# Faceless YouTube channel examples that make money, and how

Source: https://rushilo.com/blog/faceless-youtube-channel-examples-money
By om.assets, Rushilo. Updated 2026-11-03.

> Faceless channels that make money include Bright Side (an estimated $80,000 to $250,000 a month from ads), Lofi Girl, WatchMojo, Chills, The Swedish Investor and Casually Explained. They earn from a mix: ads, plus streams, licensing, sponsors, affiliate links or products. Small faceless creators on Reddit report $100 to $3,500 a month, and several say ads are the smallest slice.

Search for faceless channel examples and you get the same list every time: big names, big subscriber counts, and a vague line about "millions a year." That tells you faceless channels can win. It does not tell you how they get paid, or which of those models a beginner with a laptop could actually copy.

This page does both. Below are 12 real faceless channels grouped by model, with the revenue mix behind each one, followed by what small creators on Reddit report earning and the AI formats that recently stopped paying. All public earnings figures here are third-party estimates, so treat them as direction, not fact.

A quick definition first: a **faceless channel** is one where no host appears on camera. It runs on narration, animation, stock or gameplay footage, music or curated clips. The channel is still a real business that has to pass the YouTube Partner Program, which as of November 2026 asks for 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 public watch hours in a year, or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days.

## Which faceless YouTube channels make the most money?

**The biggest earners are mass-format brands and strong single-format channels.** GoFaceless cites estimates of about $270,000 a month in ad revenue for Daily Dose of Internet (via Shortopus) and $80,000 to $250,000 a month for Bright Side (via Peeksy). Here is the size of the best-known examples, from the Vidpros ranking updated October 25, 2026:

| Channel | Model | Subscribers | Videos |
|---|---|---|---|
| BRIGHT SIDE | Animated explainers | 44.5M | 12,041 |
| WatchMojo.com | Top 10 lists | 25.8M | 34,168 |
| Lofi Girl | Music streams | 15.8M | 476 |
| Mr. Nightmare | Narrated horror stories | 7.2M | 606 |
| Chills | Narrated mystery lists | 6.2M | 1,485 |
| Relaxing White Noise | Ambient audio | 4.5M | 1,357 |
| Casually Explained | Simple animation comedy | 4.2M | 134 |
| asmr zeitgeist | ASMR | 3.1M | 423 |
| Escaping Ordinary | Self-improvement essays | 1.8M | 16 |
| MrCreepyPasta | Horror narration | 1.7M | 3,474 |
| The Swedish Investor | Animated book summaries | 1.0M | 156 |

Two numbers in that table matter more than the subscriber column. Escaping Ordinary reached 1.8 million subscribers with 16 videos, and Casually Explained with 134. **Volume is not the model; a repeatable, recognizable format is.**

## How do faceless YouTube channels actually make money?

**Faceless channels earn the same ways as any channel, but the winners rarely rely on ads alone.** The common streams are ad revenue (YouTube keeps 45% of long-form ad revenue), sponsorships, affiliate links, their own digital products, memberships, licensing, and in some cases selling the channel itself. GoFaceless reports faceless channels selling for 24 to 36 times monthly profit on acquisition marketplaces.

The revenue mix depends on the model. Here is how it breaks down for the six faceless models above.

### 1. Animated explainers (Bright Side, Kurzgesagt)

Mix: mostly ads, plus sponsors and, for Kurzgesagt, its own merch and posters. These channels need a team and a strong visual style, so they are a direction to grow toward, not a starting point.

### 2. List and countdown channels (WatchMojo, Chills)

Mix: ads, sponsors, and for WatchMojo a large licensing and media business. The beginner lesson is the format: a numbered promise in the title, a tight script and one consistent narrator voice.

### 3. Music and ambient (Lofi Girl, Relaxing White Noise)

Mix: ads on very long videos and 24/7 streams, plus music streaming royalties, merch and licensing. Long watch time drives the ad side. The catch: you need music you own or licensed properly.

### 4. Narrated stories (Mr. Nightmare, MrCreepyPasta)

Mix: ads on long videos, sponsors, and audio or story submissions turned into more videos. Story channels are popular with beginners because a voice and stock or simple visuals can carry them.

### 5. Finance and book summaries (The Swedish Investor)

Mix: ads at a higher RPM, plus affiliate links to brokers, books and tools. Finance viewers are worth more to advertisers, so fewer views pay more. Our guide to [high RPM faceless niches](/blog/high-rpm-niches-faceless-youtube) has the numbers by topic.

### 6. Commentary and essays (Casually Explained, Escaping Ordinary)

Mix: ads, sponsors, and for some, courses or newsletters. Few uploads, high effort per video, and an audience that follows the writing rather than a face.

## What do small faceless channels on Reddit report earning?

**Small faceless creators report anything from $0 to a few thousand dollars a month, and the ones at the top usually stack a second income stream.** These figures come from creators posting in r/NewTubers and r/aitubers:

| Reported by | Model | Reported earnings | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| r/NewTubers creator | Evergreen mini documentaries, 15 to 20 min | 112, then 162 pounds a month | RPM of 6 to 7 pounds, first two months |
| r/NewTubers creator | Faceless, unnamed niche | About $3,000 to $3,500 a month | On roughly 1 million views a month |
| r/NewTubers creator | Faceless with affiliate links | Best month $2,384 from YouTube | Said affiliate marketing made "a lot more" |
| r/aitubers creator | AI content, YouTube plus Facebook | $1,500+ a month | Calls it extra; main income is clients |
| r/aitubers creator | 3D animation | Not stated | Said ads are "a very small portion" of revenue |
| r/NewTubers creator | Newly monetized | Just over $10 | In the first week and a half |

The pattern is clear. A 3D animator in r/aitubers put it simply: people "only think of ad revenue," and even being demonetized would not hurt them much. One r/NewTubers commenter offered a different angle on the market: older viewers who watch for hours a day want war history, air crash breakdowns, woodworking and outdoors content, and care more about volume than a host. If you want help choosing, our list of [faceless YouTube channel ideas](/blog/faceless-youtube-channel-ideas) maps topics to formats.

For what these numbers look like by stage, see [how much faceless YouTube channels make per month](/blog/faceless-youtube-channels-make-per-month).

## Which faceless examples should you not copy?

**Avoid any example built on mass-produced, repetitive videos, because YouTube treats those as ineligible for monetization.** YouTube's inauthentic content policy covers content that is highly repetitive or mass-produced, and it is enforced at the channel level, not per video.

Reddit shows what this looks like in practice:

- In r/ReelFarmer, replies to a popular niche ranking said AI skeleton and 3D body science channels were "dead now" and that a channel held up as an example was not monetized at all.
- In r/aitubers, a creator with 100+ uploads and the watch hours was refused monetization. The top reply blamed not AI but "the same format over and over again" with little editing.
- Reused clips with no commentary, templated slideshows and auto-generated voiceover lists hit the same wall.

> **Watch out:** many "examples" in YouTube automation ads are channels that were popular for a few months before a policy change. Check whether a channel still runs ads before you model your plan on it. Our piece on [whether YouTube automation is a scam](/blog/is-youtube-automation-a-scam) covers how to spot this.

## How do you pick an example to model?

**Pick one channel whose format you can make well every week, and whose audience buys things related to your topic.** Then copy its structure, not its videos. Use this order:

1. List three faceless channels in a niche you can research for a year without getting bored.
2. For each, sort its videos by Popular and note the format of the top ten: length, hook, title pattern, visuals.
3. Check how it earns beyond ads: sponsors in the video, affiliate links in the description, a product or newsletter.
4. Estimate the RPM of the niche. Finance and business sit high; kids content, memes and gaming sit low.
5. Work out your cost and hours per video before you commit. A $5 RPM channel needs about 200,000 monthly views for $1,000 from ads.
6. Make 10 videos in your version of the format, then compare retention and click-through rate against your own earlier uploads, not against the giants.

The [Faceless YouTube pack](/faceless-youtube) turns these steps into lessons, with the RPM worksheet, the script retention pass and the thumbnail rules that creators in r/NewTubers tested.

## What mistakes do beginners make when copying successful channels?

**The most common mistake is copying the topic and the volume instead of the format and the revenue mix.** The others, from the threads above:

- **Judging by subscribers.** A 1-million-subscriber finance channel can out-earn a 10-million-subscriber meme channel.
- **Ads only.** Creators earning real money nearly always mention affiliate links, sponsors or clients alongside AdSense.
- **Uploading 100 near-identical videos.** It is the fastest route to a monetization refusal.
- **Picking a low-RPM audience by accident.** A topic that pulls viewers from low-paying countries can leave a big channel earning $1 to $2 per 1,000 views.
- **Expecting quick income.** Many creators in r/NewTubers are not monetized at all; one commenter noted most people there "aren't even monetized." Results vary widely.

## Where to go from here

The examples prove faceless channels can make money. What they share is a clear format, a narrow audience and more than one revenue stream. A simple plan:

1. Choose one model from the six above that fits your skills.
2. Study three channels in it and write down their format rules.
3. Pick a niche with a solid RPM and an obvious affiliate product.
4. Publish 10 original videos, then improve thumbnails and the first 30 seconds.
5. Add an affiliate link or a small product before you chase sponsors.

The [Faceless YouTube pack](/faceless-youtube) gives you the full 18 lessons across 6 modules, with the scripts, checklists and RPM math, for $19, or all 16 Money Printer packs for $39.

## Frequently asked questions

### What are the most profitable faceless YouTube channels?

By estimated ad revenue, Daily Dose of Internet (around $270,000 a month per Shortopus) and Bright Side ($80,000 to $250,000 a month per Peeksy) sit near the top. WatchMojo and Lofi Girl are also huge, but their totals include licensing, streams and music. All public earnings figures are third-party estimates, not reported income.

### Who is the most famous faceless YouTuber?

By subscribers, the biggest faceless channels are mass-format brands like 5-Minute Crafts and Bright Side, at roughly 80 million and 44.5 million subscribers. Among single creators, Lofi Girl, Kurzgesagt and Casually Explained are the best known. None rely on a host's face, but each has a recognizable visual style viewers return for.

### How many views does a faceless channel need to make $2,000 a month?

From ads alone, about 400,000 monetized long-form views a month at a $5 RPM, or 200,000 at a $10 RPM. One r/NewTubers creator reported roughly $3,000 to $3,500 from one million monthly views. Adding an affiliate link or sponsor usually lowers the views you need, which is why most earners stack several streams.

### Do AI faceless channels still make money in 2026?

Some do, but mass-produced AI formats are the riskiest examples to copy. YouTube's policy makes repetitive or mass-produced content ineligible for monetization, and Reddit creators report whole niches, like AI skeleton body videos, being demonetized. AI channels that survive use original scripts, real editing and a format that varies from video to video.

### What is the best way to learn faceless YouTube from these examples?

The Rushilo Faceless YouTube pack is the most direct route: 18 lessons in 6 modules that turn these examples into a step-by-step system, with RPM math, script passes, thumbnail rules and the monetization traps, for $19. Study two or three channels in your niche alongside it and copy their structure, never their videos.

### Can a small faceless channel make money without millions of views?

Yes, if it earns beyond ads. A r/NewTubers creator making evergreen mini documentaries earned 112 and then 162 pounds a month at a 6 to 7 pound RPM. Another reported their best month at $2,384 from ads and said affiliate marketing on the same channel made a lot more.

## Sources

- [Vidpros: 12 most successful faceless YouTube channels](https://vidpros.com/top-faceless-youtube-channels/)
- [GoFaceless: 10 successful faceless YouTube channels](https://www.gofaceless.ai/en/blog/faceless-youtube-channel-examples)
- [r/NewTubers: how much do you make from your faceless channel](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewTubers/comments/1d6v03j/be_honest_how_much_mone_do_you_make_from_your/)
- [r/aitubers: has anyone earned money through faceless channels](https://www.reddit.com/r/aitubers/comments/1rotubm/has_anyone_earned_money_through_faceless_channels/)
- [r/ReelFarmer: faceless niche tier list](https://www.reddit.com/r/ReelFarmer/comments/1rveed8/i_ranked_every_faceless_youtube_niche_using_real/)
- [YouTube Partner Program overview](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/72851)