- Chris R.
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- Published: August 23, 2018
- Modified: June 24, 2020
“MoolahNinjas main goal is to help our readers improve their financial lives. We partner with other companies that share that same vision. Some of these links in this post may be from our partners. This is how we make money.”
That bring us to the question, who has the most subscribers on YouTube, and what can you do to imitate their success story?
The Top 10 Subscriber Counts on YouTube
Subscribers
(in millions)
Avg. Earnings
per Video
It might surprise you to know that the most popular personalities on YouTube, by total subscribers, are not necessarily the same list as the the richest YouTube celebrities. There are differences between the two lists!
On the other hand, some of the richest YouTube celebrities also have the highest number of subscribers. This just goes to show you that in terms of making money, some YouTube personalities have been very good at using their brand to make more money, regardless of the total number of subscribers.
At the end of the day though, the reappearance of several “richest YouTubers” on this list of who has the most subscribers on YouTube does emphasize the point that the more subscribers you have, the more you get paid.
Here is a top 10 list listing each YouTube star by rank, subscriber count, category, and how much a new video from them is actually worth, according to this handy app called the YouTube Money Calculator.
Channel Breakdown: Who Has the Most Subscribers on YouTube
1. PewDiePie
54 Million Subscribers
Game Commentator
First on our list of who has the most subscribers on YouTube is the king of the gamers! Felix Kjellberg [is a Swedish gamer and easily the most popular personality on YouTube in terms of total subscribers.
He’s well-known for his game commentaries, video blogs, and his somewhat abrasive manner, which has offended many users. Still, those offended users are small in comparison to fellow gamers who enjoy his lively commentaries, emotional outbursts, funny voices and his style of comedy.
PewDiePie actually went to college and pursued industrial economics and technology management. Of course, starting a YouTube gamer account in 2010 has proven far more lucrative for Felix. In the beginning, when he was still struggling, he made money selling Photoshop art projects and even working at a hot dog stand! Within two years, he passed one million subscribers and has now created the YouTube channel with the most subscribers.
2. T-Series
54 Million Subscribers
Indian Music/Film Company
It’s actually more surprising that an Indian production company, founded over 30 years ago, didn’t rank higher than #2 on our list of who has the most subscribers on YouTube. However, T-Series and its collection of Bollywood music soundtracks, is actually the top ranked YouTube channel in the world in terms of total views. It actually started as a small company that pirated Bollywood songs. Now, the company has come a long way over the years, even producing Hindi movies. There’s quite a history at this channel, and that along with the great music, explains its phenomenal success.
3. Justin Bieber
40 Million Subscribers
Singer
Singer Justin Bieber is oftentimes the target of comedy roasts and rage from older people, but he’s laughing all the way to the bank! Justin actually started on YouTube in 2008 and was discovered by a talent manager, who soon signed him to a major record company. By 2009, he had a “certified platinum” album and even had the honor of hitting the Billboard Hot 100 seven times all from one debut record. His success only grew with movies, more albums (eventually hitting 140 million records), and a high profile romance with Selena Gomez.
A little known fact: Singer Usher has always been somewhat of a buddy to Justin Bieber since they were both signed to a major record company at the same time. Usher and others have tried to coach Bieber on handling “instant fame”, which he’s managed to do well, aside from a few mishaps, and at only 24 years of age as of 2018. This has helped Justin land on our list of who has the most subscribers on YouTube.
4. Canal KondZilla
37 Million Subscribers
Video Director
The music scene is hot in Brazil and Canal Kondzilla is the director that makes it all happen. Having directed over 700 videos, he has worked with some of the top musical artists in the country and all around the world. A smart career planner, he used his inheritance money to buy a high-end camera so he could pursue his dream career.
Along the way to YouTube stardom, he also studied cinematography and photography, which explains his expertise. Of our list of who has the most subscribers on YouTube, Canal is certainly in a class of his own.
5. HolaSoyGerman
34 Million Subscribers
Singer, Comedian
HolaSoyGerman, the channel name, is actually created and published by German Aranis, a YouTube comedian, singer and writer from Chile. He started by creating songs with his band Ancud and published videos on YouTube and other platforms.
Starting in 2011, he would go on to write books, do voice-overs and become the top-rated Spanish YouTube channel. From humble beginnings, he eventually went on to win the MTV Millennial Awards “Icon of the Year” honor for two subsequent years.
6. Ed Sheeran
32 Million Subscribers
Singer
Ed Sheeran is is multi-talented entertainer from Halifax, West Yorkshire, and has been climbing the ranks of the UK and Australian music charts since 2011. By 2013, he was being nominated for Grammys in the US and by 2016, his album reached #2 worldwide. At only twenty-seven years of age, he’s already sold 100 million singles across the world.
In addition to pop and folk pop, he also raps and occasionally stars in popular TV shows. Our list of who has the most subscribers on YouTube wouldn’t be complete without Sheeran, who also has over 24 million followers on Instagram.
7. Dude Perfect
32 Million Subscribers
Sports and Comedy Group
Our next participant on the list of who has the most subscribers on YouTube is not one person, but several friends and former athletes. Dude Perfect is a sports entertainment team that works across a few channels on YouTube.
Not only have they acquired over five billion views for their videos and earned 32 million subscribers, they’re also the most popular sports channel on YouTube, surpassing even major cable networks. Their videos consist of stunts set to music, competitions among friends, and other comedy videos.
Perhaps the turning point came when the group started to get major endorsements from professional athletes like Aaron Rodgers and Chris Paul, as well as movie stars like Paul Rudd.
8. Taylor Swift
30 Million Subscribers
Singer
This is no surprise to anyone wondering who has the most youtube subscribers. Taylor Swift is a singer and songwriter who has found a way to make her personal life and views into beautiful music. Having started in country music at 14 years of age, she’s since branched out into pop and as of 2018, has sold over 40 million albums and became among the richest and most powerful women in the world, according to Forbes magazine. She has also won numerous honors for being a very young musician who writes her own best-selling songs, winning every major honor including six Guinness World Records.
While you might think Taylor Swift had an easy rise to the top because of her talent, she was actually rejected by Nashville record labels because she was trying to sing what “everyone in town” wanted to sing. Take some advice from one of the richest women in the world…
“Figure out a way to be different.”
9. Whinderssonnunes
30 Million Subscribers
Singer, Comedian
Next on our list of who has the most subscribers on YouTube, we find Whinderssonnunes Batista. He is a comedian, singer and YouTube personality who’s been making people all over the world laugh since 2013.
His success can be attributed to the mainstream popularity of Brazilian entertainment, not to mention Whinderssonnunes’ determination, even when he initially struggled to get noticed. Whinderssonnunes was even homeless for a while until fellow YouTuber Bob Nunes gave him a place to stay. His channel began to grow in the following years and even survive a hacking and account deletion!
Even with all his troubles, the 23-year-old entertainer has once again surpassed 30 subscribers and 2.1 billion views, becoming one of the most successful stars for the most subscribers on YouTube.
10. Katy Perry
30 Million Subscribers
Singer
We all may recognize Katy Perry for her muppet shenanigans or her notoriously sexy songs, but this former gospel music singer named Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson has had a long and fascinating career since 2001. She never found instant success, and in fact her first album was a disappointment to the studio. However, she found her audience in 2008 with pop rock and the well known song, “I Kissed a Girl.” Not only has she earned awards and even Guinness World Records, but she’s also been included among Forbes’ highest-earning female entertainers since 2011. This is what’s helped her got on our list of who has the most subscribers on YouTube. Not bad for a girl whose family once relied on food stamps just to get by. It just goes to show dreamers out there that talent and persistence get results!
As you can see from our list of who has the most subscribers on YouTube, there is a wide variety of YouTube channels and many genres within YouTube. Many of the artists we discussed here came from small beginnings but found their audience by thinking outside-the-box. One way to make your content stand out is by creating an interesting channel, with appropriate art, highlighted videos and effective tags.
More to the point, they consistently produced good content and eventually they found overwhelming success. Say what you will about Google, but it’s hard to deny that they encourage and develop talent. Google, which now owns YouTube, knows that when its content creators get paid, so does the brand company of Google/YouTube. Good work benefits everyone (for more on that subject click to read how YouTube makes money).
Did you know that Google is currently offering free studio space and access to new production technology if you have over 10,000 YouTube subscribers?
Now that’s motivation to get started! Maybe in a few years, you will be among those listed for who has the most subscribers on YouTube!
