YouTube channel simulator
See how fast your YouTube channel would grow, what it would earn and who you'd be up against — month by month for two years — before you give it another year of your life.
Uploads, the algorithm, sponsors and the members who pay. This one opens as The Workshop Channel: A YouTube channel earning from ads, sponsor reads and paying members. Rename it, reprice it, or describe your own YouTube channel and let Nova rewrite it to fit.
What a steady channel ends up with
Played steadily for all two years — quality first, then growth, a fair share of the bank spent each year — a steady channel here ends its last year on $3.4k of revenue and $804 of profit, with 5,180 subscribers and 0.8% of the market (#5 of 5).
It starts from nothing: $20k in the bank and you, 40 hours a week, with no audience yet.
People who play it well do better, and a bad plan runs out of money.
Revenue in the last year: $3.4k
Profit in the last year: $804
Subscribers at the end: 5,180
Share of the market: From nothing to 0.8%
Where it finishes: #5 of 5
Years and decisions: 2 years, monthly
What you'll decide each month
Each month you decide how much goes into each upload, how many sponsor reads to take, what to spend on getting found, and who to hire to help — and, if you like, whether to buy subscribers.
Each decision shows on a forecast before you file it, and every period resolves against the rivals and the economy.
Who your subscribers are
The audience comes first and the money follows it. Most viewers watch once; the subscribers who come back for every upload, and the few who pay, are what make it a living.
800,000 subscribers in all, across English-speaking, Europe, Latin America and South & Southeast Asia.
Casual viewers: They watch what the algorithm serves and rarely come back on purpose. About 440,000 of them, worth $30 a year each.
Regulars: They watch every upload and notice when one is late. About 224,000 of them, worth $60 a year each.
Superfans: Members, merch and the comments section — the people who pay. About 56,000 of them, worth $150 a year each.
Hobbyists learning: They came for one how-to and stay if the next one is as useful. About 80,000 of them, worth $72 a year each.
Who you're up against
Three rivals are already in it, and they play to win: they cut prices, spend on marketing and answer what you do. Most of the market is theirs on day one.
The giant generalist channel: The biggest, and slow to change — it has stopped listening to its smaller customers. Holds about 30% of the market.
The daily upload machine: Wins on price and little else; its customers leave the moment somebody is better. Holds about 18% of the market.
The polished newcomer: Clever and quick, but stretched thin and hard to get hold of. Holds about 8% of the market.
How it works
Free until you start: building and previewing cost nothing, and starting is $10, once.
Build it — free: Press build and you get your own copy of this market: four kinds of subscriber, three rivals and four territories.
Make it yours: Change any number, describe your YouTube channel in a sentence or two and let Nova fill it in, or upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history to fit it to your real figures.
Preview — free: See what a steady channel ends up with, and every warning worth reading, before you pay anything.
Start — $10: Pay once to start, your seat included. Then run it month by month for two years.
Also for
youtube · video · vlog · youtuber · content creator
How much does the YouTube channel simulator cost?
Building and previewing are free: make your own copy of this YouTube channel market, change anything in it and see what a steady channel ends up with without paying. Starting the simulation is $10, once, and your own seat is included.
Can I make it match my own YouTube channel?
Yes. Every number can be changed — the subscribers and what they pay, the rivals, the territories, the costs and the starting cash. Or describe your YouTube channel in a sentence or two and Nova, SparkTower's AI, fills every section in for one Nova action. If you already trade, upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history and the simulation is fitted to your real numbers, starting from where your business stands today.
Are the numbers realistic for a YouTube channel?
The template is checked against what real ones do: played steadily, a believable one finishes year two turning over between $1k and $40k, with between 1,000 and 60,000 subscribers. This one's preview comes to about $3.4k and 5,180. Your own prices, costs and figures change that, which is the point of trying it here first.
Does it count subscribers or money?
Both, in that order. Subscribers grow with every upload you make and every one you skip, and the money follows them: ads, sponsors and the subscribers who pay. You decide how much goes into each upload and how many sponsors to take.
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