Dan Jacobs

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How Much I Spend on My YouTube Channel

Daniel Jacobs

At the start of the year, many YouTubers share how much money they made with their channels in last 12 months. It’s so easy to get caught up in the earnings. What people don’t talk about that often is how much it actually costs to run a YouTube channel.

I’m a small YouTuber and in this post I wanted to share how much it costs to run my channel including a full list of equipment and tools that I use and how much they cost. If you want know what’s the cheapest way of starting a YouTube channel and the most expensive channel I ahve come across, check out the video at the end of this post.

Some links included in this post are affiliate links. If you decide to buy any of the products or services with the link, I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my content! 🙌


#1 Gear & Equipment

This includes all the filming equipment and other tech that I use to create my YouTube videos.

Cameras

I’m only counting one lens here that I am using for all my video and not the lenses that I use for photography only.

Microphones & Audio Equipment

Lights

Tripods & Mounting

I use a number of tripods for different use cases such as vlogging, sit down videos and iPhone videos. On top of that, I also have a number of mounting clamps for mounting lights, mics or cameras to wherever I need them to go.

Computer & Screen

The total cost for gear & equipment is $11,947.


#2 Software & Subscriptions

This includes all the applications and subscriptions I use to edit all my videos, create thumbnails as well research and plan videos for my channel.

Total for subscriptions & software - $2,231


#3 Freelancers

During 2022, I used an editor for about 4-5 videos which was great and I outsourced two video scripts which I didn’t end up using because of poor quality.

Total Freelancers: $682

The total cost of running my YouTube channel - $14,860

$12,267 of this is for gear and digital products that you can consider a one-time investment. If I wouldn’t buy any more gear and just keep paying for software, subscriptions and freelancers, the annual cost of running my channel would be $2,593 which sounds a lot better, doesn’t it. 😅

If I look at the money I made with my channel last year ($419) it still is a massive loss maker. But hey, this is no surprise. I started YouTube as a hobby and I learned so much over the last 2 years of posting videos somewhat consistently. I improved my filmmaking skills and learned a lot about YouTube itself. And I’m sure that if I stick to it and keep uploading videos that are valuable to my audience, the growth will continue and the channel will soon be paying for itself.

Watch the video below to learn more about my YouTuber cost as well as how to start a YouTube channel with no budget and how much one of my favourite YouTuber with over 3.7 million subscribers pays to run his channel.

Take care ✌️