Have you ever wondered who are the highest paid YouTubers of 2018? YouTube is definitely one of the most popular video sites on the Internet today, but among the thousands of video creators that this platform hosts just a few of them reach popularity and fame. Stay put; we will tell you who they are.
The influence of YouTube in today’s culture is undeniable – it is considered the second largest search engine after Google, which has become an essential tool for many cybernauts. More than 30 million daily users from all over the world access this platform in search of information, reviews, movie trailers, classes and anything else a person can imagine.
Becoming a YouTuber is relatively easy, you need to create your channel, choose the genre and content of your videos and start uploading them. Being a YouTuber or vlogger (video blogger) allows you to be creative while working from home. It’s a dream job for many people and for that reason was considered one of the 10 easiest ways to make money on the internet, but as simple as this sounds it requires organization and planning just like any business project. Keep in mind that the highest paid YouTubers didn’t become famous overnight. Achieving success on YouTube requires a great deal of commitment, hard work and the use of the right techniques.
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How do YouTubers make money? The answer is advertising. It’s a fact that nowadays people don’t engage anymore with the traditional commercials. That’s why brands needed another way to reach out to their potential clients, and this is when social media celebrities emerged as the answer to tackle this problem. Once a channel has a great number of subscribers and views per video some tools can help increase its revenue. First, there is AdSense which allows the video creator to get revenue for every thousand ad impressions per video. Then there is brand advertising, in other words, the brand pays a vlogger for using their channel to make a video advertising its product. Another way that is often used is link-affiliation – when a YouTuber recommends their favorite product and provides a link for its purchase; in exchange, the brand pays them a percentage.
One of the most profitable strategies that is being widely used by most, if not by all highest earning YouTubers, is merchandise. We can find a variety of products affiliated with social media celebrities such as toys, clothing lines, home products, makeup and much more. Additionally, live tours and TV appearances are also good revenue streams for these influencers.
With all this being said we can conclude that the highest paid YouTubers are the ones who were able to turn their personal brands into million-dollar businesses. These people don’t limit themselves to the revenue generated by their videos, but they go beyond that.
To obtain the list of the 15 highest paid YouTubers of 2018, we consulted the list published by Forbes magazine and complemented it with the recent data from Social Blade, which provided us with the estimated monthly and yearly earnings. All these are estimated figures; the calculations are pretax, pre-commission and without including the managers’ salaries.
Just as an interesting fact we can tell you that most of the people mentioned on this list are under 30 years old. So let’s take a look at the 15 highest paid YouTubers of 2018. (Next to the name of each YouTuber/Channel, we’ll provide the earnings figures for 2018).
15. Candace (Cookie Swirl C) – $6.2 million:
Cookie Swirl C channel was created in 2013, and its popularity grew very fast among its fans. The channel has over 10 million subscribers and has accumulated over 10 billion views so far. Cookie Swirl C video content is about newly released toys and creating sketches with them. In a day, these videos get an average of 9.5 million views. Candace also offers her merchandise like T-shirts, cups, and souvenirs with the channel’s logo. Although she has never shown her face in the videos, her achievements place her among the top female YouTubers of 2018.
14. The Carter Family (FGTeeV) – $6.6 million:
The family of five, known as the Skylander family on YouTube, is the host of The Family Gaming Team channel which has over 9 million subscribers to this date. They have gained popularity by creating content about trendy video games, sketch comedy, and toy unboxing. The famous Skylander family also has a merchandise line.
13. David Dobrik- $8.8 million:
The Slovakian born YouTuber became famous for posting funny videos on Vine. His YouTube channel created in 2014 has over 10 million subscribers and over 3 billion video views. David’s videos fall in the category of vlogs; they are about skits and his daily life. Besides the profit generated by his videos, David’s earnings come from ads, merchandise, and live tours
12. Jimmy Donaldson- Mr. Beast- $10 million:
Mr. Beast is a comedy-vlog channel created in 2012 by Jimmy Donaldson. The content of his channel includes outside videos in which he recreates experiments and challenges. The channel gained most of its popularity with its series Worst Intros on YouTube. Currently, it has over 12 million subscribers and 1.4 billion views. As an additional revenue stream, Mr. Beast has an online merchandise shop which mostly sells clothing and accessories with the channel’s logo.
11. Ian Andrew Hecox and Daniel Anthony Padilla- Smosh- $11 million:
The favorite sketch comedy channel created in 2005 became one of YouTube sensations very quickly. Smosh is an example of using popularity to build a brand. They have launched their web series, music albums, and apps which have added significantly to their wealth. Due to creative differences, Anthony Padilla left the channel in June this year. However, Ian Hecox decided to continue producing content for Smosh.
Now, our top ten of the 15 highest paid YouTubers of 2018:
10. Logan Paul- $14.5 million:
The controversial YouTuber was kicked off YouTube’s Google Preferred program as a measure for a disturbing video he uploaded in 2017. However, Logan’s loyal fans didn’t leave his side, as Paul’s merchandise Maverick Merch continues to be one of the most lucrative revenues for the young YouTuber. Logan gets additional revenues from his acting career and sponsorship deals.
9. Felix Kjellberg (PewDiePie) – $15.5 million:
PewDiePie’s popularity grew steadily between 2010 and 2011. His channel now counts more than 17 million subscribers and 19.5 billion video views. Even though 2017 was a year full of controversy for the Youtuber, he didn’t lose his popularity among his fans nor with the brands which sponsor him. He has managed to continue to be in the top ten of the highest paid YouTubers.
8. Sean William McLoughlin (Jacksepticeye) – $16 million:
This Irish YouTuber started his channel back in 2007 and rapidly gained popularity because of his free-spirited style as video-game commentator. Jacksepticeye counts 20.9 million subscribers and more than 10 billion video views. In addition to the revenue generated by his videos, McLoughlin improves his earnings with profits made from his merchandise sales.
7. Evan Fong (VannosGaming) – $17 million:
Evan Fong is a Canadian video game commentator behind VannosGaming. The channel was created back in 2011, and its content is centered on playing video games with friends and completing particular game modes and challenges. The dynamic style of his videos has gained him over 23 million subscribers and over 10 billion video views. Additionally, Evan has a merchandise line sold on his webpage. All this brings Evan’s net worth to approximately $15 million making him one of the richest YouTubers of 2018.
6. Mark Edward Fischbach (Markiplier)- $17.5 million:
Since its creation in 2012, Markiplier achieved high levels of popularity among YouTube users. Mark’s particular energetic style has gained him over 22 million subscribers to this date. He is very active in the social media and his earnings as video creator are enhanced by the revenue brought by his clothing line.
5. Jeffree Star – $18 million:
The American makeup artist, entrepreneur, and musician became famous since the era of MySpace. In 2006, Jeffree started his YouTube channel posting make up tutorials and vlogs, to this date the channel has over 11 million subscribers. The versatile influencer was able to create a brand out of his name. He co-founded Jeffree Star Cosmetics a cruelty-free cosmetic line which is claimed to sell out millions of units in a few days, which makes him as well one the richest beauty YouTubers of 2018.
4. Daniel Middleton (DanTDM)- $18.5 million:
Dan TDM became famous by streaming himself playing video games online. He quickly turned his hobby into a millionaire business. To this day, his channel counts over 20 million subscribers and his clips have been seen more than 13 billion times. Dan also owns a merchandise line named DanTDM shop which sells clothing and accessories.
3. Dude Perfect – $20 million:
What started as a backyard bet between a group of friends has turned into one of the most popular YouTube channels. Dude Perfect’s videos involving gravity-defying basketball shots and football spirals have captured the attention of millions of viewers, and their popularity continues to grow. He is one of the YouTubers to watch this 2018. Aside from their overwhelming achievements through their channel, the five friends also have endorsements with companies, as well as their own apps, web series and merchandise.
2.Jake Paul – $21.5 million:
Jake has had a meteoric rise in popularity among the cybernauts since the beginning of his career in Viner and Disney Channel. The 21-year-old YouTuber has assembled a fortune creating his vlogs and with brand endorsements. His channel has to this day over 17 million subscribers and over 5 billion video views.
1. Ryan Toys Review -$22 million:
The 7-year-old YouTube sensation is the #1 highest paid YouTuber of 2018. And if you were wondering, Ryan is not a new YouTuber, he started channel when he was barely four years old. In 2015 one of his videos went viral and since then his channel has generated astronomical revenues. The internet mini-mogul has his clothing line for kids and recently has launched a line of Ryan’s World collectibles sold across the US.
