YouTube Creator Partnerships 2026: Deals at 500 Subs

The short answer: you no longer need 25,000 subscribers to get into YouTube’s brand-deal marketplace

In late March 2026, YouTube folded BrandConnect into YouTube Creator Partnerships, a brand-deal hub that lives inside YouTube Studio’s Earn tab. The old rule that kept most creators out — 25,000 subscribers or more — is gone. The current eligibility list, per YouTube’s own help page, is short: be in the YouTube Partner Program, be 18 or older, be based in a supported country, and have no active Community Guidelines strikes. That is the whole gate.

That matters because of where Creator Partnerships sits in the Partner Program’s tiers. YouTube’s Partner Program changes page groups Creator Partnerships with the products that open at the 500-subscriber fan-funding tier — 500 subscribers plus either 3,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months or 3 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days — and says its eligibility does not change on February 1, 2027, when the ad-revenue bar doubles. So a channel that just cleared the lower tier can now be discoverable to brands in the same searchable pool as far bigger channels. Discovery is not a deal, though, and this article is honest about that gap: being searchable is the starting line, not the finish line.

What BrandConnect was, and what actually changed

BrandConnect started life as FameBit, which Google bought in 2016, and launched as BrandConnect in 2020 as a US-only program for channels with 25,000 or more subscribers. For six years that single number did most of the filtering. If you were under it, YouTube’s official brand-deal pipeline simply was not open to you, and your only routes were cold pitching brands yourself or signing up with third-party influencer platforms.

Creator Partnerships, announced March 23, 2026, rebuilt that pipeline inside YouTube Studio for creators and inside Google Ads for advertisers. Brands can now search creators, see channel data, send inquiries into Studio, link a creator’s video to their Google Ads account to measure it, and pay to boost that video as an ad. Since June 2026, brand-side creator search has had no minimum spend requirement, which is a quiet but important change for small businesses: a local company does not need a big ad budget to find you.

Here is the change in one table:

One honest caveat before you get excited: the help page itself lists no subscriber number, and one regional version of the page describes eligibility in terms of revenue sharing from ads. The practical check is not a blog post — it is your own Studio. Open Studio, go to Earn, and look for the Creator Partnerships tab. If it is there, you are in. If it is not, the tab’s absence is your answer, and the fix is usually one of the four eligibility items above, most commonly a strike or a country that is not yet supported.

Who qualifies, exactly

YouTube’s help page lists four requirements for the Creator Partnerships tab:

1. You are at least 18 years old. Brand deals are commercial contracts, and this one is not negotiable.
2. You are in the YouTube Partner Program. This is the real gate now, and it has two tiers that people constantly mix up.
3. You are based in a supported country or region. YouTube’s help page lists 24 countries and regions, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and the major Western European markets. Launch coverage counted seven markets at the March rollout, so the list has grown since — check the current list rather than trusting a March article.
4. You have no active Community Guidelines strikes. A strike does not just hurt reach; it can lock you out of this tab entirely.

The Partner Program tier question deserves a clear answer, because it decides whether a 600-subscriber channel qualifies. The lower tier — fan funding and Shopping — opens at 500 subscribers, with 3 public uploads in the last 90 days and either 3,000 qualified watch hours in 12 months or 3 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days. The full tier — ad revenue and YouTube Premium revenue — needs 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 qualified watch hours or 10 million qualified Shorts views, and from February 1, 2027, new applicants for that tier will need 8,000 hours or 20 million Shorts views instead. Creator Partnerships is grouped with the lower tier’s products, and YouTube says there are no changes to its eligibility on February 1, 2027. So yes: a channel at the 500-subscriber tier can qualify, even though it cannot yet earn ad revenue. That is the single most useful sentence in this article for a small creator, and it is also the one most older guides get wrong, because they still quote the 25,000 number.

The setup checklist: turn discovery on, then make yourself findable

Eligibility alone does not bring inquiries. YouTube says all eligible Partner Program creators are discoverable to brands, but the creators who get found are the ones who finish the setup. Work through this list in order:

1. Confirm the tab exists in your Studio

Go to YouTube Studio, open the Earn section, and look for the Creator Partnerships tab. If you do not see it, stop and check the four eligibility items above before you do anything else. No amount of media-kit polishing fixes a missing tab.

2. Opt in to channel insights sharing

YouTube recommends opting in to share channel insights so advertisers see fuller data about your channel. You are still discoverable without it, but you are discoverable with less information — and a brand choosing between two similar channels will pick the one whose audience data it can actually see. This is the one toggle most small creators skip, and it is the cheapest advantage available.

3. Set your desired rates

The tab lets you set suggested prices for long-form video and Shorts partnerships. Set them even if you are guessing at first (the pricing section below gives you a framework). A blank rate field tells a brand you have not thought about money, and brands do not enjoy being the first person to name a number — they enjoy it, actually, because it usually works out in their favor. Name your number first.

4. Add a business contact email

You can set a business manager or talent agent email that gets copied on every inquiry. Even if that “manager” is just a second inbox you check daily, use a dedicated address rather than your personal email. It also stops inquiries from drowning in your main inbox, which is where most missed deals go to die.

5. Build the media kit inside the tab

Creator Partnerships includes a customizable media kit with audience insights tailored to your channel. Fill it in with the numbers brands actually ask for: your niche in one line, your average views per video over the last 90 days (not your best video ever), your audience’s top countries and age ranges, and two or three past brand mentions — even unpaid ones — that show you can talk about a product without sounding like an ad read. A media kit with your lifetime subscriber count and nothing else is a missed opportunity.

6. Know how to opt out

If you would rather not be found, YouTube’s help page explains the opt-out: email youtube-brandconnect-opt-out@google.com to request removal from search recommendations and brand-deal outreach. The old BrandConnect name survives in that address, which is a useful reminder that this is a rebrand, not a brand-new program with brand-new rules. Keep the address somewhere safe; you may want it later if inquiries start arriving for products you do not want to promote.

How to price your first deal without guessing blindly

YouTube does not set your price, take a cut of the negotiation, or guarantee you a deal. The price is between you and the brand, which is freeing and terrifying in equal measure. Here is a framework that keeps you honest and keeps the math visible.

Start with your average views, not your subscriber count. Brands pay for views, and a 5,000-subscriber channel whose videos average 20,000 views is worth more than a 50,000-subscriber channel whose videos average 3,000. Take your last 10 videos, drop the highest and the lowest, and average the rest. That is your working number.

Then run the worked example. These are illustrative rates for the math, not rates YouTube publishes — your niche changes everything, and a finance or business audience commands more than a general entertainment audience:

• A channel averaging 10,000 views per video, pricing a dedicated integration at an illustrative $30 per 1,000 views, lands at $300 for the video.
• The same channel averaging 25,000 views lands at $750.
• A Shorts integration, which is shorter and usually less work, often prices at roughly half the long-form rate for the same audience — $150 and $375 in those two examples.

Now add the three things beginners forget to charge for. First, usage rights: if the brand wants to run your video as a paid ad (Creator Partnerships boost lets them do exactly that from your content), that is a separate fee, commonly 50 to 100 percent on top for a defined period, because an ad impression is worth more than an organic one. Second, exclusivity: if they want you to avoid competitors for 30, 60, or 90 days, that costs them, because it costs you other deals. Third, revisions and timelines: one revision round and a clear delivery date in writing protect both sides, and a rush fee for a 48-hour turnaround is standard, not rude.

Finally, write the floor down before any call. Decide the lowest number you will accept for a 60-second integration, a dedicated video, and a Short, and do not negotiate below it on a live call. The most common beginner mistake is not overpricing — it is accepting the first number a brand offers because the attention feels flattering. Attention is not payment.

The reality check: no deal is guaranteed

This is the part the breathless coverage skips. Being in the searchable pool puts you in front of brands; it does not put money in your account. Brands search by niche, audience geography, and past performance, and a small channel in a narrow niche — say, woodworking tools, budget travel in one city, or a specific software workflow — will often beat a bigger generalist channel because the brand’s customer is obvious. A general “lifestyle” channel with no clear audience is hard to buy even when it is easy to find.

There is also a timing trap worth naming. The February 1, 2027 doubling of the ad-revenue bar will push more creators toward the 500-subscriber tier and toward brand deals as an earlier income source. That is good for you if you set up now, because you will be findable and priced while others are still learning the tab exists. It also means more competition in the pool by next spring. Setting up in November 2026, while the change is still fresh, is the advantage — not the subscriber count.

And a disclosure warning that is not optional: sponsored content must be disclosed, in the video itself and with YouTube’s paid-promotion label. The FTC’s endorsement rules apply to you at 600 subscribers exactly as they apply at 6 million. A brand that asks you to hide a sponsorship is a brand to walk away from, and Creator Partnerships’ own tools assume disclosure is part of the deal.

What to do this week

If you are in the Partner Program already, open Studio today and check for the tab, turn on insights sharing, and set your rates and business contact. If you are not yet in the program, your fastest path to brand deals is the 500-subscriber tier: 500 subscribers, 3 public uploads in 90 days, and 3,000 watch hours or 3 million Shorts views. That is a smaller mountain than the old 25,000-subscriber wall, and unlike ad revenue, it does not get harder on February 1, 2027.

If you are already earning ad revenue and have never opened the tab, you may have been discoverable for months without knowing it. Check your inquiries — there is a real chance a brand has already knocked and you never heard it, because the knock arrived in a tab you never opened.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need 25,000 subscribers for YouTube Creator Partnerships?

No. That was the old BrandConnect requirement. Creator Partnerships, which replaced BrandConnect in March 2026, has no subscriber number on its help page — the gate is Partner Program membership, age 18 or older, a supported country, and no active Community Guidelines strikes.

Can I get brand deals at 500 subscribers?

Yes, if you have cleared the Partner Program’s fan-funding tier (500 subscribers, 3 public uploads in 90 days, and 3,000 qualified watch hours or 3 million qualified Shorts views) and meet the other eligibility items. YouTube groups Creator Partnerships with that tier’s products, and its eligibility does not change on February 1, 2027.

Does YouTube guarantee me brand deals or set my price?

No. YouTube surfaces you to brands and delivers inquiries into Studio, but deal terms, deliverables, and price are negotiated directly between you and the brand. There is no fee stated for creator search, and paid amplification is charged as normal Google Ads spend.

How do brands find small channels in Creator Partnerships?

Brands search in Google Ads by niche, audience, and performance, and since June 2026 there has been no minimum spend for creator search. Turning on channel insights sharing gives brands fuller data about your channel, which helps a small channel stand out against a bigger one with thinner data.

What happens to my eligibility on February 1, 2027?

Nothing, for Creator Partnerships specifically. The February 2027 change doubles the ad-revenue tier for new applicants (8,000 hours or 20 million Shorts views), but YouTube says there are no changes to fan funding, Creator Partnerships, or Shopping eligibility. Channels already in the program keep their status.

How do I opt out of brand-deal outreach?

Email youtube-brandconnect-opt-out@google.com to request removal from search recommendations and brand-deal outreach inquiries, per YouTube’s help page.

Sources and further reading: YouTube Help: Get started with YouTube Creator Partnerships and Creaticalc: YouTube Creator Partnerships explained. Related on Help Me Boss: YouTube Partner Program Activity Rule for Existing Partners 2027 and YouTube Partner Program February 2027 Doubled Thresholds Action Plan. This article is general information, not professional advice — always check the current terms in your own YouTube Studio, since eligibility lists change.