YouTube
The world's largest video-sharing and streaming platform.
YouTube at a glance
YouTube is an entertainment & streaming website and one of the most visited sites in United States, currently ranked #2 in the country. It was founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, Jawed Karim and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States. Today YouTube is owned by YouTube LLC (Google / Alphabet subsidiary). Our estimates put its audience at ≈ 33 billion visits per month. The business earns money mainly through advertising on videos (skippable, non-skippable, bumper, display), youtube premium subscriptions, youtube music and tv subscriptions. Its closest rivals include TikTok, Netflix, Vimeo, Dailymotion.
Traffic statistics
Traffic history
| Period | Visits | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | ≈ 31 billion / month | +3% |
| Q2 | ≈ 32 billion / month | +3% |
| Q3 | ≈ 33 billion / month | +3% |
| Q4 | ≈ 34 billion / month | +3% |
Traffic sources
- Direct45%
App opens, homepage, subscriptions
- Organic search25%
Google video results
- Referral18%
Embeds, social shares
- Social8%
- Paid & other4%
Audience & demographics
- Men54%
- Women46%
- Age 18-2421%
- Age 25-3429%
- Age 35-5432%
- Age 55+18%
YouTube reaches nearly every demographic, with especially high engagement among 18-34 year olds and growing usage on living-room screens.
Geographic reach
- United States17%
- India11%
- Brazil6%
- United Kingdom4%
- Other62%
SEO profile
- Organic keywords
- Hundreds of millions of video titles and queries
- Estimated organic traffic
- Billions of visits / month from Google
- Strongest clusters
- Music, tutorials, entertainment, reviews
Top organic keywords
| Keyword | Position | Volume | Traffic share |
|---|---|---|---|
| youtube | 1 | Very high | — |
| music | 1-3 | Very high | — |
| how to | 1-3 | High | — |
| movie trailers | 1-3 | High | — |
Backlink profile
- Referring domains
- Hundreds of millions
- Link profile
- Embedded players, social shares, news citations
Top referral sources
- Google Search35%
- Direct / app30%
- Social platforms20%
- Embedded players15%
Technology stack
Website technologies
Advertising & analytics technologies
YouTube's infrastructure is built for massive video delivery at low latency across devices and connection speeds.
Mobile app statistics
- Mobile share of views
- ≈ 60%
- TV / living-room watch time
- Fastest-growing segment
Company information
- Website
- youtube.com
- Sector
- Entertainment & Streaming
- Owner
- YouTube LLC (Google / Alphabet subsidiary)
- Owner type
- Subsidiary of public company
- Founders
- Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, Jawed Karim
- Founded
- 2005
- Headquarters
- San Bruno, California, United States
- Employees
- 7,000+
- Ownership
- Acquired by Google in 2006 for USD 1.65 billion; now part of Alphabet Inc.
- Valuation
- Estimated standalone value above USD 200 billion
- Revenue
- Estimated annual revenue above USD 30 billion (advertising + Premium)
- Languages
- 100+ languages with localised interfaces
- Top traffic sources
- Direct, Google search, embedded players, mobile apps
Ownership, investors & funding history
Financials
- Revenue trend
- Steady growth in ads and Premium subscriptions
- Profitability
- Profitable and a major Alphabet revenue driver
- Cost base
- Bandwidth, storage, creator payouts, content moderation
Business model & revenue
YouTube is a user-generated and professional video platform that monetises watch time through advertising, premium subscriptions and creator-paid features. It shares ad revenue with eligible creators through the Partner Program.
- Advertising on videos (skippable, non-skippable, bumper, display)
- YouTube Premium subscriptions
- YouTube Music and TV subscriptions
- Channel memberships and Super features
- Shorts ad revenue sharing
Products & services
Free ad-supported video platform.
Subscription removing ads and enabling background play.
Music streaming competitor to Spotify.
Live TV streaming service in the U.S.
Short-form vertical video feed.
Creator analytics and monetisation dashboard.
Related deals on Amazon
As an Amazon Associate, Global Site Index earns from qualifying purchases.
Seller ecosystem
- YouTube Partner Program creators
- Millions monetising
- Channels
- Hundreds of millions
- Monetisation
- Ad revenue share, memberships, Super Chat, shopping
Employee statistics
Customer statistics
Main competitors
Overview
YouTube is the world's largest video-sharing platform. Founded in 2005 and acquired by Google in 2006, it hosts billions of videos and reaches more than 2 billion logged-in users every month.
Traffic Statistics
YouTube attracts roughly 33 billion monthly visits globally. Users watch approximately 1 billion hours of video per day, with an average session of around 20 minutes and more than 11 pages per visit.
Traffic Sources
Direct traffic from apps and subscriptions leads, followed by Google organic search results, embedded players on third-party sites and social referrals.
Audience & Demographics
YouTube spans all age groups, with the highest engagement among 18-34 year olds. Usage is balanced across genders and growing quickly on living-room screens.
Geographic Reach
The United States is the largest market, followed by India, Brazil and the United Kingdom. Localised versions operate in more than 100 countries.
SEO Profile
YouTube pages rank for hundreds of millions of queries, especially music, tutorials, reviews and entertainment. It is one of the largest recipients of Google organic traffic.
Technology Stack
YouTube runs on Google's global infrastructure, uses adaptive bitrate streaming, VP9/AV1 codecs and maintains native apps for phones, TVs, consoles and desktops.
Social Media Statistics
YouTube's own social accounts reach tens of millions of followers, with @YouTube on X approaching 80 million followers.
Mobile App Statistics
The YouTube app has been downloaded more than 10 billion times on Google Play and maintains strong ratings on iOS. Mobile accounts for roughly 60% of views, while TV viewing is the fastest-growing segment.
Company Information
YouTube LLC is headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was founded by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim and is now a subsidiary of Alphabet.
Ownership & Investors
Google acquired YouTube for USD 1.65 billion in 2006. It is now wholly owned within Alphabet Inc.
Financials
YouTube generates estimated annual revenue above USD 30 billion from advertising, Premium subscriptions, Music and TV services.
Business Model
YouTube monetises watch time through advertising and subscriptions. It shares ad revenue with eligible creators and offers channel memberships, Super Chat and shopping features.
Products & Services
Products include YouTube Main, YouTube Premium, YouTube Music, YouTube TV, YouTube Shorts, YouTube Studio and YouTube Kids.
Competitors
Main competitors include TikTok, Netflix, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Twitch and Instagram Reels.
Company History & Milestones
From the first upload in 2005 to the Google acquisition in 2006, the Partner Program in 2007, Premium in 2015, Shorts in 2020 and 2 billion users in 2022.
Latest News
YouTube continues to expand Shorts monetisation and add channels to YouTube TV.
User Reviews & Ratings
Praised for content variety and creator access; criticised for ad load, moderation and recommendation bubbles.
Pros & Cons
Pros: huge free library, creator economy, multi-device support. Cons: ads, moderation challenges, algorithm concerns.
Key Statistics
~33 billion monthly visits, 2 billion+ logged-in users, ~1 billion hours watched daily, #2 U.S. and global ranking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns YouTube? Google / Alphabet. Is it free? Core service is free with ads. How many users? 2 billion+ logged-in monthly.
Data Sources
Alphabet filings, YouTube official stats, Statcounter and Similarweb estimates.
Last Updated
2026-09-10
Related Websites
Google, Netflix, TikTok, Twitch and Vimeo.
Website Rankings
#2 in the United States and #2 worldwide.
Revenue & Funding History
Acquired by Google for USD 1.65 billion in 2006; now a major revenue contributor to Alphabet.
Employee Statistics
YouTube employs more than 7,000 people focused on engineering, Trust & Safety and partnerships.
Customer Statistics
2 billion+ logged-in monthly users and hundreds of millions of channels.
Backlink Profile
Hundreds of millions of referring domains from embeds, social shares, news citations and creator links.
Top Organic Keywords
"youtube", "music", "how to", "movie trailers" and millions of creator/channel names.
Top Referral Sources
Google Search, direct app opens, social platforms and embedded players.
Website Technologies
Google infrastructure, adaptive streaming, VP9/AV1, multi-platform native apps.
Advertising & Analytics Technologies
Google Ads, YouTube Ads, Google Ad Manager, Google Analytics 4.
API & Developer Information
YouTube Data API, YouTube Player API, Reporting API and Content ID API.
International Seller Opportunities
YouTube Shopping, affiliate integrations and channel memberships let creators and brands sell globally.
Company history & milestones
- 2005
Founded by former PayPal employees
- 2006
Acquired by Google
- 2007
Launches YouTube Partner Program
- 2015
Introduces YouTube Premium and Music
- 2020
Launches YouTube Shorts globally
- 2022
Surpasses 2 billion logged-in monthly users
Latest news
- YouTube expands Shorts monetisationYouTube Blog · 2026
- YouTube TV adds more channels in the U.S.TechCrunch · 2026
Pros & cons
Pros
- Massive library of free video content
- Strong creator economy and monetisation
- Works on every device from phone to TV
- Powerful search and recommendation engine
Cons
- Heavy advertising load on free tier
- Content moderation challenges
- Recommendation algorithm can create filter bubbles
- Creator revenue share can be modest for small channels
Key statistics
Frequently asked questions
Who owns YouTube?
YouTube LLC is owned by Google / Alphabet Inc.
Is YouTube free?
The core service is free and ad-supported; Premium removes ads.
How many users does YouTube have?
Over 2 billion logged-in monthly users, plus many logged-out viewers.
Popular searches
Data sources & confidence
- Alphabet public filingsAlphabet Investor Relations
- YouTube official statisticsYouTube
- StatcounterStatcounter
- Similarweb estimatesSimilarweb
- Data confidence
- High for ownership and public milestones; traffic figures are third-party estimates.
- Last updated
- 2026-09-10
Social media profiles & statistics