YouTube watch hours calculator
Your monthly views and how long people watch: the watch hours you earn, and how far you are from the Partner Program.
Watch hours a month
667
In 12 months at this pace: 8,000
4,000 hours (today)
about 6 months
60,000 views in 12 months at this duration
8,000 hours (new channels from February 1, 2027)
about 12 months
120,000 views in 12 months at this duration
Arithmetic from the numbers you enter, not a promise. YouTube counts valid public watch hours over the last 12 months (365 days from 2027), so older hours stop counting.
Watch hours are one way into the Partner Program
To join the YouTube Partner Program a channel needs 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months, or 10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days, and has to be accepted. From February 1, 2027, new channels need 8,000 watch hours in the last 365 days or 20 million Shorts views in the last 90 days; channels already in the program keep their place.
Check your channel for free →What changes in 2027?How the estimate works
- 1
Your views
How many views your long videos get in a month. Shorts feed views do not count here.
- 2
How long they watch
The average view duration from YouTube Studio, in minutes.
- 3
The math
Views × minutes ÷ 60 is the watch hours you earn a month; the rest is how many months to the bar.
Questions
How many views do I need for 4,000 watch hours?
It depends on how long people watch. 4,000 hours is 240,000 minutes: 60,000 views at 4 minutes each, or 30,000 views at 8 minutes, within 12 months.
Do Shorts count toward watch hours?
No. Watch time from the Shorts feed does not count toward watch hours. Shorts have their own path into the program: 10 million Shorts views in 90 days, or 20 million for new channels from 2027.
What changes in 2027?
From February 1, 2027, a new channel needs 8,000 watch hours in the last 365 days instead of 4,000 in 12 months. Channels already in the program keep their place.
Why can my total go down?
Only the last 12 months count, so the hours a video earned more than a year ago drop out of the total as new ones come in.
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