Where the data comes from
vidIQ records the public statistics YouTube reports for the channels in its index: subscriber count, total view count and the number of uploaded videos, together with the country and content category recorded for each channel. The figures are the ones anyone can see on a channel's YouTube page. Nothing private to the channel owner is used.
What the rankings measure
Every list orders channels by current subscriber count, highest first. The worldwide lists show the top 50, 100 and 500 channels; country and category lists show the top 100. Total views and video counts appear alongside for context, and a table can be re-sorted by them in the browser, but they do not affect a channel's rank.
Country and category lists
A channel appears in a country list when that country is the one recorded for it, which follows the country the channel sets on YouTube. Category lists group channels by the content category vidIQ records for them, such as Gaming or Music. A channel can appear in one country list and one category list as well as in the worldwide lists, and its rank in each list is its position within that list.
How often the lists update
Ranking pages are regenerated about every 12 hours, and each page states the date it was last updated. The count shown for a channel is the latest vidIQ had recorded when the page was built, so a count can be a few hours behind YouTube.
Rounded counts and ties
YouTube publishes rounded subscriber counts for channels above 1,000 subscribers, showing three significant figures (521,000,000 rather than the exact number). The rankings use those public figures, so two channels can display the same count and sit next to each other in a list.
Why a channel can be missing
- It hides its subscriber count. YouTube lets creators hide the number, and a channel without a public count cannot be ranked by it.
- vidIQ does not track it yet. The index is large, but it does not cover every channel on YouTube.
- It is recorded under a different country or category than the list you are looking at.
Estimated earnings
Channel pages show estimated monthly earnings. These are vidIQ's estimates of a channel's AdSense revenue, based on its views and current CPM estimates. They are not figures reported by the channel or by YouTube, and they cover ad revenue only, not sponsorships, memberships or merchandise.
Corrections
If a channel's figures, country or category look wrong, contact vidIQ support and include the channel's URL.
See the rankings themselves: the top 100 most subscribed YouTube channels in the world, or every ranking by country and category.