There’s a belief that brand deals are where the real money is, not the ad revenue. Well, after all if brands can pay $10k per integration, why sweat over the tiny amount per view from AdSense?
But that mindset misses the bigger picture, because when you compare brand deals and YouTube ad revenue, it’s not about which one pays more today. Let’s break it down.
The Brand Deal Illusion
There’s no denying that brand deals can pay fast and big. The actual amount you can earn from a brand deal depends on many factors.
- Smaller channels usually earn somewhere between $50 and all the way to $2,000.
- Mid tier creators can get a deal that’s between $500 to $10,000 per video.
- And the bigger creators get a lot more.
However, these deals don’t just appear out of nowhere. Popular brands will not reach out if they don’t see potential in working with you. You need to reach out to them.
What Do Brands Look For?
The key isn’t subscriber count, but engagement.
If your channel has 8% engagement with 100k subscribers, you’re worth more than a 500k-subscriber channel with 2% engagement. Brands are paying for trust. They want your audience to be actively engaged, because that’s where the conversions happen. A high engagement rate is what makes you an attractive option.
How Do You Secure Brand Deals?
It’s all about the pitch.
Have a media kit ready. Show your stats, audience demographics, and what you’ve done in the past. You want to make it easy for brands to see your value.
Don’t wait for brands to come to you, start outreaching. Use free tools where you can showcase your stats, audience, and past work in one, easy-to-share link.
When the brand manager gets all the answers before they ask a question, you are more likely to win it.
Want a free tool to close deals faster?
There is a pin.top for that. You can drop your stats, audience details, and past work in one link. It’s the easiest way to show brands exactly what you bring to the table.
In order to look interesting for a brand, you need to have a certain channel size, appropriate niche, and have YouTube monetization connected (that signals that you’re trustworthy). Here’s what’s often overlooked as well:
- Brand income is inconsistent
One month you close $25K in integrations. The next? Crickets. Even with an agency or manager, deal flow is cyclical. No uploads = no sponsor interest. - You’re not in control of the product
You’re working under brand messaging, legal review, timeline pressure, and integration performance. That’s work, and often more work than the video itself. - Your brand is only as valuable as your audience’s trust
Overdo integrations, mismatch the product, or fail to deliver, and that deal pipeline dries up fast.
YouTube Ad Revenue
Ad revenue is rarely glamorous or gives you big numbers from the start. But its main perk is that it’s consistent, passive, and, most importantly, predictive. Let’s talk numbers:
- Most creators see RPMs (revenue per 1,000 views) between $1.50–$12.00, depending on niche
- Finance, education, tech, and productivity often sit at the high end
- Lifestyle, entertainment, and comedy sit lower, but scale better in volume
If you’re getting 500K views/month with a $5 RPM, that’s $2,500/month before brand deals, merch, affiliate, or membership revenue.
Geography matters when it comes to RPM. Creators with audiences in high-paying countries see significantly higher ad revenue. Based on AIR Media-Tech's data from over 3,000 channels, here are the top 10 countries that typically deliver the highest CPMs (cost per 1,000 impressions):
Top 10 Paying Countries
- United States — $14.67
- Australia — $13.30
- Switzerland — $12.98
- Norway — $11.21
- New Zealand — $10.21
- Canada — $9.93
- Germany — $9.79
- Denmark — $9.13
- United Kingdom — $8.91
- Netherlands — $8.62
As you can see, some regions command much higher CPM rates than others. If your audience is concentrated in these countries, your RPM is likely to be on the higher end of the spectrum.
What’s more, monetization is not just income, it’s a signal of trustworthiness. When your videos are consistently monetized it means that your audience is engaged (watch time is high, skip rate is low), your content is brand-safe, and your channel is reliable.
You’d be surprised at just how much the factor of reliability attracts bigger brands. Yes, it’s not just your sub count that matters.
YouTube Monetization Is What Makes Brand Deals Work
A simple truth that we’ve seen across hundreds of creators is that brand deals are interconnected with ad revenue. Why? Because monetized content = high watch time = better retention = higher-performing integrations, which makes businesses more interested in your content and in working with you.
When your content consistently earns well from ads, it signals:
- Viewer trust
- Algorithmic favor
- Storytelling that keeps people watching
And that’s exactly what brands want. In fact, most top-tier agencies now ask for a couple things before striking a deal: average RPM and CPM, audience retention, percent of monetized views, demographics broken out by watch time (not just subscriber geography). If your monetization is weak, your brand deal pitch is weaker.
Brand Deals vs. YouTube Ad Revenue: Which Pays More for You?
Let’s break this down for creators at different stages.
Smaller Creators (1k–50k Subscribers)
At this stage, brand deals are rare. You’re likely looking at $100–$2,000 per deal. If you land one, it’s a win, but it’s not going to be your main source of income.
The ad income is not huge here. You’ll be seeing $50–$500/month, depending on your CPM (which is largely driven by your niche and audience location).
Keep an eye on both, but AdSense is your base for now.
Mid-Tier Creators (50k–500k Subscribers)
By this point, brand deals start to show up more often. Expect $2,000–$10,000 per deal, depending on how your channel is positioned, what brands you’re attracting, and the scope of your content.
Your YouTube ad revenue will now be steadier, with payouts typically between $500–$5,000/month. The CPM can start to improve as you attract a more specific, engaged audience.
Brand deals are becoming a significant revenue stream at this pint, but ad revenue should still be a focus. With a healthy mix, you’re building two foundations: one with steady ad income and the other with potentially high payouts from brand deals. Keep pushing for both.
Big Creators (500k–1M+ Subscribers)
Now, brand deals are the real moneymaker. Big brands are paying for exposure, with deals anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000+ per integration. These deals are your primary revenue drivers.
YouTube ad revenue is a major player now, too. Creators at this level can see $5,000–$20,000+/month from ads, depending on your CPM. Your audience reach, engagement, and content consistency fuel this.
At this level, brand deals provide the heavy lifting, but AdSense is still crucial. It guarantees consistent cash flow every month, keeping your channel attractive to brands looking for reliability. You need both to keep your revenue stream healthy and scalable.
Our Take
We've picked up a few things working with over 3000 creators.
Firstly, monetization is the foundation. Before striking a brand deal, you must make sure that your monetization is enabled and running. It’s not a side hustle anymore. If you want brands to be interested - you have to be a monetized creator.
Secondly, brands reach out to the creators whose audiences stick to the channel. Big view counts are cool and all, but active retention of the viewers and the number of people who stick by you is more important. After all, views can be bought, viewers’ loyalty cannot.
Lastly, if your content doesn’t monetize well, it means that it won’t integrate well. If you constantly face demonetization and other content hiccups, you become less trustworthy in brands’ eyes. They will reach out less. If you are very controversial - even less.
Brand deals without monetization are hype without infrastructure. Monetization without brand deals can be scaled, but it’s capped.
The smartest creators build systems that feed both. Why? Because together, they form a revenue engine that scales with you.
Need help maximizing both sides of your YouTube income? We help creators build monetization-first strategies that brands love to buy into. Strong revenue, strong audience, stronger future. Let’s talk.
