We have to start with a big disclaimer: these numbers are only my estimations based on publicly available data including view counts, average RPMs and more.
As such, use this info only as that: a rough (but educated) guess as to what Grant Horvat, one of the most popular YouTubers, makes on a yearly basis from YouTube ad revenue.
Keep in mind that this estimation doesn’t include any private sponsorship deals, money made from his equity stake in DTC club company Takomo Golf or other streams of revenue. Today, we’re strictly talking about ad revenue paid by YouTube.
Understanding RPMs
The first thing to tackle is RPMs, revenue per mile. This number is crucial to estimating what Horvat makes per year on YouTube.
Simply put, an RPM is the amount of money a creator makes per 1,000 views, AFTER YouTube takes its cut.
It’s tricky to nail down the RPM for a channel like Horvat’s, who traverses into sports, fitness, golf, education and lifestyle/vlog content.
| YouTube Niche/Category | Estimated Average RPM Range |
| Finance & Investing | High-End ($6 – $20+) |
| Make Money Online/Business | High-End ($5 – $18+) |
| Digital Marketing/B2B | High-End ($5 – $15+) |
| Technology/Gadget Reviews | Mid-to-High ($4 – $10+) |
| Educational/Tutorials | Mid-to-High ($3 – $8) |
| Health & Fitness | Mid-Range ($2 – $7) |
| Travel | Mid-Range ($2 – $7) |
| Lifestyle/Vlogs | Mid-to-Low ($1.50 – $4) |
| Cooking/Food | Mid-to-Low ($1 – $3) |
| Gaming | Low-End ($1 – $3) |
| Music/Entertainment/Comedy | Low-End ($0.50 – $2) |
Based on my research and the publicly available resources, I feel comfortable going through this exercise with an RPM of $3. If that RPM held steady throughout the entire year, that means Horvat would make $3 for every thousand views on his videos.
You can see where this math is headed. With our estimated RPM in hand, we can now look at view counts to come up with our best guess as to what he’ll make this year.
View Counts and more
But it’s not always that easy. Views aren’t always steady. For example, according to public data, Horvat’s channel had six million views in February but peaked at 17 million in July.
That’s a difference of about $40,000 in ad revenue between those two months, based on our estimated RPM.
Golf is seasonal so it’s expected that the winter months will see fewer views and the spring/summer months will see more.
If we look at what Horvat is averaging for the last three months (15 million views per month) and price that out with our RPM, that brings us to over $135,000 of ad revenue in Q3.
Considering that, again, the summer months are more lucrative and busy, then I don’t know that it’s fair to assume that rate would hold through the entire year.
Instead, if we bring in the lower view counts of the beginning of the year (Q1), it brings the average view count down to 14 million per month, which equates to just over $40,000 per month in ad revenue.
Spread that out throughout the entire year and you’re sitting just under the $500,000 mark in revenue.
My Estimation
So, my math goes as follows:
Average RPM ($3) x 14 million views per month x 12 months = $480,000 annually.
But, honestly, that’s probably on the high side. RPMs fluctuate, similar to view counts, so it wouldn’t be surprising if my estimation is a little high, especially given the seasonality of golf and the difficulty nailing down an RPM for Horvat’s specific category/genre of videos.
That said, I’d feel comfortable saying that Horvat easily earns more than $300,000 per year in ad revenue from YouTube, with his top-end ceiling hitting darn near $500,000.
What are your thoughts? Do you think this comes close? Let me know!
PC
4 months ago
You are all under by an almost absurd amount. The rpm for long form golf is very high, which is what should be expected given the length of the videos and the affluence of the audience. Mr Short Game, who is a middle-aged golf creator, said I think either 25 or 30 dollars. Nate Edwardson, who consults for golf channels, said it is 35 plus for “premium” golf creators. James Colin Davis, who is at least three tiers below Grant, said his is 10.
As for Grant’s expenses, they are minimal. He is definitely his own boss. He’s never done anything that required external capital. One of the advantages of golf as a YouTube genre is that the sets are free. He has one full time employee, plus probably his wife helping out behind the scenes (she used to be second camera sometimes, but now that he mostly does collabs the other channel usually goes halves on a two man crew).
The idea that he is making $200K or less is comical. Lesser known English golf creator Matt Fryer has been doing YouTube full time for years and most of his videos get low five figures. When Mizuno sponsored him he said it would allow him to increase his staff from two to four. If Grant hasn’t made many times more from Primo and Takomo than Matt has made from Mizuno he has been taken for a ride.
Grant Horvat has hit the sweet spot. He doesn’t work all that much and he is raking it in. He probably made over five million dollars after expenses in 2025.
PS. I am not a deluded fanboy. I am a middle-aged Englishman who prefers Peter Finch.