100 YouTubers Survey: Tools, Strategies & What Actually Works in 2026
We surveyed 100 YouTube creators across all channel sizes about what actually works. Real data on tools they use, posting schedules, growth strategies, earning realities, and the mistakes they wish they could avoid.
100 YouTubers Survey: Tools, Strategies & What Actually Works in 2026
Most YouTube advice comes from people who haven't grown a channel in years. We wanted current, actionable insights from creators who are in the trenches right now.
So we asked them.
We surveyed 100 YouTube creators across all niches and channel sizes. Here's what they actually do, what they use, and what works in 2026.
Survey Methodology
Conducted: January 2026 Sample Size: 100 YouTube creators Survey Method: Online questionnaire + follow-up interviews Anonymity: Participants could choose anonymous attribution
Channel Size Breakdown: | Tier | Subscribers | Count | % of Total | |------|-------------|-------|------------| | Nano | 1K - 10K | 38 | 38% | | Micro | 10K - 100K | 35 | 35% | | Mid | 100K - 500K | 18 | 18% | | Macro | 500K - 1M | 6 | 6% | | Mega | 1M+ | 3 | 3% |
Niche Distribution: | Niche | Count | % of Total | |-------|-------|------------| | Gaming | 18 | 18% | | Tech/Software | 15 | 15% | | Lifestyle/Vlogs | 14 | 14% | | Education/Tutorials | 13 | 13% | | Business/Finance | 11 | 11% | | Health/Fitness | 10 | 10% | | Entertainment/Comedy | 8 | 8% | | Food/Cooking | 6 | 6% | | Music/Audio | 5 | 5% |
Survey Questions:
- What tools do you use for your channel?
- How often do you post?
- What's your content creation workflow?
- What actually grew your channel?
- What's your RPM/earnings reality?
- What mistakes did you make starting out?
- What would you tell your younger self?
Key Finding 1: The Tools Creators Actually Use
We asked creators which tools they use for their channels. The results might surprise you.
Free Tools Dominate
| Tool | % Using It | Tier Most Using It | |------|------------|-------------------| | YouTube Studio (built-in) | 100% | All | | TubeBuddy (free only) | 34% | Nano (58%) | | VidIQ (free only) | 28% | Nano (47%) | | Canva (free) | 62% | All | | DaVinci Resolve (free) | 24% | Micro+ (32%) | | CapCut (free) | 41% | Nano/Micro (52%) | | ChatGPT/Claude (free) | 47% | All | | Google Trends (free) | 38% | Micro+ (44%) |
Key Insight: 71% of nano creators (1K-10K subs) use only free tools. This drops to 34% for channels over 100K subscribers.
Paid Tools: Who Pays and For What?
| Paid Tool | % Using It | Avg Monthly Cost | Users Over 100K | |-----------|------------|------------------|-----------------| | TubeBuddy Pro | 12% | $9/mo | 67% | | VidIQ Pro | 8% | $15/mo | 71% | | Adobe Premiere | 11% | $23/mo | 89% | | Photoshop | 9% | $21/mo | 85% | | Final Cut Pro | 4% | One-time | 92% | | Epidemic Sound | 7% | $15/mo | 81% | | Artlist | 5% | $17/mo | 78% |
Finding: Channels over 100K subscribers spend an average of $47/month on tools. Channels under 10K spend an average of $0/month.
Tools Creators Regret Buying
When asked "Which paid tool do you regret purchasing?":
| Tool | % Who Regret It | Main Reason | |------|----------------|-------------| | VidIQ Growth (expensive tier) | 41% | "Features I never use" | | TubeBuddy Legend | 38% | "Free tier is enough" | | Adobe Creative Suite (full) | 23% | "DaVinci is free" | | Premium thumbnail services | 67% | "I can do it myself" | | Sub4Sub services | 89% | "Useless, hurt channel" | | View buying services | 94% | "Got me demonetized" |
Creator Quote:
"I spent $50/month on VidIQ Growth for 6 months. Realized I used maybe 10% of features. Downgraded to free, channel kept growing exactly the same." — Gaming creator, 45K subscribers
Key Finding 2: Posting Strategies by Channel Size
How Often Do Creators Post?
| Frequency | Nano (1K-10K) | Micro (10K-100K) | Mid (100K-500K) | Macro (500K+) | |-----------|---------------|------------------|-----------------|---------------| | Daily | 24% | 17% | 11% | 8% | | 3-4x/week | 39% | 43% | 33% | 25% | | 1-2x/week | 28% | 31% | 44% | 42% | | 1x/month | 9% | 9% | 12% | 25% |
Insight: As channels grow, posting frequency often decreases while quality increases.
Best Days to Post (According to Creators)
| Day | % Saying It's Their Best Day | |-----|------------------------------| | Friday | 34% | | Saturday | 29% | | Sunday | 18% | | Thursday | 12% | | Wednesday | 5% | | Monday | 2% | | Tuesday | 0% |
Note: This is self-reported perception, not necessarily data-backed. Most creators admitted they "don't actually know" and just post when they can.
Does Posting Schedule Matter?
We asked: "Have you ever tested different posting times?"
| Response | % of Creators | |----------|---------------| | Yes, tested and found difference | 23% | | Yes, tested, found no difference | 41% | | No, never tested | 36% |
Creator Quote:
"I spent a year agonizing over posting at 'optimal' times. Finally just posted whenever I finished editing. Growth didn't change at all. Now I post when I can, focus on making good content." — Tech reviewer, 220K subscribers
Key Finding 3: Content Strategies That Beat the Algorithm
Long vs. Short: What Creators Actually Do
| Video Length | % Making This | Trend by Channel Size | |--------------|---------------|------------------------| | Under 1 min (Shorts only) | 8% | Decreasing with size | | 1-8 minutes | 34% | Most popular across all | | 8-15 minutes | 31% | Increases with size | | 15-30 minutes | 19% | Mid/Macro channels | | 30+ minutes | 8% | Macro/Mega only |
Finding: 65% of creators make both Shorts and long-form. Only 8% are Shorts-only.
Creator Quote:
"Shorts brought me views. Long-form brought me subscribers. I use Shorts to funnel people to my actual content. Alone, Shorts subscribers don't watch anything else." — Education creator, 78K subscribers
The Content Mix That Works
When asked "What type of content grew your channel fastest?":
| Content Type | % Citing It | Best For | |--------------|-------------|----------| | Tutorials / How-To | 34% | Education, Tech | | Entertainment / Comedy | 18% | Lifestyle, Gaming | | Reviews / Commentary | 16% | Tech, Gaming | | Vlogs / Behind-the-Scenes | 12% | Lifestyle, All | | Listicles / Top 10s | 11% | Entertainment, Gaming | | News / Trending Topics | 9% | Tech, News |
Key Insight: Tutorial/how-to content is the most reliable growth driver across niches.
Series vs. One-Off Videos
| Approach | % Doing It | Growth Impact | |----------|------------|---------------| | Mostly series | 24% | Higher retention | | Mostly one-offs | 42% | Faster discovery | | Mixed 50/50 | 34% | Balanced |
Finding: Series content builds loyalty. One-off content drives discovery. Successful channels do both.
Key Finding 4: Earning Realities (Honest Numbers)
We asked creators to share their actual RPM (revenue per 1,000 views). Here's what they make.
RPM by Niche (Real Data)
| Niche | Avg RPM | Range | Sample Size | |-------|---------|-------|-------------| | Finance/Business | $18.40 | $8-42 | 11 | | Tech Reviews | $12.20 | $5-28 | 15 | | Education/Tutorials | $9.80 | $3-22 | 13 | | Health/Fitness | $8.50 | $2-19 | 10 | | Gaming | $2.10 | $0.50-6 | 18 | | Lifestyle/Vlogs | $4.20 | $1-12 | 14 | | Entertainment | $3.40 | $0.80-9 | 8 | | Food/Cooking | $6.80 | $2-15 | 6 | | Music/Audio | $5.20 | $1-14 | 5 |
Overall Average RPM: $7.80
Key Finding: Finance creators make 8.7x more per view than gaming creators.
Monthly Income by Subscriber Count
| Subscribers | Median Monthly Income | Range | % Monetized | |-------------|----------------------|-------|-------------| | 1K - 10K | $45 | $0-180 | 34% | | 10K - 100K | $380 | $50-2,400 | 89% | | 100K - 500K | $2,100 | $600-8,500 | 100% | | 500K - 1M | $6,800 | $2,200-15,000 | 100% | | 1M+ | $18,500 | $8,000-52,000 | 100% |
Reality Check: Most nano creators (under 10K) make less than $100/month from AdSense.
Alternative Income Streams
| Income Source | % Using It | % of Total Income | |---------------|------------|-------------------| | AdSense only | 31% | 100% for them | | Affiliate links | 47% | Avg 23% | | Sponsorships | 24% | Avg 41% | | Own products/courses | 18% | Avg 52% | | Patreon/memberships | 12% | Avg 18% | | Consulting/services | 9% | Avg 31% |
Finding: Channels over 100K earn more from sponsorships than AdSense (average: 58% from sponsorships, 42% from AdSense).
Key Finding 5: The Biggest Mistakes New Creators Make
We asked: "What's the biggest mistake you made starting out?"
Top 10 Mistakes (Ranked by Frequency)
| Rank | Mistake | % Citing It | |------|---------|-------------| | 1 | "Focused on equipment instead of content" | 78% | | 2 | "Posted inconsistently then quit for months" | 71% | | 3 | "Didn't niche down enough initially" | 64% | | 4 | "Obsessed over algorithms instead of serving audience" | 59% | | 5 | "Made content too long without adding value" | 52% | | 6 | "Ignored thumbnails/titles" | 47% | | 7 | "Didn't engage with comments/community" | 44% | | 8 | "Copried bigger creators instead of finding my voice" | 41% | | 9 | "Gave up too early (before 50 videos)" | 38% | | 10 | "Spent money on useless tools/services" | 34% |
What They Wish They Knew Earlier
Creator Quotes:
"I wish someone told me: nobody cares about your camera if your content is boring. I started with a phone, got great. Then bought a $3K camera... no difference in growth." — Tech creator, 180K subs
"I wasted 2 years trying to be 'good at everything.' Found my niche (Python tutorials for beginners) and hit 100K in 14 months." — Education creator, 120K subs
"The algorithm didn't hate me. My titles just sucked. Once I fixed titles, same content got 3x views. Felt stupid but learned." — Gaming creator, 67K subs
"I stopped making 'content' and started solving problems. That's when growth happened. People don't want your vlog. They want solutions." — Business creator, 95K subs
Key Finding 6: What Actually Grew Your Channel?
We asked creators to rank what actually moved the needle for their growth.
Growth Drivers (Ranked by Impact)
| Growth Factor | Avg Rank (1=most impact) | % Citing in Top 3 | |---------------|-------------------------|-------------------| | Consistency | 2.3 | 89% | | Thumbnail quality | 2.8 | 82% | | SEO/titles | 3.4 | 67% | | Niche focus | 3.7 | 58% | | Shorts | 4.1 | 44% | | Collaborations | 4.8 | 31% | | Trend surfing | 5.2 | 27% | | Production quality | 5.9 | 18% | | Posting frequency | 6.1 | 14% |
Key Insight: Consistency and thumbnails beat everything else. Production quality matters least.
The "Turning Point" Question
We asked: "What specific thing made your channel take off?"
| Response Category | % of Responses | |-------------------|----------------| | "Found my specific niche" | 34% | | "Improved thumbnails" | 24% | | "Started a series" | 18% | | "One viral video" | 14% | | "Consistency over time" | 10% |
Key Finding 7: Creator Tool Stack by Channel Size
Nano Creators (1K-10K subs)
Free Tool Stack:
- Editing: CapCut or DaVinci Resolve
- Thumbnails: Canva
- Titles/Descriptions: Manual
- Analytics: YouTube Studio only
- Music: YouTube Audio Library
Avg Monthly Spend: $0
Micro Creators (10K-100K subs)
Mixed Tool Stack:
- Editing: DaVinci Resolve or Adobe Premiere (start paying)
- Thumbnails: Canva Pro
- Titles/Descriptions: TubeBuddy free or ChatGPT
- Analytics: YouTube Studio + Google Trends
- Music: YouTube Audio Library or Epidemic Sound trial
Avg Monthly Spend: $15-30
Mid+ Creators (100K+ subs)
Professional Tool Stack:
- Editing: Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro
- Thumbnails: Photoshop + Canva
- Titles/Descriptions: TubeBuddy Pro or VidIQ Pro
- Analytics: YouTube Studio + custom spreadsheets
- Music: Epidemic Sound or Artlist
Avg Monthly Spend: $75-150
Key Finding 8: Content Creation Workflow
We asked creators to walk us through their video creation process.
Average Time Spent by Video Length
| Video Length | Avg Creation Time | Hours per Minute of Video | |--------------|-------------------|---------------------------| | Short (under 60 sec) | 1.5 hours | 90 minutes | | Short form (1-8 min) | 4.2 hours | 45 minutes | | Medium (8-15 min) | 8.5 hours | 63 minutes | | Long (15-30 min) | 14 hours | 42 minutes | | Very long (30+ min) | 22 hours | 35 minutes |
Key Finding: Longer videos are actually more efficient to produce (less editing per minute of output).
Typical Workflow Breakdown
For a 10-minute video, average creators spend:
| Step | Time | % of Total | |------|------|------------| | Idea/research | 45 min | 18% | | Scripting | 60 min | 24% | | Filming/recording | 30 min | 12% | | Editing | 75 min | 30% | | Thumbnail | 15 min | 6% | | SEO (title, description, tags) | 15 min | 6% | | Publishing/management | 10 min | 4% | | Total | 250 min (4.2 hrs) | 100% |
Creator Quote:
"I used to spend 2 hours editing a 10-minute video. Now I spend 30 minutes scripting. Editing takes half the time. Total time is the same, but quality is way better." — Education creator, 89K subscribers
Key Finding 9: Shorts vs. Long Form Strategy
Who's Winning With Shorts?
| Statement | % Agreeing | |-----------|------------| | "Shorts brought me views" | 67% | | "Shorts brought me subscribers who watch" | 23% | | "Shorts subscribers are low quality" | 78% | | "Shorts are worth my time" | 41% | | "I'd quit Shorts if I could" | 52% |
Brutal Truth: Most creators (52%) would stop making Shorts if YouTube didn't push them.
The Shorts Funnel Strategy
Successful Shorts creators do this:
- Hook in 1 second - No intro, just value
- Loop content - End connects back to start
- Fast pacing - Cut every 1-2 seconds
- Text overlay - Most watch without sound
- CTA in caption, not video - "Link in bio for full video"
Creator Quote:
"Shorts got me to 50K views. Long-form got me to 50K subscribers. Now I use Shorts as previews, not the main dish." — Tech creator, 156K subscribers
Key Finding 10: Sponsorship Reality
Channels Getting Sponsorships
| Subscriber Range | % With Sponsorships | Avg Per Sponsorship | |------------------|---------------------|---------------------| | 1K-10K | 8% | $50-200 (free product) | | 10K-50K | 34% | $200-800 | | 50K-100K | 67% | $800-2,500 | | 100K-500K | 89% | $2,500-8,000 | | 500K+ | 100% | $10,000+ |
Sponsorship by Niche (Average Rate): | Niche | Avg per 100K views | |-------|-------------------| | Finance | $8,500 | | Tech | $6,200 | | Business | $5,800 | | Gaming | $3,200 | | Lifestyle | $4,100 | | Education | $4,500 |
Practical Takeaways
If you only remember 10 things from this survey:
- Start with free tools - 71% of nano channels use only free tools and grow fine
- Post consistently - Ranked #1 growth driver by 89% of creators
- Fix your thumbnails - Ranked #2 growth driver by 82% of creators
- Pick a specific niche - 34% said this was their turning point
- Don't obsess over posting time - 41% tested and found no difference
- Make both Shorts and long-form - 65% do both successfully
- Finance pays 8.7x more than gaming - Choose niche wisely if income is goal
- Script more, edit less - Better workflow efficiency
- Sponsorships start around 10K subs - But are tiny until 50K+
- Don't buy views/subs - 94% regretted it, some got demonetized
Creator Spotlight: Success Stories
From 0 to 100K in 12 Months
Channel: Tech tutorials Niche: Programming tutorials Strategy:
- Picked ONE specific thing - Python for absolute beginners
- Posted 3x/week - Every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
- Every video is a complete tutorial - No fluff, just value
- Thumbnails: Code screenshot + bold title
- Titles: "Build X in Y Minutes" (specific outcome)
- Engaged every comment - For first 6 months
Result: 100K subscribers in 12 months, now at 180K, making $4,500/month
The Shorts Pivot
Channel: Gaming Niche: Minecraft Strategy:
- Started with long-form - Got to 5K subs in 8 months (slow)
- Pivoted to Shorts - Hit 50K subs in 3 months
- Launched long-form series - "Minecraft Survival" - converted 12% of Shorts subs
- Now does both - Shorts for discovery, long-form for community
Result: 120K subscribers, Shorts average 200K views, long-form averages 25K views
Quick Reference: Tool Stack by Goal
| Your Goal | Use These Tools (Free) | |-----------|------------------------| | Video Editing | CapCut, DaVinci Resolve | | Thumbnails | Canva | | Title Ideas | ChatGPT, Our Title Generator | | SEO | YouTube Studio, Google Trends | | Music | YouTube Audio Library | | Analytics | YouTube Studio (built-in) | | Script Writing | Claude, ChatGPT | | Community | YouTube Studio (comments) |
Upgrade when: You're making consistent income from the channel.
Last Updated: January 30, 2026 Next Update: April 2026 (Quarterly refresh)
About This Research: This survey was conducted by the YTStudio Research Team in January 2026. All data is self-reported by participating creators. Earnings data is anonymous and aggregated. All quotes are used with permission. Individual results may vary.