YouTube Metrics Explained: What Matters in 2025 and How to Use It for Influencer Discovery

Understanding YouTube analytics is no longer optional for marketers, agencies, or brands working with video creators. With influencer marketing becoming more data-driven by the day, it is crucial to know which performance indicators genuinely reflect value, influence and growth.

In 2025, YouTube has introduced several important changes to its analytics platform, and influencer discovery tools like ChannelCrawler now provide clearer visibility into the data that matters. This article walks through the most important metrics, what has changed recently, and how to use these insights when choosing influencers.

Key YouTube Metrics to Know in 2025

Not all numbers are created equal. Here are the core YouTube metrics that should be reviewed before partnering with any creator.

Subscribers

A channel’s subscriber count gives you a basic sense of scale and potential reach. However, high subscriber numbers can be misleading if the audience is inactive or disengaged. Subscriber count is useful as a starting point, but never enough on its own.

One helpful way to evaluate a channel’s real performance is by looking at the views-to-subscriber ratio . For example, if a channel has 100,000 subscribers but its recent videos average only 5,000 views, the ratio is 5 per cent — a potential sign of low engagement. On the other hand, if a smaller channel with 1,000 subscribers consistently gets 950 views per video, that’s a 95 per cent ratio, which strongly indicates an active and loyal audience.

This ratio offers an easy way to spot underperforming or overperforming creators, especially when comparing influencers of similar sizes.

Subscriber Growth Rate

Subscriber growth is often a better indicator of relevance than total subscriber count. Platforms like ChannelCrawler display this data across 30, 60 and 90-day periods, helping you spot upward or downward trends. A consistent rise in subscribers shows that a creator is actively building an audience and attracting interest from new viewers.

However, growth spikes can sometimes be misleading — especially when driven by a single viral moment. One example is @sushi_guy_51, who gained traction after being featured in a viral TikTok post. He even followed up with a response video on YouTube, but engagement dropped off significantly afterwards. This kind of short-lived exposure can inflate growth metrics without reflecting long-term value.

When evaluating subscriber growth, it is important to check whether viewership and engagement are keeping pace . Sustained growth paired with consistent uploads and healthy engagement rates is far more valuable than a single traffic spike.

Engagement Rate

Engagement rate measures how interactive a creator’s audience is, and on YouTube, this primarily includes likes and comments . Unlike platforms such as Instagram or TikTok, YouTube does not factor in shares or saves in its engagement metrics.

The rate is usually calculated as a percentage of total views. For example, a video with 10,000 views, 300 likes and 50 comments would have a 3.5 per cent engagement rate. On YouTube, anything above 2 per cent is generally considered strong — but this varies by category . Channels in niche or personality-led spaces (like commentary or education) often see higher engagement than entertainment or children’s content, where viewers are less likely to interact.

If you're trying to find creators with the most engaged audiences, ChannelCrawler lets you sort search results by engagement rate . This makes it easy to start your search with channels that consistently generate responses from their viewers.

Typical Views per Video

This metric is critical for assessing how many people are actually watching a creator’s content. A channel might have millions of subscribers but receive only a fraction of that in views. Typical views help cut through inflated subscriber counts and provide a more realistic sense of a channel’s day-to-day performance.

ChannelCrawler calculates this based on the average views across the last 10 or 50 videos , giving a clearer picture of how recent content is performing. This is especially helpful when comparing creators with similar subscriber counts.

For example, PewDiePie has over 110 million subscribers , but his typical view count is currently around 2.2 million per video . This shows that while his overall reach is massive, his regular audience is a smaller, highly engaged segment — valuable for the right kind of campaign.

Videos per Month

Content consistency matters, particularly for time-sensitive or seasonal campaigns. Knowing how frequently a creator uploads helps determine if they can meet your campaign timelines and maintain regular visibility.

For example, PewDiePie currently averages two videos per month , which may be suitable for evergreen or long-term brand placements but less ideal for fast-paced promotional campaigns. If your campaign requires frequent updates or multiple content drops in a short period, you may want to prioritise creators with a more active upload schedule.

Total Views

This is a lifetime measure of how often a channel’s content has been watched. While less important than recent performance, total views offer context for long-term authority and potential back catalogue value. Top Gear’s total view count of 4.2 billion confirms its established presence on the platform.

How to Use These Metrics When Selecting Influencers

When evaluating YouTube creators for potential collaboration, the following principles can help you avoid poor investments and identify high-value partnerships.

Avoid Vanity Metrics

Subscriber count is often misleading if not backed up by views and engagement. Look for creators whose typical view count and growth rate support their overall numbers.

Look for Momentum

Creators with steady or rising subscriber and view growth are more likely to produce ongoing value. Stagnant or declining channels may struggle to deliver the same results, even if their historic numbers look impressive.

Check for Consistency

Regular uploads indicate a reliable creator who is in tune with the algorithm and their audience. Channels that go long periods without posting can experience declining engagement and visibility.

Engagement Over Everything

When it comes to choosing the right YouTube creators, engagement is often more important than reach . High engagement rates typically indicate a loyal, attentive audience that actively responds to content — whether through likes or comments.

This is especially important for niche or conversion-focused campaigns , where trust and influence matter more than volume. An audience that consistently interacts with a creator is more likely to take action, whether that means clicking a link, subscribing to a service or making a purchase.

Beyond metrics, it is worth manually reviewing the comments on a few recent videos. This gives a clearer picture of sentiment and relevance — for example, are viewers just leaving emojis, or are they asking questions, sharing opinions or tagging friends? The quality of conversation can say as much about influence as the numbers themselves.

Tools like ChannelCrawler let you sort by engagement rate to surface creators with highly active communities, making it easier to start with those most likely to deliver results.

Where to Find This Data

Influencer discovery platforms like ChannelCrawler bring all of these metrics together in one place. Rather than switching between YouTube, spreadsheets and outreach tools, you can filter, compare and contact creators from a single interface.

Example: PewDiePie on ChannelCrawler

From a single profile, ChannelCrawler displays:

• Subscribers

  : 110 million

• Engagement rate

  : 6.33 per cent

• Videos per month

  : 2

• Typical views per video

  : 2.2 million

• Subscriber growth (last 90 days)

  : 0.0 per cent

• Channel tags

  : Gaming, Pewds, Felix Kjellberg, and related terms

• Email availability

  : Available.

• Social Platforms:

  links to all major social platforms

This data gives a clear picture of a creator with an enormous reach, limited output, and a highly engaged audience. While subscriber growth is currently flat, PewDiePie’s engagement rate is notably high — making him a valuable partner for the right campaign, especially in gaming or legacy creator spaces.

YouTube metrics have grown more sophisticated in 2025, and marketers must go beyond surface-level numbers to understand real creator value. While subscriber count still matters, it is engagement rate, growth and actual viewership that reveal whether a creator can deliver results.

Platforms like ChannelCrawler simplify the discovery process by providing accurate, real-time metrics for YouTube creators around the world. Whether you are building your first campaign or scaling an existing strategy, understanding these analytics is key to choosing the right influencers.

Ready to explore creators by niche, growth or engagement? Try a free search now.