MrBeast’s YouTube Shorts have officially overtaken his long-form videos in total viewership, marking a major shift for the platform’s biggest creator.
Since launching in 2021 to rival TikTok and Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts have been controversial among fans who prefer longer content and wish that Shorts had just been their own app. But the numbers show just how powerful the format has become.
Creators who haven’t been embracing Shorts may want to sit down for this one, because the content has pulled away on MrBeast’s main channel, generating more views overall than his long-form content.
MrBeast YouTube Shorts explode and surpass his main uploads
According to MrBeast Statistics, the Shorts uploaded to Jimmy Donaldson’s channel now total 47.3 billion views, slightly more than the 46.6 billion accumulated by his traditional videos as of August 22. That means Shorts now account for more than half of the channel’s overall watch count.
Four of MrBeast’s Shorts have each surpassed one billion views, outpacing his most popular long-form upload: the real-life Squid Game recreation from 2021, which has 871M views.
Meanwhile, another tracker, MrBeast Insights, reports that his 1 Subscriber = 1 Penny Donated Short set a record for the most views on a YouTube Short in 24 hours, pulling in over 68 million.
The rise underscores how Shorts are reshaping YouTube. Some creators are even claiming they earn over $9,000 a month from AI-generated Shorts that take less than two hours to make.
For the platform’s top star, the pivot speaks volumes: Shorts aren’t just an experiment anymore, they’re leading the way.
