Which YouTube Niches Are Actually Growing in 2026? We Looked at 2,673 Channels

Sports, animals & nature, and challenges & entertainment grew fastest among categories with at least 30 channels in Returbe’s 2026 study. Sports led with a median subscriber growth rate of 4.2%, followed by animals at 4.1% and entertainment at 3.9%. These are 30-day rates calculated from shorter tracking periods.

Returbe compared 2,673 English-language channels between October 17 and November 1, 2026. If you’re choosing a niche, the numbers give you somewhere to start. You’ll still need to look at the channels, their videos and the format you want to make. Find growing channels with Returbe.

The fastest-growing YouTube niches

The table includes categories with at least 30 channels. Growth is the median subscriber growth rate, scaled to 30 days. “Channels at 10%+” shows the share reaching that rate on the same basis.

Shorts share is the percentage of videos that are Shorts. The RPM figures are estimates in US dollars per 1,000 long-form views, assuming most viewers are in the US.

ASMR & relaxation grew faster than sports at 5.1%, but the study included only 18 channels. Cars & vehicles reached 4.6% across 29 channels. Both groups were too small for the main table, though they may be worth a closer look.

How to read the growth rates

Returbe tracked channels with 1,000 to 1 million subscribers at their first count. Each channel needed at least two counts, taken at least 10 days apart. The average gap was 11.8 days.

To compare those different periods, Returbe converted each channel’s growth to a 30-day rate:

Growth rate (%) = (latest subscriber count − first count) ÷ first count × 30 ÷ days tracked × 100.

For example, suppose a channel goes from 10,000 to 10,200 subscribers in 12 days. It gained 2% during that period. Using the formula above gives a 5% rate over 30 days. The channel hasn’t actually gained 5% over a full month; that number assumes the same pace continues, without compounding.

The tables use the median—the middle growth rate in each group—to reduce the effect of a few huge jumps. YouTube shortens public subscriber counts, so some small changes may not show up in the data.

The study also has these limits:

• Returbe found these channels through trending pages, search, recommendations and other creators. They are not a random sample of YouTube.

• Deleted channels, AI-generated story channels and channels that lost more than 10% of their subscribers were removed. Excluding large losses can make the remaining group look stronger.

• Returbe sorted channels into 27 niches using channel details, video titles, AI analysis where available and related audiences. Some classifications may be wrong.

• Another 139 channels had no niche assigned. The main table covers 2,403 channels; smaller categories are left out.

A longer tracking period could change the ranking. Small gaps between niches are not enough on their own to make a decision.

Subscriber growth and earnings tell you different things

The three leading niches had Shorts shares of 61% to 78%. If you plan to make long videos, look closely at the formats behind those numbers. The study does not tell us how many subscribers came from Shorts.

Fitness had a 58% Shorts share, yet its median growth was 0.0%. The share of Shorts alone does not explain why some niches grew faster than others.

The RPM column needs care too. RPM means revenue per 1,000 views, after YouTube’s share. YouTube’s RPM metric can include income from several sources. The figures in this study are Returbe’s estimates for long videos, not earnings taken from the sampled creators’ accounts.

Finance had the highest estimated RPM at $14, but its median subscriber growth was 0.6%. History and DIY both grew at 2.2%, with estimated RPMs of $5.50 and $6.50. That makes them worth researching if you want to make long videos and grow an audience, though production costs and actual viewing figures will affect what you earn.

For a simple example, suppose your long videos receive 100,000 views at a $5.50 RPM:

100,000 ÷ 1,000 × $5.50 = $550, before production costs and other expenses.

You can try different assumptions in YouTubeToolkit’s video money calculator, which has a custom RPM input. Keep long-form and Shorts estimates separate. The $4.50 sports figure in the table should not be applied to all views on a channel that mostly publishes Shorts.

Five niches to research for long videos

These three checks narrow the main table to niches with:

• Growth above the study’s 1.6% median.

• A Shorts share of 50% or less.

• An estimated long-form RPM of at least $5.

Five categories met all three:

These filters give you a manageable list to investigate. They do not tell you which niche you’ll succeed in.

Change the requirements and the list changes. Raise the minimum growth rate to 2.0%, and only history and DIY remain. Require a Shorts share below 50%, and DIY drops out because it sits exactly at 50%.

Tech, food and true crime only beat the study’s median by 0.1 to 0.2 percentage points. More weeks of data would help show whether that small lead lasts. Returbe’s supplied summary also does not explain the time period or calculation used for Shorts share, so check the format mix of individual channels before relying on it.

If you need help coming up with a direction, try YouTubeToolkit’s YouTube channel ideas generator. Start with a few ideas you could make useful videos about, then look for channels serving those audiences.

Look beyond the broad category

“Tech” is a big category. Phones, gadgets and AI tutorials can attract different audiences and need different kinds of videos.

In this study, tech & AI grew at 1.8%. Phones & gadgets reached 5.8% across 35 channels—about 3.2 times the broader category’s rate.

The following sub-niches each had at least 15 channels:

Basketball’s 13.1% stands out, but it comes from just 18 channels. Phones & gadgets gives you a larger group to study. Neither result tells you how crowded the niche is, and the study does not separate seasonal interest from longer-term growth.

Choose a specific audience to research. “Budget phone camera comparisons” gives you a clearer place to start than “tech.” It’s an example of a narrower topic, not a sub-niche measured separately in this study.

Compare channels close to your size

Returbe also grouped the channels by subscriber count:

Channels with 10K–100K subscribers had the highest median growth at 2.4%. The smallest group had a slightly higher share reaching the 10%+ rate: 26%, compared with 24% in the middle group.

Those figures describe two different things. One is the middle channel’s growth rate; the other is how many channels grew quickly. Neither means that every small channel has an advantage.

When researching competitors, look for channels close to your size and using the format you plan to publish. The study does not separate the effects of niche, size and format, and it excludes channels below 1,000 subscribers.

If you’re starting from zero, YouTubeToolkit’s guide to creating a YouTube channel and making money covers the setup and publishing steps alongside your niche research.

Five channels that grew quickly

Returbe reported these subscriber changes during the study:

These were unusually large gains. The study does not say what caused them or whether the creators used Returbe.

If you study these channels, look at what they published during those dates. Then check whether other channels had similar results with related topics or formats. One channel’s sudden jump is a reason to investigate, not an outcome to expect for yourself.

Use Returbe to find videos worth studying

Once you have a niche in mind, you need examples you can learn from. Returbe describes three tools for that job:

• Niche Finder: Compare niches using outlier videos, channel growth and estimated RPM.

• Top Videos: Find videos that received far more views than their channel usually gets. Filters include niche, format, date and channel size.

• Breakout Creators: Look for growing channels by niche, size and format.

Returbe explains these features in its outlier research guide and small-channel research guide.

Suppose you’re considering history documentaries. Start with long videos from channels near your size. Look for uploads that did much better than those channels’ usual videos, then note the subject, length, title and thumbnail. Check whether similar ideas worked on more than one channel.

An outlier score helps with that comparison. For example, a video with 60,000 views on a channel whose recent same-format uploads have a median of 10,000 views has a 6× outlier score. Compare videos of similar ages where possible, since older uploads have had longer to gather views. The score tells you which video deserves a closer look; it does not explain its success by itself.

Find growing channels and outlier videos with Returbe

When Returbe is worth paying for

Returbe is worth a closer look if you research video ideas and competitors every week. Its tools bring channel growth, video comparisons and filters into one place, including channels you may not already follow.

For a quick check of a few channels you know, YouTube and a spreadsheet may be enough. A paid tool becomes more useful when you want to search more widely and repeat that research regularly. Before subscribing, check that the current plan includes the features you need.

Choose one niche from the list, pick the format you want to make, and find a few channels to study. Look for topics that have worked more than once and that you can cover with your own knowledge, research or access.

Start your niche research with Returbe