YouTube Hype lets signed-in viewers give points to a long-form video during its first 7 days, and the videos with the most points each week appear on a leaderboard for each country. YouTube's hype eligibility page limits it to Partner Program channels with 500 to 500,000 subscribers in the countries it lists, and its viewer help page says smaller channels receive more bonus points per hype, so a fan's hype is worth far more to a channel near the bottom of that range.
Hype is a discovery tool, not a payment or a ranking signal YouTube promises to reward. This guide sets out who qualifies, how points and leaderboards work, where YouTube's own pages disagree, and a first-week plan that asks fans for support without breaking the rules on incentivized engagement. Broader growth planning lives in our YouTube channel growth review system.
Eligibility checklist
Tick every line before you build a launch around hype. The channel conditions and the video exclusions both come from the eligibility page, which says its video list is not exhaustive.
- The channel is in the YouTube Partner Program; the requirements are explained in our guide to YouTube monetization requirements.
- It has between 500 and 500,000 subscribers, per the eligibility page, which adds that channels that grow beyond that range lose access.
- You live in one of the listed countries, which on October 1, 2026 were Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and every European Union member state.
- The video is long-form and public; Shorts, unlisted and private videos cannot be hyped.
- It was published in the last 7 days.
- It is not age-restricted, not made for kids and not misleading, clickbait or sensational; our guide to age-restricted videos explains that label.
- It carries no copyright claims and no YouTube Giving fundraiser.
- It is not a live stream or Premiere that is still live; the archived long-form video can be hyped afterwards.
- In Studio on a computer, Settings, Channel, Advanced settings still has “Let viewers hype my content” ticked, since eligible channels are enrolled automatically.
Partner Program membership is the condition to watch in 2027. The eligibility page asks only that a channel be in the program, without naming a tier. YouTube's Partner Program changes page raises the ads entry thresholds for new creators from February 1, 2027 but leaves the 500-subscriber fan funding entry unchanged, so confirm the Hype setting appears in your Studio rather than assuming. Our summary of the 2027 monetization changes covers who is affected.
How points, bonuses and leaderboards work
Each viewer gets a weekly allowance. The viewer help page says people in hype countries can hype three times a week at no cost, on one video or several, and that the allowance refreshes on Monday at 12:00 a.m. local time. Points land on the video immediately, and a hype cannot be undone.
The small-creator bonus is the heart of the design. YouTube adds bonus points based on the channel's current subscriber count, and the viewer help page gives a worked example: one hype on a channel with 500 subscribers is worth 7,500 points, while one hype on a channel with 500,000 subscribers is worth 50. YouTube's stated aim is that creators of very different sizes all have a chance at the top of the leaderboard.
The leaderboard is local and shared. YouTube's leaderboard page says it is not personalized, shows the same list to everyone in a country, ranks only by hypes from viewers in that country, updates every few minutes, and can be filtered by topic to show up to 50 videos. Viewers find it in the Explore menu under Hype. Videos that rank get a badge in the description showing their position, and the eligibility page says top hyped videos can carry a “Hyped” badge across YouTube for their first 7 days.
What you can and cannot see
- You can see each video's points in its description and its rank badge if it reaches a leaderboard. YouTube's global launch post adds hype and point counts in the YouTube Studio mobile app and a hype card in video analytics.
- You cannot see who hyped a video, and the leaderboard page confirms YouTube does not offer that.
- You cannot hype your own videos, though you can hype other eligible creators.
- Brand Accounts cannot hype as viewers, but a Brand Account channel in the Partner Program can be hyped.
- Fans can publish a post on their own channel after hyping, which spreads the word to their followers.
A first-7-days hype plan
The window is short and the allowance is small, so plan the week before you publish.
- Before publishing: run the eligibility checklist, check the video has no claims, and publish as a regular upload if you want hypes from the first hour, since a Premiere cannot be hyped while it is live.
- Publish day: mention hype once, naturally, in the video or the description, and explain where fans find the option: under the video, or by swiping the comment preview carousel in the mobile app.
- Days two and three: post an update to your community with the video link, and thank people for hyping in general terms, since you cannot see names.
- After the Monday reset: remind fans gently once their weekly hypes have refreshed, if the reset falls inside your window.
- Final day: note that the window closes, then stop asking.
- After day seven: record the points, any rank badge and the topic in your channel notes, so you learn which kinds of uploads your fans rally behind.
What to ask fans
- Hype the video only if they enjoyed it, within its first week.
- Remember they have three hypes a week to share among all the small creators they like.
- Share the post YouTube offers after a hype, and check the leaderboard in Explore.
What never to incentivize
- Prizes, giveaways, shout-outs or discounts in exchange for hypes. YouTube's fake engagement policy prohibits content that exists only to incentivize engagement and treats engagement as illegitimate when its sole purpose is financial gain.
- Hype swaps with other creators, which work like the “sub4sub” deals the policy names.
- Any service or promoter that offers to generate hypes; the policy says a hired promoter's methods count against your channel.
- Pressure on fans to spend money where paid hype exists.
- Clickbait titles or thumbnails, which also make a video ineligible for hype.
Where hype can lead to discovery
YouTube describes hype as a way to help a video get discovered by new audiences, but it never says a hype changes how the video itself is recommended. The routes it does describe are specific. The leaderboard puts ranked videos in front of everyone in a country who opens it. The global launch post adds a “hyped” category viewers can use to filter their Home feed, the “Hyped” badge on videos across YouTube, and notifications telling fans when a video they hyped is close to the leaderboard. Fans' public posts after hyping reach their own followers.
Your most active supporters get something too. The viewer help page describes a Hype Star badge for the viewers who hyped a channel most often in a given month, which they can save or share. You cannot see who hyped, so you can only thank a Hype Star by name if they share the badge themselves; a general thank-you in your community posts is the safer habit. The original announcement also stressed that hyping does not change the hyping viewer's own recommendations or search results, which is worth telling fans who worry about what a hype does to their feed.
Paid hype and Jewels
Free hypes are only part of the picture in some markets. The viewer help page says that in Brazil, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, viewers who hype with Jewels in a video's first seven days can have their handle appear in a recognition section of the description. YouTube's original hype announcement had flagged plans to let fans buy extra hypes as another revenue stream. If paid hype reaches your country, treat it like any fan purchase: mention it, never pressure anyone, and remember many of your viewers may be young.
Where YouTube's hype pages disagree
- Copyright claims. The eligibility page says videos with copyright claims are not eligible. The leaderboard FAQ says only that videos with third-party music claims may not be hyped for a cost, a restriction tested in Brazil and Turkey on Android. Assume the stricter rule and clear claims before launch.
- Leaderboard size. The first announcement described a top 100 for the week; the current leaderboard page describes up to 50 videos per topic filter.
- The subscriber floor. The global launch post speaks of creators with under 500,000 subscribers, while the help pages set a floor of 500 as well. Use the help pages.
Opting out
Hype is on by default for eligible channels. To switch it off, YouTube's manage hype page says to open YouTube Studio on a computer, go to Settings, then Channel, then Advanced settings, and untick “Let viewers hype my content.” The eligibility page adds that the YouTube Studio mobile app also has the option. Some creators may prefer to switch it off if leaderboard competition does not suit their audience; nothing on YouTube's pages suggests opting out affects anything else on the channel.
Hype also pairs with live content: a stream cannot be hyped while it is live, but the eligibility page says its archived long-form video can be hyped afterwards. Our guide to going live on YouTube covers how archives are created.
Limitations of this guide
Hype is still evolving. The country list, point values, leaderboard format and paid options described here reflect YouTube Help and the YouTube Official Blog as checked on October 1, 2026, and YouTube says it may revise its hype policies and remove the option from channels. YouTube publishes no figures on how much traffic a leaderboard place brings, so this guide makes no claim that hype will grow your channel; treat it as a way for existing fans to show support.