Super Thanks
Quick answer: Super Thanks is a one-time paid "tip" viewers can buy on any published long-form video or Short. The buyer gets a fun on-screen animation and a highlighted, colorful comment; the creator keeps 70% of the revenue. Unlike Super Chat and Super Stickers, Super Thanks doesn't require a live stream — it's the only "Super" that works on regular uploads and Shorts.
What it is
When Super Thanks is turned on, a "Thanks" button (a heart with a dollar sign) appears on an eligible video or Short. A viewer taps it, picks a price, and pays. In return they get:
- A one-time animated GIF shown only to them, over the video
- The ability to post one distinct, colorful, highlighted comment — visible to everyone, and separate from regular comments
It launched in beta in July 2021 (originally called "Viewer Applause") and rolled out to all eligible YouTube Partner Program creators in April 2022. It sits alongside Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Channel Memberships as one of YouTube's fan-funding tools — see Fan Funding for how all four compare.
Price tiers and revenue share
Four fixed tiers (local-currency equivalent varies by country):
| Tip amount | Creator keeps (~70%) |
|---|---|
| $2 | ~$1.40 |
| $5 | ~$3.50 |
| $10 | ~$7.00 |
| $50 | ~$35.00 |
Creators receive 70% of Super Thanks revenue "recognized by Google." That 70% is calculated after taxes and fees are deducted — including Apple's App Store fee on iOS purchases — so actual take-home on an iOS-originated tip runs lower than a flat 70/30 split. YouTube covers transaction and credit-card processing costs itself. Earnings pay out through AdSense the same way ad revenue does, and show up in YouTube Analytics under Revenue → "How you make money" → Supers.
Eligibility
Channel-level:
- Meet the minimum fan-funding requirements — this unlocks at YouTube's 500-subscriber Early Monetization tier plus associated watch-time/Shorts-views thresholds. You don't need the full 1,000-subscriber standard monetization bar just for Super Thanks.
- Be located in one of YouTube's eligible countries/regions (check YouTube's current list — it covers dozens of markets but isn't universal).
- Accept and comply with YouTube's terms, including the Commerce Product Module (CPM).
- Channel isn't set as Made for Kids and doesn't carry a significant share of MFK or ineligible videos.
- Some music channels under SRAV contracts are excluded.
Video/Short-level — Super Thanks won't show on content that is:
- Age-restricted, unlisted, or private
- Made for Kids
- Carrying a Content ID claim
- Attached to a YouTube Giving fundraiser
- A live stream or Premiere while it's live — it becomes eligible once the stream ends and the recording exists as a normal upload
- Set to comments-off
How to turn it on
- In YouTube Studio (desktop or mobile app), go to Earn.
- Open the Supers tab — it only appears if your channel is eligible.
- Click Get started and accept the Commerce Product Module if you haven't already.
- Toggle Super Thanks on.
It then applies automatically to all eligible past and future videos and Shorts. You can toggle it off channel-wide at any time; historical earnings stay visible either way.
Where it shows up — and why that matters
The Thanks button sits quietly below the video next to like/share, the same way the subscribe button does — it does not push itself in front of viewers. Creators who get meaningful Super Thanks volume are the ones who actively point at it, not the ones who simply enable it and wait.
Tactics that actually move the needle
- Say it out loud. A one-line verbal or on-screen CTA ("if this helped, hit Thanks below") outperforms silently enabling the feature.
- Reply to every Super Thanks comment. Because it's visibly highlighted in the comment section, a public reply from the creator is social proof that drives the next tip.
- Reply with a Short. Use the Comment Sticker feature to turn a Super Thanks comment into a new Short — it pins the fan's comment on the new video and notifies them, extending the interaction into new content.
- Pin a rotating thank-you comment crediting recent Super Thanks senders.
- Tell viewers what the money funds (gear upgrade, travel, editor). Transparency measurably increases tip volume.
- Prioritize high returning-viewer and regular-viewer videos for the CTA — one-time tips come disproportionately from your most invested audience, not first-time Suggested Videos traffic.
Super Thanks vs. Channel Memberships
Both are viewer-funded, both pay out at similar creator-side splits, but they solve different problems: Super Thanks is an impulse, one-time reaction to a specific video or Short; Memberships is recurring monthly revenue tied to the channel as a whole. Most established creators run both — see Fan Funding for the full comparison table across all four Supers/fan-funding tools.
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Does Super Thanks work on Shorts?
Yes — Super Thanks works on both published long-form videos and Shorts. It's the only Super that works without a live stream, which is what separates it from Super Chat and Super Stickers.
Can I turn off Super Thanks for one video but not my whole channel?
The official toggle in YouTube Studio's Supers tab is channel-wide. If a specific video shouldn't carry it (e.g., it's Made for Kids, age-restricted, or has a Content ID claim), YouTube will automatically exclude it based on those eligibility rules rather than requiring a manual per-video switch.
Is Super Thanks the same as a donation or crowdfunding?
No. YouTube explicitly states Super Thanks isn't a crowdfunding or donation tool — it's a paid digital good (a tip tied to a purchase/animation/comment), which matters for how creators should treat it for tax and legal purposes in their region.