List of most-subscribed YouTube channels

Today, List of most-subscribed YouTube channels is a topic of great relevance and interest to a wide spectrum of people. From its impact on society to its influence on technology, List of most-subscribed YouTube channels has been the subject of numerous research and discussions in recent years. As public awareness of List of most-subscribed YouTube channels continues to grow, it is important to fully analyze its implications and consider potential long-term consequences. In this article, we will explore various facets related to List of most-subscribed YouTube channels and its impact on different aspects of daily life.

Indian record label T-Series is the most-subscribed channel, with over 262 million subscribers as of March 2024.
American YouTube personality MrBeast is the most-subscribed individual and second most-subscribed channel overall, with 247 million subscribers as of March 2024.

A subscriber to a channel on the American video-sharing platform YouTube is a user who has chosen to receive the channel's content by clicking on that channel's "Subscribe" button, and each user's subscription feed consists of videos published by channels to which the user is subscribed. The ability to subscribe to users was introduced on 25 October 2005. YouTube began publishing a list of its most-subscribed channels in April 2006. An early archive of the list dates to 17 May 2006.

Since mid-2006, when Smosh occupied the top position with less than 3,000 subscribers, at least 10 other YouTube channels have held the top spot; these include American fictional character Bree Avery, American comedian Brooke "Brookers" Brodack, American fictional character Fred Figglehorn, Swedish gamer Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg, American comedian Ryan Higa, American media personality Ray William Johnson, American public speaker Judson Laipply, and English geriatric Peter Oakley.

The most-subscribed channel is the Indian record label T-Series, which hosts its music videos on its channel. With over 262 million subscribers as of March 2024, the channel has held the top position since April 14, 2019. The most-subscribed channel which is not 'branded' (i.e., does not belong to an organization or company) is that of American YouTuber MrBeast, who is the second most-subscribed channel on YouTube, with over 247 million subscribers as of March 2024.

50 most-subscribed channels

The following table lists the 50 most-subscribed YouTube channels, as well as the primary language and content category of each channel. The channels are ordered by number of subscribers. Those whose displayed subscriber counts are identical, are listed so that the channel whose current growth rate indicates that its displayed subscriber count will exceed that of the other channel is listed first. Automatically generated channels that lack their own videos, such as Music and News, and channels that have been made effectively obsolete as a result of the transferral of their content, such as JustinBieberVEVO and TaylorSwiftVEVO are excluded.

As of March 2024, 21 of the 50 channels listed primarily produce content in English while 17 primarily produce content in Hindi. All 50 channels have surpassed 49 million subscribers, 47 of them have surpassed 50 million subscribers, 31 of them have surpassed 60 million subscribers, 21 of them have surpassed 70 million subscribers, 15 of them have surpassed 80 million subscribers, 14 of them have surpassed 90 million subscribers, 10 of them have surpassed 100 million subscribers, 4 of them have surpassed 150 million subscribers, 2 of them have surpassed 200 million subscribers, and only 1 channel has surpassed 250 million subscribers.

  1. ^ TheSoul Publishing is currently based in Cyprus; it was originally based in Russia and is still Russian-owned.

Historical progression of most-subscribed channels

The following table lists the 19 distinct runs as the most-subscribed YouTube channel recorded since May 2006. Only runs lasting at least 24 hours are included. 11 different channels have held the position, with PewDiePie holding the title a record four times. In second place is Smosh, which held it three times, while third place is tied between nigahiga, T-Series, and YouTube's own channel, which have all held it twice each.

  Former record for days held
  Current record for days held
Channel name Date achieved Days held Reference
Smosh (1) May 17, 2006 18
Judson Laipply June 4, 2006 29
Brookers July 3, 2006 45
geriatric1927 August 17, 2006 26
lonelygirl15 September 12, 2006 226
Smosh (2) April 26, 2007 517
nigahiga (1) September 24, 2008 12
FЯED October 6, 2008 318
nigahiga (2) August 20, 2009 675
Ray William Johnson June 26, 2011 564
Smosh (3) January 12, 2013 215
PewDiePie (1) August 15, 2013 79
YouTube Spotlight (1) November 2, 2013 36
PewDiePie (2) December 8, 2013 4
YouTube Spotlight (2) December 12, 2013 11
PewDiePie (3) December 23, 2013 1920
T-Series (1) March 27, 2019 5
PewDiePie (4) April 1, 2019 13
T-Series (2) April 14, 2019 1810
As of March 28, 2024 UTC

Timeline

Timeline of the most-subscribed YouTube channels (May 2006 – present)

T-Series (company)YouTube (channel)PewDiePieRay William JohnsonFred FigglehornRyan Higa#Channelslonelygirl15Peter OakleyBrooke BrodackJudson LaipplySmosh

Milestones and reactions

Channel Subscriber milestone Date achieved Reference
Brookers 10,000 July 7, 2006
geriatric1927 20,000 August 18, 2006
lonelygirl15 50,000 October 23, 2006
Smosh 100,000 May 15, 2007
FЯED 1 million April 7, 2009
nigahiga 2 million March 13, 2010
RayWilliamJohnson 5 million November 15, 2011
Smosh 10 million May 25, 2013
PewDiePie 20 million January 9, 2014
50 million December 8, 2016
T-Series 100 million May 29, 2019
200 million November 30, 2021

Following the third time that Smosh became the most-subscribed YouTube channel, Ray William Johnson collaborated with the duo. A flurry of top YouTubers including Ryan Higa, Shane Dawson, Felix Kjellberg, Michael Buckley, Kassem Gharaibeh, the Fine Brothers, and Johnson himself, congratulated the duo shortly after they surpassed Johnson as the most-subscribed channel.

PewDiePie vs T-Series

In mid-2018, the subscriber count of the Indian music video channel T-Series rapidly approached that of Swedish web comedian and Let's Player PewDiePie, who was the most-subscribed user on YouTube at the time. As a result, fans of PewDiePie and T-Series, other YouTubers, and celebrities showed their support for both channels. During the competition, both channels gained a large number of subscribers at a rapid rate, and surpassed each other's subscriber count on multiple occasions in February, March, and April 2019. T-Series eventually permanently surpassed PewDiePie, and on May 29, 2019, it became the first channel to reach 100 million subscribers.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The total number of channels listed may exceed 50 if a tie exists for the 50th-highest subscriber count.
  2. ^ These are not to be mistaken for the channels Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift, both of which are included.
  3. ^ Although now called simply "YouTube", YouTube's official channel was named "YouTube Spotlight" in 2013.
  4. ^ T-Series surpassed PewDiePie in subscriber count on numerous occasions, each lasting fewer than 24 hours, from February to late March 2019. The first incident to last at least 24 hours began on March 27 and ended on April 1.

References

  1. ^ "The Quickstart Guide to YouTube – Lesson 2: YouTube Basics". YouTube Creator Academy. YouTube. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  2. ^ "Official YouTube Blog – Tuesday, October 25, 2005". Official YouTube Blog. Google. October 25, 2005. Archived from the original on December 30, 2009. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  3. ^ "Lots 'o New Stuff". Official YouTube Blog. Google. Archived from the original on December 30, 2009. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "YouTube - Most Subscribed Members (This Month)". May 17, 2006. Archived from the original on May 17, 2006. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  5. ^ Roettgers, Janko (January 2, 2019). "Hackers Target Chromecast Devices, Smart TVs with PewDiePie Message". Variety. Penske Business Media. Archived from the original on January 2, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c "Top 100 Subscribed YouTube Channels (Sorted by Subscriber Count)". Social Blade. Archived from the original on May 24, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  7. ^ Stegner, Ben. "The Top 10 Most Popular YouTube Channels: Should You Subscribe?". MakeUseOf. Archived from the original on March 26, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  8. ^ "T-Series Rules YouTube's Airwaves, but Bhushan Kumar Is Not Stopping Here". The Economic Times. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Archived from the original on January 26, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  9. ^ Bhushan, Nyay (September 17, 2015). "BBC, Sony Television's India Unit Partner for New Channel". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  10. ^ Dredge, Stuart (February 3, 2016). "Why Are YouTube Stars So Popular?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  11. ^ Vargas, Jose Antonio. "Spanish Ads on English TV? An Experiment". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  12. ^ Greenwood, Chelsea. "10 Children Who Are Making Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars — and Possibly Millions — Through YouTube". Business Insider. Archived from the original on July 31, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  13. ^ "Get to know more about Youtube Channel Kids Star Diana from Kids Diana Show | Kiddipedia".
  14. ^ "eee Music Company – About". YouTube. Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  15. ^ Bhattacharya, Ananya (November 9, 2017). "The Nation Wants to Know: What Do Indians Watch on Facebook and YouTube?". Quartz India. Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  16. ^ Shashidhar, Ajita. "Why Are Broadcasters Launching More Hindi GECs?". Business Today. Living Media. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  17. ^ Kaplan, Lisa (December 18, 2019). "The Biggest Social Media Operation You've Never Heard of Is Run Out of Cyprus by Russians". Lawfare. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  18. ^ a b c "Smosh". YouTube. Mythical Entertainment. Archived from the original on May 24, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  19. ^ "Judson Laipply". YouTube. Archived from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  20. ^ Dryden, Liam (March 16, 2017). "A Complete Timeline Of Every "Most Subscribed" YouTuber In History". We The Unicorns. Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  21. ^ Gutelle, Sam (March 15, 2017). "The History Of YouTube's Most-Subscribed Channels Is A Fun Nostalgia Trip". tubefilter. Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017. In the early days, anyone who made a big viral video could enter the top ten, with "Evolution of Dance" performer Judson Laipply even holding the top spot for a bit.
  22. ^ "Brookers". YouTube. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  23. ^ "Brooke BRODACK | EMC". www.entertainment-masterclass.tv. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  24. ^ "YouTube - Most Subscribed Channels". YouTube. July 3, 2006. Archived from the original on July 3, 2006. Retrieved September 11, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  25. ^ "geriatric1927". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  26. ^ "The meteoric rise of geriatric1927". August 29, 2006. Archived from the original on January 8, 2014. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  27. ^ "lonelygirl15". YouTube. Archived from the original on September 24, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  28. ^ "YouTube Stars!: The Lonelygirl15 Story". Archived from the original on October 24, 2007. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  29. ^ Zeller, Tom Jr. (September 17, 2006). "Lonelygirl15: Prank, Art or Both". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 21, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  30. ^ "The 100 Greatest Internet Memes of All Time12. Lonelygirl15". Complex. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  31. ^ Heffernan, Virginia. "A Big Deal: The Run-Off on YouTube!!". Archived from the original on January 4, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  32. ^ a b "nigahiga". YouTube. Archived from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  33. ^ a b BuckHollywood (October 6, 2008), Fred, Smosh or Nigahiga?!, archived from the original on March 13, 2016, retrieved September 11, 2016
  34. ^ "Fred". YouTube. Archived from the original on May 13, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  35. ^ Parr, Ben (August 23, 2009). "DETHRONED: Fred No Longer #1 on YouTube". Mashable. Archived from the original on August 27, 2009. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  36. ^ William Hyde (August 21, 2009), YouTube Winners & Losers! NigaHiga and Fred, archived from the original on August 1, 2016, retrieved September 11, 2016
  37. ^ "Ray William Johnson". YouTube. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  38. ^ Humphrey, Michael. "Ray William Johnson: =3 Adds Up To Most-Subscribed On YouTube". Forbes. Archived from the original on September 4, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  39. ^ "Ray William Johnson Surpasses Nigahiga To Become The Most Subscribed YouTuber Of All Time". socialtimes.com. Archived from the original on July 2, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  40. ^ joshuajcohen (January 12, 2013). "Smosh Passes Ray William Johnson as #1 Most Subscribed YouTube Channel". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on January 14, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  41. ^ "SMOSH Becomes The #1 Most-Subscribed YouTube Channel - New Media Rockstars". January 12, 2013. Archived from the original on January 14, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  42. ^ "PewDiePie". YouTube. Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  43. ^ joshuajcohen (August 16, 2013). "It's Official: PewDiePie Becomes #1 Most Subscribed Channel On YouTube". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on August 23, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  44. ^ Cohen, Joshua (November 4, 2013). "YouTube Is Now The Most Subscribed Channel On YouTube". Tubefilter. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  45. ^ "YouTube Statistics for PewDiePie (24 October – 2 November 2013 archive)". Social Blade. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  46. ^ "YouTube Statistics for YouTube (27 October – 5 November 2013 archive)". Social Blade. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  47. ^ "YouTube Statistics for PewDiePie (3 December – 12 December 2013 archive)". Social Blade. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  48. ^ a b "YouTube Statistics for YouTube (5 December – 14 December 2013 archive)". Social Blade. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  49. ^ "YouTube Statistics for PewDiePie (8 December – 17 December 2013 archive)". Social Blade. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  50. ^ "YouTube Statistics for PewDiePie (17 December – 26 December 2013 archive)". Social Blade. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  51. ^ "YouTube Statistics for YouTube (20 December – 29 December 2013 archive)". Social Blade. Archived from the original on December 29, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  52. ^ Cohen, Joshua (January 9, 2014). "PewDiePie Breaks 20 Million YouTube Subscribers". Tubefilter. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  53. ^ a b Trenholm, Richard; Ryan, Jackson. "PewDiePie Dethroned by T-Series as YouTube's Most Subscribed Channel". CNET. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on March 12, 2019. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  54. ^ a b Hamilton, Isobel Asher. "PewDiePie Briefly Lost His Crown as the Biggest YouTuber on the Planet". Business Insider. Archived from the original on March 19, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  55. ^ a b Spangler, Todd (March 20, 2019). "PewDiePie vs. T-Series: YouTube Channels Keep Battling for No. 1 Spot". Variety. Penske Business Media. Archived from the original on March 20, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  56. ^ a b "After a few days of back & forth @TSeries has been able to hold the title of #1 most subbed on YouTube for 24 hours now. That's not to say that @pewdiepie may not regain the lead, but going to have to congratulate @TSeries here! Onward to 100m for both!". Twitter. Social Blade. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  57. ^ a b c "PewDiePie Concedes Defeat to YouTube Rival T-Series". BBC News. April 2019. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  58. ^ René, Resch. "PewDiePie nur noch YouTube Nummer Zwei" [PewDiePie Only YouTube Number Two]. PC Welt (in German). IDG Tech Media. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  59. ^ "PewDiePie – Detailed Statistics". Social Blade. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  60. ^ "T-Series – Detailed Statistics". Social Blade. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  61. ^ "PewDiePie – Detailed Statistics". Social Blade. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  62. ^ "T-Series – Detailed Statistics". Social Blade. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  63. ^ "YouTube Channels – Most Subscribed". YouTube. Archived from the original on July 19, 2006.
  64. ^ "YouTube Channels – Most Subscribed Channels (All Time)". YouTube. Archived from the original on August 25, 2006. Retrieved September 3, 2006.
  65. ^ "Channels – Most Subscribed (All Time)". YouTube. Archived from the original on January 17, 2007.
  66. ^ "smosh Channel". YouTube. July 9, 2007. Archived from the original on July 9, 2007. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  67. ^ "The first YouTube channel to hit one million subscribers". Variety. April 9, 2009. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  68. ^ "How'd They Do That? NigaHiga, YouTube's No.1 Most Subscribed of All Time". Creator's Corner Blog. Blogspot. March 13, 2010. Archived from the original on June 2, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  69. ^ Marc Hustvedt (November 15, 2011). "Ray William Johnson is First to 5 Million YouTube Subscribers". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on June 9, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  70. ^ Sam Gutelle (May 25, 2013). "YouTube History: Smosh Is First Channel Past Ten Million Subs". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  71. ^ Cohen, Joshua (January 9, 2014). "PewDiePie Breaks 20 Million Subscribers". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on January 10, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  72. ^ Popper, Ben (December 8, 2016). "PewDiePie hits 50 million subscribers, promises again to delete his account". The Verge. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  73. ^ a b Rosseinsky, Kate (May 29, 2019). "PewDiePie vs T-Series Sub Count: Indian YouTube Channel Becomes First Ever to Pass 100 Million Subscribers". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on May 29, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  74. ^ Sahu, Aryan. "T-Series crossed over 200 Million subscriber dominating on YouTube". Merazone. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  75. ^ Ray William Johnson (January 16, 2013). "RWJ vs SMOSH". YouTube. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  76. ^ Cohen, Joshua (January 12, 2013). "YouTubers Respond to Smosh Becoming #1 Most-Subscribed YouTube Channel". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on May 18, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  77. ^ Huddleston, Tom Jr. (August 31, 2018). "This Bollywood YouTube Channel Is on the Verge of Bumping 'PewDiePie' from His Top Spot". CNBC. NBC Universal. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  78. ^ Rakin, Ethan. "PewDiePie Could Lose His King of YouTube Crown to a Channel Called T-Series". Business Insider Singapore. Archived from the original on March 8, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2019.