YouTube Is Testing $20 Payouts, Down From $100. Facebook Already Pays US Creators at $5.

For small YouTube channels, the hardest number to hit has often not been a view count. It has been $100.

On Monday, 26 October, TeamYouTube posted in its official test features thread that it is "temporarily running an experiment that lowers the minimum payment threshold to receive payments from $100 USD to $20 USD (or local currency equivalent)." It applies "starting from October 2026 payments for a randomly selected group of creators in the U.S., India and Indonesia." Creators in the test get a notification and can track payments in the YouTube Studio mobile app. Anyone who wants the old limit back can raise it in AdSense for YouTube. Social Media Today's Andrew Hutchinson reported the test on 27 October.

YouTube has not said how many channels are in the test, how long it will run, or whether it will reach other countries.

What changes, and what doesn't

The test moves the payout trigger. It does not change revenue share: creators still get 55% of net ad revenue on long-form videos and 45% of their share of the Shorts Creator Pool.

YouTube's payment cycle stays the same. The previous month's earnings are finalised between the 7th and 12th. The balance on the 20th must clear the threshold. If it does, payment goes out between the 21st and 26th. If it doesn't, the balance rolls over.

Posthype's arithmetic: a channel earning a steady $25 a month waits four payment cycles to clear $100, sitting on up to $75 of its own money. At $20, it gets paid every month. A channel earning $15 a month waits seven cycles at $100, and two at $20.

YouTube was the slow payer

The $100 line sits high next to rivals' published terms:

• Facebook: Meta's payouts page says US creators are paid once a month after reaching $5. Outside the US it is $25, or $100 for wire transfers.
• Twitch: cut its minimum from $100 to $50 in 2022 for direct deposit, PayPal, eCheck and cheque. Wire transfers still need $100 "due to transfer fees."
• TikTok: the US Creator Rewards Program terms set a $50 minimum. They also say that if unpaid rewards don't reach it, "subject to TikTok's discretion, the unpaid amount may be deemed expired."

Google's terms are kinder on that last point. Its AdSense help says a creator who cancels with more than $10 in the balance still gets a final payment, within about 90 days.

Why now

The test lands the same day Instagram announced 90-minute Features, with no ad revenue share yet. It also lands three months before YouTube's 1 February 2027 rule change, when channels need 10 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days to keep earning from the Shorts Creator Pool. Small channels are about to earn less from Shorts. Under this test, some of them would at least get paid sooner.

What this means for creators

If you're in the US, India or Indonesia and earn under $100 a month, check YouTube Studio on mobile for the notification. Make sure your address is verified and your payment method is set, since AdSense requires both at $10. Before you accept $20 payouts, ask your bank what it charges for each incoming international payment. A flat fee hurts more on a $20 deposit than on a $100 one. If it does, you can put the threshold back up in AdSense.

On TikTok, a balance stuck under $50 is a real risk under the US terms. Don't leave small balances sitting there.