How to Find Sponsors for Your YouTube Channel (2026): What 67K YouTube Channels Show

Most advice on finding YouTube sponsors is a list of marketplaces and a template email. This guide starts from the evidence: the paid sponsored videos published in the last twelve months by more than 36K channels, read from public descriptions and paid-promotion disclosures through the official YouTube Data API, across an index of 67K channels and 48K brands. It answers the questions creators ask in order: do I need a big channel, which brands are buying right now, do sponsors come back, where the deals are by niche, and then the five steps that turn that into a deal. Updated October 2026.

The five steps, in one screen

• Build a target list from brands that sponsored channels like yours in the last 90 days, not from the brands every list names.
• Check each brand works with channels your size and whether the deal was a paid integration or an affiliate link.
• Know your rate and have a one-page media kit before anyone asks.
• Pitch a specific video to the person who buys, with proof that the brand already sponsors channels like yours.
• Time it to the budget calendar, follow up once, deliver, and ask for the renewal.

If you want the matching done for you, add your channel and DiscoverSponsors ranks the brands that sponsored creators of your size, language and niche, each with the sponsored video as proof. The rest of this page is the method, so you can do it by hand too.

Do you need a big channel? What the data says

No. The share of channels with at least one paid sponsor doubles between 1K and 50K subscribers, then flattens. Past 50K, size barely changes your odds; niche and format do.

Two more numbers settle the small-channel question. In the last year, 22K different brands paid for a video on a channel under 50K subscribers, and 11K brands paid for one on a channel under 10K. The brands exist; the question is which ones, and that is what the rest of this guide answers. The full curve, including why channels above 1M are sponsored slightly less often than channels at 500K, is in the sponsorship-rate analysis.

Which brands sponsor YouTube channels right now

Rankings move every month, so the useful list is recent. These are the brands that sponsored the most distinct channels in the 90 days to mid-October 2026, with the share of those channels under 100K subscribers, a quick read on how open each is to smaller creators.

Read the last column before you pitch. Zocdoc and Incogni buy reach and almost never work with channels under 100K; SHEIN, Temu and Holafly take small channels as a matter of course. Every brand in the index has a page with the channels it sponsored and the videos as evidence, so you can check the size of channel it works with in a minute: start from the sponsor directory, or see the most active YouTube sponsors for the longer ranking.

Sponsors repeat, which is why you pitch brands that already buy

A brand that has paid one creator has a budget, a contract template and a person who says yes. In the last twelve months, 35% of brand-and-channel pairs in the index produced two or more paid videos, so a first deal is often the start of a series rather than a one-off. Nearly 1.2K brands sponsored twenty or more different channels in the year, and 158 brands sponsored more than a hundred. Those brands are running a program, and a program needs new channels every month.

The other half of the picture is churn. Around 10K brands had their first detected sponsored video in the last 90 days. Part of that is our index growing, but it also means the list of brands worth pitching is not fixed: a brand that did not exist as a sponsor in spring may be the most open one in autumn. Build your list from recent activity and rebuild it every quarter.

Where the deals are, by niche

Your niche moves your odds as much as your size. The share of channels with 10K–1M subscribers that had a paid sponsor in the last year, by primary niche:

The pattern is intent. A viewer watching a lens review or an AI-tool comparison is shopping, and the brands that sell those things know where to find them. A viewer watching a commentary video is not shopping for anything, so entertainment channels sell reach to subscription apps and VPNs instead, and those brands prefer big channels. If your channel sits in a low-rate niche, the niche guides below show the brands that do pay there, and the "borrow a topic niche" move that works for commentary and vlog channels. For the whole table and the method behind it, see which niches get sponsored most.

Step 1: Build a target list from real sponsor activity

The single most useful question is not "which brands sponsor YouTubers?" but "which brands sponsored channels of my size, in my niche, in the last 90 days?" Three ways to answer it:

• Read the sponsors of comparable channels. Open five channels in your niche and size band and read the sponsor lines in their recent descriptions ("sponsored by", "use code", "thanks to"). Every brand that appears twice goes on the list. The free channel checker does this for any channel you paste, and how to see who sponsors any YouTube channel covers the four ways to do it by hand.
• Rank brands by breadth, not volume. A brand that ran hundreds of videos with three huge channels is not open to you; a brand that sponsored two hundred different small channels is. The brands that sponsor the most small YouTube channels is ranked exactly this way.
• Use the niche and country pages. Sponsor categories list the brands sponsoring each niche with the videos as evidence, and the leaderboards rank the top sponsors and the most-sponsored creators by country and niche.

Aim for twenty brands. Fewer and one slow reply stalls you; more and the pitches get generic.

Step 2: Check that the brand works with channels your size

Not every brand name in a description is a paid integration, and not every paying brand will pay you. Before a brand stays on the list, open two or three of its sponsored videos and check three things:

• The deal type. A dedicated integration has a 30 to 90 second segment and a "this video is sponsored by" line. A discount code with no segment is usually an affiliate arrangement, paid per sale. Affiliate deals are far easier to get and a different conversation. The brand pages on DiscoverSponsors label each video as a paid sponsorship or an affiliate placement, so you can tell at a glance.
• The brand's floor. The smallest channel a brand has sponsored is the honest signal of what it accepts. If its smallest partner has ten times your subscribers, move it to a later list.
• Recency. A brand whose last sponsored video is from a year ago may have cut the program. YouTube sponsorships by month shows who is buying today and who ramped up this quarter.

Step 3: Know your rate before anyone asks

Brands think in cost per thousand views of the sponsored video, not in subscribers. Your median views on the last ten long-form videos is the number that sets your price. A typical sponsored video on a 100K–250K channel reaches around 15K views, which at the $15 to $35 per thousand views brands pay for a dedicated integration is roughly $225 to $525 for the segment; niche moves that range a lot. How much a YouTube sponsorship is worth by channel size has the bands, and the rate calculator gives you a range from your own views and niche, with what channels like yours actually got.

Sponsors pay in three ways. A flat fee per integration is the standard for a dedicated segment. Affiliate or performance pay is a commission per sale or signup through your code. A hybrid, a smaller fee plus a commission, is a fair first deal with a brand that does not know you yet. Decide your target, your floor and your walk-away before the brand names a price; how to negotiate a YouTube sponsorship walks through the conversation.

Have the media kit ready at the same time. One page: who you are in a sentence, your real numbers from YouTube Studio (subscribers, median views, average view duration, top countries and age bands), two or three past collaborations or videos where a product fit naturally, what you offer and how long each format takes, and a business email you check daily. The media kit guide has a template.

Step 4: Pitch the person who buys, with proof

Brands buy placements in videos, so the pitch that works describes a specific video: what it is about, who watches it, where the product fits naturally, and what you will show. Then the proof: the brand has sponsored channels like yours (name one), and your audience matches its buyers. Send it to the partnerships or creator contact, not a generic inbox.

A template you can adapt:

Subject: [Video idea] for [Brand] × [Channel]

Hi [Name],

I make [specific content] for [specific audience]. My recent videos typically reach [honest view range] in the first month, and most viewers are [top countries and age band].

I saw your integration with [comparable creator]. I'm planning [specific upcoming video], where I could show [how the product solves a real problem in that video] in a 60-second segment.

Media kit attached. Would you be open to a call next week?

[Your name]

Follow up once after a week, then move on. More templates, including the follow-up and the reply to "what are your rates", are in how to pitch a YouTube sponsor.

Step 5: Time it, deliver, and get the renewal

Sponsorship budgets follow a calendar. In the last year the number of channels with a sponsored video stepped up from 8.6K in December to 9.6K in January and never came back down, then built from March to a June peak of 13.1K channels and 11.1K active brands. New-year money lands in the first weeks of January; spring campaigns are decided in February and March. Use the shape as a plan:

The renewal is where the money is. A third of brand-and-channel pairs in the index produced more than one paid video in the year. After the first integration, send the brand the result (views, retention through the segment, code uses if you have them) and propose the next video while the first is still fresh.

Other ways sponsors find you

• Marketplaces and platforms. Useful for a first deal and a track record, weakest under 10K subscribers, where direct outreach does most of the work. We compare the options in the best YouTube sponsorship sites and platforms.
• Being visible where marketing teams look. A "work with me" line and a business email in your About page and descriptions, and a public media kit page, turn inbound interest into deals. Brands do search for channels in a niche before they buy.
• Other creators. The fastest introductions come from creators your size in your niche who already have the sponsor. Brands trust a referral more than a cold email.

Mistakes that kill deals

• Pitching the biggest names first. The brands every list mentions get the most pitches; the brands adding channels of your size answer more often.
• Leading with subscribers instead of views. A brand pays for the people who will see its segment.
• Sending the same email to every brand. One specific video idea per brand beats twenty generic messages.
• Treating a discount code as proof of a paid deal. Check the video before you cite it.
• Promising results you cannot control, like sales. Promise the integration you will deliver.
• Forgetting the disclosure. Mark the video as containing paid promotion in YouTube Studio and say it in the video. Brands expect it and viewers trust it.

What to do this week

• Write down your median views on your last ten long-form videos and your top three audience countries. That is your pricing input.
• Paste your channel and three comparable channels into the free checker and write down every brand that appears twice.
• Open each brand's page and note its smallest sponsored channel and last sponsored video. Keep the brands whose floor is at or below your size and whose last video is this quarter.
• Build the one-page media kit and get a price range from the rate calculator.
• Send three pitches, each naming one specific upcoming video and one comparable channel the brand sponsored.

Frequently asked questions

How many subscribers do you need to get a YouTube sponsor? There is no minimum. In our index 27.5% of channels with 1K–10K subscribers had a paid sponsor in the last year, and the share passes half between 10K and 50K. Steady views and a clear audience matter more than a subscriber milestone.

Do brands sponsor small YouTube channels? Yes. In the last twelve months 22K different brands paid for a video on a channel under 50K subscribers, and 11K on a channel under 10K. Start with brands whose smallest sponsored channel is near your size.

How much does a YouTube sponsorship pay? Brands pay by expected views, usually $15 to $35 per thousand views of the sponsored video for a dedicated integration, more in finance and software, less in entertainment. A typical sponsored video on a 100K–250K channel reaches around 15K views, so roughly $225 to $525 for the segment. The rate calculator gives you a range from your own numbers.

How do I find out who sponsors a YouTube channel? Read the descriptions of its recent videos for "sponsored by", "use code" or "thanks to" lines, or paste the channel into the free checker, which lists the brands and the videos. Comparable channels' sponsors are the best starting list for your own pitches.

Should I wait for brands to contact me? No. Inbound offers tend to come after you have a few visible integrations. Until then a short, specific pitch to brands that already sponsor channels like yours is the fastest route.

What if a brand says no or never replies? Follow up once after a week, then ask whether you can stay in touch for the next campaign and pitch again in a quarter with a new video idea. Budgets and rosters change quickly, and a third of brands in the index are new sponsors this year.

Guides by niche

The method is the same everywhere; the brands and the natural placements differ. Each guide lists the top sponsors in the niche with the smallest channel each worked with:

• How to find YouTube sponsors for a small channel
• Travel channels
• Gaming channels
• Tech channels
• AI and software channels
• Cooking channels
• DIY and home channels
• Finance channels
• Beauty channels
• Fitness channels
• Education channels
• Automotive channels
• Outdoor and adventure channels
• Photography and filmmaking channels
• Lifestyle and vlog channels
• Entertainment and commentary channels
• True crime channels

About the data

Every figure here comes from public video information retrieved through the official YouTube Data API. A video counts as sponsored when its description or paid-promotion disclosure names the brand that paid for the integration; affiliate-only placements and videos under 60 seconds are excluded, and the window is videos published in the last twelve months unless a section says otherwise. Channels with sponsors are easier to discover than channels without, so the percentages are upper bounds and the brand counts are floors; the ranking and the shape of the curves are the findings. A detected sponsorship is not confirmation of contract terms or of a brand's willingness to sponsor your channel.