Your Easy Guide to the Biggest Stars
YouTube is much more than just a website for watching videos, it’s a massive, worldwide platform for creative people, business builders, and global movers. With over 2.7 billion people watching every month, creators have an amazing chance to build huge businesses, shape public opinion and start trends that influence people all over the world.
In 2025, YouTube stars are the ones driving conversations in gaming, technology, lifestyle, fun, education, and giving back. They are the new celebrities, they built their own careers, they feel real and relatable, and they have incredible power to connect with people.
This detailed guide breaks down the Top 10 YouTube Influencers for 2025. We look at their massive impact, what kind of videos they make, and why they matter so much culturally. You’ll also find a simple comparison table and a handy list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) for deeper details.
1. Introduction: The Superpower of YouTube Stars
In today’s world, where everyone is fighting for your attention, top YouTube stars own a huge piece of the pie. They have the unique power to quickly start and spread global trends in what people buy and what they talk about:
- Shopping Habits: Their reviews and suggestions directly affect what many people buy. Studies show that 62% of YouTube viewers find new products because a creator talks about them.
- Culture: They decide which topics become important worldwide, often starting debates, memes, and social movements faster and more naturally than old-school media.
- Trust and Realness: Unlike polished, often distant traditional celebrities, YouTube creators feel like friends. They talk directly to their audience through comments, live chats, and community posts, which builds an amazing level of trust. Research shows that 70% of teenagers trust YouTubers more than movie stars.
This big shift in trust and connection means the biggest YouTube stars are not just entertainers, they are global business leaders and cultural trendsetters.
2. How We Picked the Top YouTube Influencers
To find the most important creators, we had to look past just how many followers they have. We used these five detailed factors to rank the top 10 creators for 2025:
| Criteria | Simple Explanation | Why It Matters |
| ✔ 1. Subscriber Count & Global Reach | The total number of people who follow them and how far that reach goes across the world. | Shows the potential size of their audience and how many people see their brand. |
| ✔ 2. Engagement Rate & Watch Time | How often people like, comment, share, and, most importantly, how long they actually watch the video. | Shows the quality of their influence—if people truly care, not just passively follow. |
| ✔ 3. New Ideas & Trendsetting | Do they try new things? Do they create video styles that thousands of other channels copy? | Shows their long-term influence and how they help change the platform itself. |
| ✔ 4. Brand Impact & Business Power | How successful are their own businesses (like snack brands or production studios)? Do they make money for partner companies? | Shows their economic strength and how well they can turn attention into profit. |
| ✔ 5. Cultural Importance & Going Viral | How often do they start big real-world discussions, create memes, get in the news, or start charity movements? | Shows their real-world impact outside of just the YouTube site. |
3. Top 10 YouTube Influencers in 2025
Here is a closer look at each creator, explaining their strategies and why their influence lasts.
1. MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson)

- Subscribers (2025 Estimate): 450M+ (The person with the most followers)
- Type of Videos: Huge Challenges, Charity Work, Entertainment
- Country: USA
MrBeast is easily the most important single creator in the world. His videos are not simple uploads; they are massive, multi-million dollar global events. His plan is simple: always aim to make the highest quality, most unbelievable content possible.
Subscribe MrBeast on YouTube
Why He Wins:
- The Reinvestment Rule: He puts almost all the money he makes back into making bigger, more amazing videos. This creates a loop where he keeps growing faster and faster.
- Goodwill: Projects like Beast Philanthropy, Team Trees, and Team Seas mix fun with making a real, positive difference in the world. This makes people trust him even more.
- Business Empire: He turns his fame into major brands like Feastables (his popular snack line, expected to make around $375M in 2025) and his reality show, Beast Games, which got a huge $100M+ deal with Amazon Prime. His reach is far beyond YouTube.
2. PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg)

- Subscribers (2025 Estimate): 110M+
- Type of Videos: Commentary, Gaming, Meme Reviews
- Country: Sweden (Lives in Japan)
Even though he doesn’t post as often as he used to, PewDiePie is a true legend and still a top influencer. He essentially wrote the rules for being a famous creator today.
Subscribe PewDiePie on YouTube
His Lasting Impact:
- The Original Star: He started the personal, funny, “Let’s Play” gaming style and the simple, real editing that millions of people now copy.
- Strongest Community: His “Bro Army” is one of the most loyal and lasting fan groups ever, guaranteeing that even simple videos get millions of views quickly.
- Real Talk: He has stayed popular for so long because he is simply authentic. He’s been through changes and arguments but remains himself, keeping a powerful bond with his fans.
3. Mark Rober

- Subscribers (2025 Estimate): 71M+
- Type of Videos: Science, Engineering, Creative Experiments
- Country: USA
Mark Rober, who used to work for NASA, makes complicated science easy to understand and extremely fun to watch. His videos mix careful engineering with content that goes viral easily.
Subscribe Mark Rober on YouTube
His Huge Influence in Learning:
- The Science Hero: He turns difficult topics in physics and engineering into family-friendly entertainment that appeals to kids, parents, and teachers.
- Viral Hits: He is famous for huge experiments like the “World’s Largest Water Gun” and his funny glitter-bomb packages for thieves, which are shared globally.
- World-Changing Work: He helped create the highly successful charity drives, Team Trees and Team Seas, mobilizing the YouTube community to raise millions for environmental causes.
4. Dude Perfect

- Subscribers (2025 Estimate): 61M+
- Type of Videos: Sports, Trick Shots, Comedy
- Country: USA
Dude Perfect is a group of five friends famous for high-energy, family-safe, incredible trick shots. They have mastered the art of the viral, impressive video.
Subscribe Dude Perfect on YouTube
The Power of Teamwork:
- Watched by Everyone: Their videos are loved by children, teens, and adults alike, meaning families often watch together—a huge plus for advertisers.
- Big Budgets: Their videos are major productions, sometimes costing millions and featuring famous athletes, making their content look high-quality and professional.
- Major Business Moves: Their success is leading to a huge new project: a potential $100M+ trick-shot theme park, showing they can turn digital fame into real-world business.
5. Marques Brownlee (MKBHD)

- Subscribers (2025 Estimate): 71M+
- Type of Videos: High-Quality Tech Reviews, Gadgets
- Country: USA
Marques Brownlee is the gold standard for tech reviews and the most trusted person when it comes to new electronics. When MKBHD reviews a product, millions of people use his opinion to decide what to buy.
Subscribe Marques Brownlee on YouTube
The Go-To Tech Expert:
- Film-Quality Reviews: His reviews are known for looking great, being fair and unbiased, and always backed by strong research.
- Access to the Top: He often gets exclusive interviews with the biggest names in tech, including the CEOs of major companies, making his opinions highly respected.
- The “MKBHD Says”: Both tech companies and everyday consumers trust his judgment, making his channel an absolute must-watch for anyone buying an expensive gadget.
6. Emma Chamberlain

- Subscribers (2025 Estimate): 13M+
- Type of Videos: Lifestyle, Aesthetic Vlogs, Fashion
- Country: USA
Emma Chamberlain didn’t just post videos; she changed the style of modern vlogging. Her signature look was very real, quick cuts, making fun of herself, and a simple style—became the standard for an entire generation.
Subscribe Emma Chamberlain on YouTube
Her Impact on Young Culture:
- So Relatable: Her raw, honest way of sharing her life created a very deep emotional connection with her viewers, especially Gen Z.
- Fashion Icon: She successfully moved from a YouTube star to a true fashion leader, working with luxury brands and attending major events like the Met Gala.
- Building a Brand: She has successfully used her fame to launch her very popular podcast, Anything Goes, and her successful, worldwide coffee brand, Chamberlain Coffee.
7. Ryan’s World (Ryan Kaji & Family)

- Subscribers (2025 Estimate): 40M+
- Type of Videos: Kids’ Fun, Educational Toys, Family
- Country: USA
What started as a simple channel reviewing toys is now a massive business empire in retail and media. Ryan’s World is a giant force in children’s online content.
Subscribe Ryan’s World on YouTube
A Huge Licensed Business:
- Kids and Parents Watch: The content is watched many times by children, leading to huge view counts, and parents trust the safe, educational tone.
- Retail Power: The channel’s fame has directly led to a massive line of products—toys, clothes, and home goods—sold in major stores globally, showing its massive economic power.
- Global Deals: The brand now includes animated TV shows, mobile apps, and big licensing deals around the world, making it a major player in traditional media, too.
8. Ninja (Tyler Blevins)

- Subscribers (2025 Estimate): 24M+
- Type of Videos: Gaming, Live Streaming (Fortnite, Variety)
- Country: USA
Ninja is one of the most well-known figures in the history of gaming and streaming. His huge rise while playing Fortnite turned him into a celebrity recognized everywhere.
Subscribe Ninja (Tyler Blevins) on YouTube
Gaming’s Star Ambassador:
- Fame Across Platforms: While huge on Twitch, his YouTube videos and collaborations with non-gaming celebrities (like Drake) made him gaming’s first major mainstream star.
- Big Brand Partnerships: He continues to get high-value deals with global companies like Red Bull and Adidas, showing that top gamers are very appealing to big corporations.
- A Lasting Symbol: His name is linked to the massive growth of streaming, making him an enduring example of how gaming became a global form of entertainment.
9. Zach King

- Subscribers (2025 Estimate): 26M+
- Type of Videos: Digital Magic Tricks, Short Visual Effects (VFX)
- Country: USA
Zach King is a master of digital illusion. He doesn’t just film videos; he creates short, carefully edited, cinematic magic tricks that people watch again and again to try and figure out.
Subscribe Zach King on YouTube
The King of Short Videos:
- Loved by All: His videos are safe for the whole family and don’t need talking, making them easy to share across all languages and cultures.
- Shorts and TikTok Master: He has perfectly used his skills for YouTube Shorts and TikTok, making sure his magical video style stays viral and relevant in the short-form video era.
- Creative Value: Companies highly value his creativity for making unique, safe, and highly shareable content for their own marketing campaigns.
10. The Try Guys

- Subscribers (2025 Estimate): 8.5M+
- Type of Videos: Comedy, Challenges, Entertainment
- Country: USA
The Try Guys successfully left a big media company (BuzzFeed) to start their own, very successful production company. Their videos are a great mix of laugh-out-loud comedy and real personal learning.
Subscribe The Try Guys on YouTube
The Power of Being Independent and Real:
- Super Loyal Fans: Their decision to become independent created an intense and very loyal fan base that follows them in all their projects.
- Mixed Content: Their videos cover a huge range of topics from cooking to fitness challenges, mixing humor with honest life lessons, keeping their content fresh for a long time.
- Building a Media House: They have grown their brand into book series, podcasts and a fully running production studio, showing how creators can leave old media and build their own business empires.
4. Quick Facts Table: Top 10 YouTube Influencers (2025)
| Rank | Creator | Subscribers (2025 Est.) | Main Video Type | Country | Influence Score (1–10) | Top Business Project |
| 1 | MrBeast | 450M+ | Challenges, Charity | USA | 10 | Feastables Snacks, Beast Games |
| 2 | PewDiePie | 110M+ | Commentary, Gaming | Sweden/Japan | 9.0 | Huge Merch Lines |
| 3 | Mark Rober | 71M+ | Science, Engineering | USA | 9.5 | Team Trees/Seas (Charity) |
| 4 | Dude Perfect | 61M+ | Sports, Trick Shots | USA | 8.8 | Theme Park Development |
| 5 | MKBHD | 71M+ | Tech Reviews, Gadgets | USA | 9.2 | Waveform Podcast Network |
| 6 | Ryan’s World | 38M+ | Kids’ Entertainment | USA | 8.5 | Global Toy & Product Line |
| 7 | Zach King | 26M+ | Digital Magic, VFX | USA | 8.0 | Making Content for Brands |
| 8 | Ninja | 24M+ | Gaming, Streaming | USA | 8.2 | Major Deals with Red Bull/Adidas |
| 9 | Emma Chamberlain | 13M+ | Lifestyle, Culture | USA | 8.7 | Chamberlain Coffee Brand |
| 10 | The Try Guys | 8.5M+ | Comedy, Challenges | USA | 7.8 | 2nd Try Production Studio |
5. Why Companies Love Working with YouTube Stars
In 2025, companies are expected to spend about $2.35 billion on YouTube stars in the U.S., which is more than on any other platform. Companies are choosing YouTube creators over old-school ads for smart reasons:
- Real Stories for Longer: YouTube’s longer video format (often over 10 minutes) lets creators show products naturally through full stories and reviews, something short ads can’t do.
- High Trust Means High Sales: The great results come directly from the trust factor. People trust recommendations from real people more than traditional commercials. A successful YouTube campaign can return an average of $5.78 for every $1 spent.
- Great Content Lasts: A good video on YouTube can be found and watched for years, giving a brand continuous value from one payment. For example, a high-quality MKBHD review will keep bringing in views and sales for the product’s entire lifespan.
- Fame Everywhere: Top YouTubers are also huge on TikTok, Instagram, and podcasts. Plus, more people are watching YouTube on Smart TVs (Connected TV), making brand collaborations feel more like high-impact TV advertising.
- Easy to Buy: YouTube has features like clickable links, product tags, and creator stores, which make it super easy for a viewer to go from feeling inspired (by watching the video) to actually buying the product.
6. What’s Next for YouTube Influence
The creator economy is changing fast, thanks to new technology and worldwide trends:
- More AI Tools: Creators will use Artificial Intelligence for better analysis, personalizing content for different types of viewers, automatically cutting long videos into Shorts, and even helping with scripts, leading to much faster production.
- More Stars from Around the World: While the U.S. is still big, the next generation of huge creators will increasingly come from places like India, Brazil, Indonesia, and Spanish-speaking countries. This means making content in multiple languages will be key (something MrBeast already does).
- The Creator-Becomes-CEO: Following the lead of MrBeast and Emma Chamberlain, more top creators will skip standard brand deals to launch their own Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brands, apps, and restaurants. They want to fully own the successful businesses they build with their fame.
- Very Specific Niche Stars: As the platform gets crowded, creators with a smaller but extremely loyal and focused audience (called micro-influencers) will become very valuable to brands that need to target a specific customer group with high-impact campaigns.
- Higher Quality Videos: The battle with major streaming services will get tougher, forcing YouTube videos to look even better, with more creators investing in professional studios, writing teams and high-quality filming equipment.
7. Common Questions You Might Have (FAQs)
1. Who is the most important single YouTube star in 2025?
MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) is the biggest and most influential individual YouTuber in the world in 2025. While channels like T-Series have more followers, MrBeast has the most influence because of his huge engagement, massive cultural reach, and the size of his independent businesses.
2. How do kids’ channels like Ryan’s World stay so big?
They’ve successfully changed from simple video makers into companies that license and sell massive amounts of products. They keep their influence by being trusted by both kids and parents and by easily turning video views into real-world shopping.
3. Are followers more important than engagement for companies?
No. For real influence and getting sales, Engagement (how long people watch, comments, shares, and sales rate) is much more important than just the number of followers. A channel with 10 million highly active followers who watch 80% of every video is more valuable than one with 50 million followers who only watch for 30 seconds.
4. Which video type makes the most money in 2025?
While general entertainment gets the most views, the types of videos that pay the most (because they have high ad rates and valuable brand deals) are: Tech Reviews, Personal Finance/Investing, High-End Lifestyle, and Educational Content (especially about professional skills and coding).
5. Can new creators still get big fast on YouTube?
Absolutely. The creation of YouTube Shorts and advanced AI tools has actually made it easier to go viral and build an initial fan base quickly. High-quality content that is very focused on a specific audience (like Mark Rober’s science or MKBHD’s tech) is highly favored by the system and has a high chance of success.
8. Conclusion: The New Bosses of Media
The top 10 YouTube influencers of 2025 are the strongest voices of our time. They show a major change in how people consume media, proving that being real, always trying new things, and having a direct relationship with the audience are the keys to success. They build communities, start huge brands, begin global movements and shape the culture we live in.
As YouTube keeps changing with AI, short videos and stars from all over the world, the future of influence will be even stronger, more varied and more exciting, with these creators leading the way as the new bosses of media.