Google just said YouTube made over $60 billion in 2025. This shows how important YouTube is becoming, especially as Google tries to get more people to pay for subscriptions.
The figure combines advertising revenue and income from paid services such as YouTube Premium and YouTube Music. It also marks the first time Google has publicly highlighted YouTube’s annual revenue as a standalone number since acquiring the platform in 2006. The total comfortably surpasses Netflix’s $45 billion revenue for the same year.
Analysts say the milestone reflects YouTube’s near-ubiquitous role in digital life. Hanna Kahlert, a senior analyst at Midia Research, said the platform has become “almost infrastructural,” with more than 70% of global users accessing YouTube weekly and over half using it daily. She added that YouTube’s mix of advertising and subscription models allows it to monetize its massive audience more effectively than most streaming rivals.
While YouTube’s advertising revenue in the final quarter of 2025 came in slightly below expectations, Google CEO Sundar Pichai described the year as a strong one overall. He said YouTube Premium helped lift total paid subscriptions across Google’s consumer services to more than 325 million, though the company does not disclose YouTube’s subscriber numbers separately.
Google executives pointed to growing demand for subscriptions, supported by new lower-priced tiers for YouTube Premium and YouTube TV. The company has also introduced features that encourage users to upgrade, such as limiting background video playback on smartphones to Premium subscribers.
At the same time, YouTube Shorts continues to drive engagement, averaging more than 200 billion daily views. Industry observers say the platform now competes directly with traditional broadcasters and streamers, blurring the line between user-generated content and mainstream television.
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