9 of the Most Profitable YouTube Niches with High CPMs

Table of Contents

Why is it important to select the right niche on YouTube?
Most profitable YouTube niches
    Making money online
    Personal finance
    Digital marketing
    Education
    Fitness and health
    Gaming
    Cooking
    Fashion
    Tech and gadgets
What type of content makes the most money on YouTube?
Wrapping up

One of the main reasons someone might want to start a YouTube channel is because of the earnings potential that is available. 

YouTube is the world’s largest and most popular video platform with more than 2.5 billion monthly users and 500 hours of video uploaded every minute. Because of the popularity of the platform, there is space for creators in almost any imaginable niche.

Image source: Oberlo

However, if making money from your YouTube channel is your primary goal, then you should actually stick to niches that are the most profitable and have the highest CPM (cost per thousand) score. 

In this blog post, we will share the ten most profitable YouTube niches that offer the highest earnings potential to creators. 

Why You Shouldn’t Put Money First When Selecting Your Niche 

Selecting the right niche is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as a YouTube creator. 

My first piece of advice is that you shouldn’t use earnings potential as the first criteria when evaluating which niche to pick.

Creating a successful YouTube channel takes a lot of time and effort, so if money is the primary driver for choosing your niche, then you won’t have the determination to stick to your choice when the going gets tough. 

This is because, initially, your channel will likely not generate a single dollar of income. Most YouTube channels take several months to start generating views, and even longer to generate revenue. 

It’s important that you actually pick a niche that you’re passionate about or just like talking about. This will ensure that you have the motivation to create content even though the channel isn’t getting a lot of views or making money. 

Secondly, if your main focus is on generating an income from your channel, you’ll be making choices that only maximize your earnings potential instead of what is most beneficial to your viewers. 

For instance, some creators don’t allow any YouTube ads on their videos, this is so that the viewing experience isn’t interrupted by any irrelevant or intrusive ads. 

This decision is in the best interest of viewers, however, if a creator’s main priority is squeezing as much money from their content, then they might choose to allow ads on their videos or they might constantly promote affiliate products and services in their videos. 

Most Profitable YouTube Niches 

Now, let’s delve into the list of top 9 most profitable YouTube niches. Just because your ideal niche isn’t on this list doesn’t mean that there’s no earning potential in that niche. 

Furthermore, there are plenty of creators making good money in niches that are not on this list.

So, without further ado, let’s dive into the most profitable niches on YouTube.

Making Money Online/Online Businesses

There are a lot of people that want to learn how to make money online or that want to know how to start an online business.

Because of the big demand for this type of content, the “make money online” niche is one of the most profitable niches on YouTube. 

There are several video ideas for this niche including:

• Reviews of apps that you can use to earn an extra income
• How to sell online courses
• How to start a successful online store
• How to grow a blog from zero to thousands of monthly traffic
• Interviews with successful entrepreneurs and online business owners

This list can get quite long, and in most cases, you’d find that an entire channel focuses on only one of these topics.

For instance, Dropship Dreams is a YouTube channel that focuses entirely on creating videos about how to start and grow an online store.

This niche can also include videos on how to become an influencer and grow your online following on Twitter, Instagram, etc. 

There are also entire channels such as Think Media dedicated to teaching you how to grow your YouTube channel.

Personal Finance

One of the best paying YouTube niches is the personal finance niche. Channels in this niche create content on how individuals can manage their personal finances, how to choose better financial products, and reviews on various financial apps. 

Personal finance is a broad category and includes subtopics such as:

• Investing and the stock market
• Credit cards, savings accounts and other financial products
• Cryptocurrency
• Budgeting

According to various sources, the CPM for this niche ranges between $5 to $12. There are several ways to monetize your YouTube channel if you’re in the personal finance niche, of which affiliate marketing and YouTube Ads. 

Digital Marketing

Another highly profitable YouTube niche is digital marketing. 

Now, this is a very competitive space, so you’ll need to add a ton of value if you want to succeed in the digital marketing YouTube niche. My advice is to specialize in only one aspect of digital marketing, whether that’s SEO, social media marketing, email, or PPC. 

If you want to win in this niche, you need to become the “go to channel” for anything related to your chosen type of digital marketing. 

Some of the topics in this niche include:

• Reviews of software and tools in your niche. For instance, a YouTube channel in the SEO niche might review the best SEO auditing software.
• How to videos. E.g. How to target exact match keywords for PPC campaigns.
• Research and industry updates. E.g. How to navigate Google’s latest search algorithm update.

Education

There will always be demand for educational content on YouTube. In fact, one of the most highly searched terms on YouTube is “how to + topic”.

Having said that, educational content is a broad niche, and can even overlap with many of the niches that we’ve already mentioned. For instance, you can create an educational channel on economics, which also intersects with the finance niche.

Money and Macro is a YouTube channels that covers the latest news and updates on the macroeconomics of different countries while at the same time teaching viewers about economic principles and concepts.

However, the most profitable YouTube channels in this niche are aimed at educational content for kids.

Creators in this niche can post educational content on a wide range of topics including school subjects such as mathematics, science, history, etc. Or you could create fun videos for toddlers and infants teaching them songs and basic concepts. 

If creating content for kids is not your thing, then there are several other alternatives such as creating content on languages (E.g. German for beginners), post-graduate courses (E.g. How to pass the CFA exams), and many more.

Of course, if you want to create educational content you will need to have expert-level knowledge of your chosen field. 

Fitness and Health

If you’re into fitness and health, then you’ll be glad to know that it’s also one of the most profitable YouTube niches. 

Much like with educational content, creators in the fitness and health niche should have proven expertise or experience since viewers will rely on your content to make decisions about their health.

The channels that are winning in this niche are focused on more specific sub-niches in the fitness and health space. 

If you want to create a fitness-focused YouTube channel, you need to have more clarity on the content you want to specialize in since there are a plethora of different types of exercises people are interested in. 

Global Triathlon Network is an example of a YouTube channel that is mainly focused on producing content that is relevant to triathlon athletes.

Some of these include:

• Calisthenics
• Home workouts
• Yoga for women
• Training for endurance sports
• Bodybuilding and weight training
• Sport-specific exercises such as open water swimming, track and field, mountain biking, etc.

Likewise, if you want to focus on creating nutrition content, you need to be more specific about the types of diets or eating plans you want to share. 

Gaming

If you love playing video games and want to share your experiences with an audience, then this might be the perfect niche for you. 

Not to mention that the gaming niche has blown up over the last few years, making it one of the most profitable niches on YouTube. 

Well-known creators in this space include one of the most well-known YouTubers, PewDiePie, VanossGaming, and TheRadBrad. 

YouTube gaming channels can earn a significant amount of revenue from gameplay walkthroughs, live streaming, game reviews, and gaming equipment reviews. 

Unlike many of the other niches on this list, you don’t necessarily have to focus on only one specific category in the gaming niche. Many YouTubers in this niche create content on all sorts of games ranging from popular titles to less popular ones. 

Cooking

Cooking channels get a lot of views because people are always looking for ideas on new types of dishes to try out. 

In fact, some of the most well known channels in this niche have millions of subscribers and get thousands of views on a regular basis.

So, if you like cooking and coming up with new meal ideas, then this could be an ideal niche. Other than creating videos about recipe ideas, you can also publish videos reviewing cooking equipment such as knives, cookware, and other kitchen products. 

You can also create videos about useful kitchen skills and cooking techniques. 

If you’re seriously considering the cooking niche, you should have a think about what type of cooking content you’re going to create. 

When starting out, you can’t be a “Jack of all trades”, and you need to focus on only one of the many sub-niches. 

Here are a few sub-categories in the cooking niche that you can consider:

• A channel publishing baking recipes, tips, and tricks
• Easy home recipes
• Create content sharing 10 minute recipes
• A channel focusing only on desserts
• Teaching viewers how to grill different types of meats and recipes for meat dishes

Fashion

Fashion is another massive niche and one that can be extremely profitable for creators.  Advertisers are willing to pay a lot of money for getting their products in front of the eyes of thousands of viewers.

Channels in this niche mainly publish “try-on hauls” where the creator will try on different outfits and accessories, as well as review how these items look, feel, and fit. 

It’s also common to see creators in this niche reviewing make-up products since fashion and make-up are adjacent niches. 

Tech and Gadgets

Everyone loves watching videos on the latest tech and gadgets on the market. If you like talking about technology and reviewing the newest gadgets then this could be the niche for you.

But, before selecting this niche, you need to evaluate your financial situation. 

Yes, the tech and gadgets YouTube niche is one of the most profitable niches on YouTube, however, it also takes considerable investment. If you’re starting out and your channel is still small, then you’ll likely need to purchase the products with your own money. 

Only once you’ve built up a large enough audience will you receive products from advertisers that you can review. 

So if you’re strapped for cash, then this is likely not going to be a good niche to get started with.

However, if you have the ability to finance the initial costs until manufacturers and brands send you their products, then this is a niche that you could seriously consider. 

Earnings potential for this niche is massive, especially if you’re an affiliate who gets a commission out of every sale that you’ve generated for the brand. 

What Type of Content Makes the Most Money on YouTube?

The content that makes the most money on YouTube is on how to make money online. Creators in this niche can expect to earn the highest CPM rates of all the niches identified in this article. 

CPM rates for videos in this niche can go all the way up to $22. 

Wrapping Up

Choosing a niche with high CPM rates and good earnings potential is important if you want to build a solid business on the YouTube platform. 

However, this shouldn’t be the first criteria you look at when choosing YouTube niches. Instead, you should firstly evaluate niches based on your interests and expertise.  

As we mentioned in this article, you’ll have to consistently publish videos for at least a few months or even years before you’re going to see any success on YouTube. For this reason, money can’t be the main criteria when evaluating niches. 

You’ve got to choose a niche that you enjoy researching and talking to carr you through those “dry” months at the start of your journey.