YouTube Growth Tools: What 100 Creators Actually Use

What tools do successful YouTube creators actually use? We surveyed 100 creators across all channel sizes to find out.

The results might surprise you.

Methodology

Survey Size: 100 YouTube creators Channel Size Breakdown:

• 38 nano creators (1K-10K subs)
• 35 micro creators (10K-100K subs)
• 18 mid-tier creators (100K-500K subs)
• 6 macro creators (500K-1M subs)
• 3 mega creators (1M+ subs)

Question: "What tools do you use for your YouTube channel?"

The Big Picture: Free Tools Dominate

Free vs. Paid Tool Usage

Key Finding: Most creators use free tools for most tasks. Paid tools become more common as channels grow past 100K subscribers.

Tool Stack by Channel Size

Nano Creators (1K-10K Subscribers) - The Free Stack

Video Editing:

• CapCut (58%) - Free, mobile-friendly
• DaVinci Resolve (34%) - Free, professional features
• iMovie (18%) - Mac only, simple
• VN Editor (12%) - Mobile, basic

Thumbnails:

• Canva (71%) - Free tier sufficient
• Remove.bg (24%) - Background removal
• Figma (8%) - Design tool
• Photoshop (3%) - Some with Creative Cloud subscription

Titles/Descriptions:

• Manual (89%) - No tools, just writing
• ChatGPT (7%) - AI assistance
• TubeBuddy free tier (4%)

Analytics:

• YouTube Studio (100%) - Built-in is enough

Music:

• YouTube Audio Library (78%) - Free, no copyright issues
• Epidemic Sound trial (12%) - Cancel before paying
• Artlist trial (8%) - Same strategy

Average Monthly Spend: $0

Micro Creators (10K-100K Subscribers) - The Mixed Stack

Video Editing:

• DaVinci Resolve (42%) - Still mostly free
• CapCut (38%) - Mobile + desktop
• Adobe Premiere (18%) - Starting to pay
• Final Cut Pro (8%) - Mac users, one-time purchase

Thumbnails:

• Canva Pro (45%) - Now paying
• Canva free (32%) - Some still on free
• Photoshop (12%) - Professional tier
• Figma (8%) - Design

Titles/Descriptions:

• TubeBuddy free (28%) - Using free features
• VidIQ free (18%) - Basic SEO
• Manual (47%) - Still many do it manually
• ChatGPT (7%) - Growing AI adoption

Analytics:

• YouTube Studio + Google Sheets (52%)
• TubeBuddy Pro (15%)
• VidIQ Pro (12%)
• Social Blade (8%)

Music:

• YouTube Audio Library (65%)
• Epidemic Sound (18%) - Now paying
• Artlist (8%) - Paying
• Musicbed (4%) - Some paying

Average Monthly Spend: $15-30

Mid+ Creators (100K+ Subscribers) - The Pro Stack

Video Editing:

• Adobe Premiere Pro (45%) - Industry standard
• DaVinci Resolve (28%) - Still using free
• Final Cut Pro (18%) - Mac loyalty
• CapCut (9%) - Quick edits

Thumbnails:

• Photoshop (41%) - Professional standard
• Canva Pro (35%) - Quick designs
• Illustrator (12%) - Vector work
• Figma (8%) - Team collaboration

Titles/Descriptions:

• TubeBuddy Pro (35%) - Full SEO suite
• VidIQ Pro (28%) - Competitor tracking
• Custom tools (12%) - Built internally
• Manual/ChatGPT (25%)

Analytics:

• YouTube Studio + custom dashboards (42%)
• TubeBuddy Pro (22%)
• VidIQ Pro (18%) -第三方 analytics tools (12%)

Music:

• Epidemic Sound (35%) - Most popular paid option
• Artlist (22%)
• Musicbed (12%)
• YouTube Audio Library (24%) - Still use free too

Average Monthly Spend: $75-150

Individual Tool Breakdown

Video Editing Tools

Recommendation: Start with CapCut or DaVinci Resolve (both free). Upgrade only when you hit specific limitations.

Thumbnail Tools

Recommendation: Canva free tier handles 90% of thumbnail needs. Upgrade to Pro when you need brand kits or advanced features.

SEO/Title Optimization Tools

Insight: Most successful creators optimize titles manually or with ChatGPT. TubeBuddy/VidIQ help but aren't essential.

Tools Creators Regret Buying

Most Regretted Purchases

Key Finding: 94% of creators who bought views/subs regretted it. Many got demonetized as a result.

Tools by Category: What Actually Works

For Growing Faster

For Saving Time

The "Must-Have" Tools

Minimum Viable Tool Stack

If you're starting today, this is all you need:

Essential (Free):

• ✅ Editing: CapCut or DaVinci Resolve
• ✅ Thumbnails: Canva free tier
• ✅ Analytics: YouTube Studio (built-in)
• ✅ Music: YouTube Audio Library
• ✅ Ideas: AnswerThePublic, Google Trends

Optional (Free or Low Cost):

• ⭐ ChatGPT (free) - Title/description assistance
• ⭐ TubeBuddy (free) - Changelog feature
• ⭐ Remove.bg (free) - Background removal
• ⭐ Google Trends (free) - Topic research

Total Cost: $0/month

When to Upgrade Tools

Upgrade Signals by Tool Category

Video Editing - Upgrade When:

• ❌ Free software can't handle your workflow
• ❌ You need specific features (multi-cam, advanced color)
• ❌ Client requirements force specific software
• ✅ Otherwise: Stay with free

Thumbnails - Upgrade When:

• ❌ Canva free doesn't have templates you need
• ❌ You need brand kit integration
• ❌ Team collaboration required
• ✅ Otherwise: Canva free is fine

SEO Tools - Upgrade When:

• ❌ You're managing multiple channels
• ❌ Competitor tracking is essential
• ❌ You've outgrown YouTube Studio analytics
• ✅ Otherwise: Manual + ChatGPT works great

Tool ROI by Channel Size

When Do Tools Pay Off?

At 1K Subscribers:

• Tool spend: $0/month
• Revenue: ~$10-50/month
• ROI: Keep it free

At 10K Subscribers:

• Tool spend: $15-30/month
• Revenue: ~$200-500/month
• ROI: 3-10% of revenue - acceptable

At 100K Subscribers:

• Tool spend: $75-150/month
• Revenue: ~$2,000-8,000/month
• ROI: <5% of revenue - definitely worth it

Insight: Don't invest in paid tools until you're earning enough to justify it.

AI Tools: The New Wave

AI Tool Adoption (2026)

Creator Quote:

"I use ChatGPT for every title now. Not to copy-paste, but to generate 10 ideas, then I pick the best and customize it. CTR went up because I'm not defaulting to the first idea anymore." — Tech creator, 45K subscribers

Quick Recommendations

By Goal

Related Resources

• Full 100 YouTubers Survey - Complete survey data
• Thumbnail Maker - Free thumbnail creation
• Title Generator - Free title optimization

Last Updated: January 31, 2026 Data based on survey of 100 YouTube creators about their tool usage