YouTube Supers
YouTube Supers is YouTube's own umbrella term for its three paid fan-funding products that let viewers pay to support a creator and stand out while doing it: Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Super Thanks. "Supers" isn't a single feature you turn on — it's the family name for these three, each with its own pricing, placement, and rules.
If you've seen "Supers" show up in YouTube Studio's Earn tab and wondered what it actually covers, this entry is the map. For the full mechanics of any one product, jump to its dedicated entry — this page focuses on how the three relate, where they overlap with YouTube's broader fan-funding tools, and the eligibility/revenue details that apply across all of them.
What Does "Supers" Mean on YouTube?
Supers launched in stages:
- Super Chat (2017) — paid, highlighted messages during live streams and Premieres.
- Super Stickers (2019) — paid animated stickers, same live/Premiere context as Super Chat.
- Super Thanks (2021) — a one-time paid animation plus a highlighted comment, but for regular uploaded videos and Shorts, not just live content. It was rebranded from an earlier beta feature called "Viewer Applause."
YouTube groups all three under the "Supers" tab inside YouTube Studio → Earn, and they share the same underlying agreement (the Commerce Product Module) and the same 70/30 revenue split. That shared plumbing is why YouTube treats them as one family even though they show up in very different places on the platform.
The Three Supers Products at a Glance
| Super Chat | Super Stickers | Super Thanks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it appears | Live streams and Premieres only, while live | Live streams and Premieres only, while live | Long-form videos and Shorts — including a stream/Premiere after it ends and becomes a VOD |
| What the viewer buys | A highlighted, sometimes-pinned text message in live chat | An animated sticker that appears in the live chat feed | A one-time animation shown to the buyer, plus a distinct, colorful comment |
| Typical use case | Real-time shoutouts, Q&A prioritization, live event support | Quick, low-effort reactions during a stream | Tipping on evergreen content, Shorts, or a replay after a live ends |
| Requires live chat/comments on? | Yes — live chat must be enabled | Yes — live chat must be enabled | Yes — comments must be enabled |
| Blocked on | Age-restricted, unlisted, private, Made for Kids, or fundraiser-linked streams | Same as Super Chat | Age-restricted, unlisted, private, Made for Kids content, videos with a Content ID claim, fundraiser-linked videos, or a stream/Premiere still live |
| Creator revenue share | 70% (after local tax/App Store fees) | 70% (after local tax/App Store fees) | 70% (after local tax/App Store fees) |
| Launched | 2017 | 2019 | 2021 (as "Super Thanks"; beta was "Viewer Applause") |
Learn more: Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks.
How Supers Fit Into YouTube's Broader Fan-Funding Toolkit
It's easy to conflate "Supers" with everything YouTube offers under fan funding — they're related but not identical:
- Fan funding is the broader policy umbrella. YouTube's own Commerce Products monetization policy groups channel memberships, Super Chat & Super Stickers, and Super Thanks together under this term.
- Channel memberships are recurring monthly payments for members-only perks — not a "Super," and not tied to a single video or stream.
- YouTube Jewels and YouTube Gifts are a separate virtual-gifting system for vertical/horizontal live streams, unlocked at the same 500-subscriber tier as Supers — but YouTube does not brand them as part of the "Supers" family.
- YouTube Shopping is also bundled into the same eligibility tier but is a commerce feature, not a tipping feature.
In short: every Super is a fan-funding feature, but not every fan-funding feature is a Super.
Eligibility Requirements
Because Supers sit inside YouTube's fan-funding policies, eligibility works in layers. All three require:
- Channel membership in the YouTube Partner Program. There are two thresholds, and this is where a lot of outdated advice trips people up:
- Expanded/lower YPP tier: 500 subscribers + 3 public uploads in the last 90 days, plus either 3,000 public watch hours (12 months) or 3M public Shorts views (90 days). This tier already unlocks Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks, channel memberships, and Jewels/gifts — not ad revenue.
- Standard YPP tier: 1,000 subscribers + 4,000 public watch hours (12 months), or 1,000 subscribers + 10M public Shorts views (90 days). This adds ad revenue sharing and YouTube Premium revenue on top of everything the lower tier already grants.
- A common misconception is that you need the 1,000-subscriber threshold to use Supers at all. You don't — that threshold is specifically for ad monetization.
- Minimum age of 18.
- Residency in an eligible country/region — availability lists for each Super are maintained directly on YouTube's Help Center and updated periodically, so always check the current list rather than relying on a cached count.
- Acceptance of the Commerce Product Module (CPM) by the creator (and their MCN, if applicable) — this is the agreement that governs all fan-funding features, referenced in YouTube's monetization and policies.
- Content-level eligibility — the video or stream itself can't be age-restricted, unlisted, private, or set as Made for Kids; comments or live chat must be turned on; and for Super Thanks specifically, the video can't carry an active Content ID claim or copyright claim.
Revenue Share: How Much Do Creators Keep From Supers
Creators receive 70% of Supers revenue, across all three products, once it's recognized by Google. That 70% is calculated after local sales tax and applicable iOS App Store fees are deducted — YouTube currently covers transaction/credit-card processing costs itself. Payouts arrive through the same AdSense channel used for ad revenue, rolled into your regular payout cycle.
One detail rarely mentioned outside YouTube's own policy pages: if a Super Chat, Super Sticker, or Super Thanks is removed for violating Community Guidelines, YouTube donates its own 30% share to charity rather than keeping it — the creator's share is void either way since the purchase itself is being moderated away.
Supers are explicitly not framed by YouTube as crowdfunding or donation tools — they're gratuities tied to a specific message, sticker, or video, and buyers should not treat them as tax-deductible giving.
Spending Limits Viewers Should Know
Viewer spending is capped at roughly $500 per day and $2,000 per week (or local currency equivalent) — and importantly, that cap is shared across Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks, and Gifts combined, not a separate allowance for each. A viewer maxing out a $500 Super Chat has used their entire daily limit for all four products that day.
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Tax Services for Creators Bookkeeping for CreatorsFAQ
Is "Supers" one specific feature I turn on?
No. Supers is an umbrella term for three separate products — Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Super Thanks — each with its own on/off switch inside YouTube Studio's Supers tab. There's no single "Supers" toggle.
Do I need 1,000 subscribers to use Supers?
No. YouTube's expanded Partner Program tier — 500 subscribers plus modest watch-time or Shorts-view requirements — already grants access to all three Supers, channel memberships, and Jewels/gifts. The 1,000-subscriber threshold is specifically required for ad revenue sharing and YouTube Premium revenue, not for Supers.
What's the difference between Supers and YouTube's fan funding overall?
Fan funding is the broader category YouTube uses in its monetization policies, and it includes channel memberships in addition to the three Supers. Jewels, Gifts, and Shopping are unlocked at the same eligibility tier but aren't branded as "Supers" by YouTube.
Can Super Thanks be used on a live stream while it's happening?
Not while it's live. Super Thanks becomes available on a stream or Premiere only after it ends and is archived as a regular video-on-demand upload. During the live broadcast itself, viewers can only use Super Chat and Super Stickers.