link that gives the buyer a discount.

Another way to make money off a YouTube channel is to sell merchandise.

However, this will require significantly more resources, e-commerce expertise, and likely involve having the goods manufactured overseas at lower cost to be profitable as a standalone business.