The 11 Most Popular YouTubers Right Now

Who are the eleven most popular YouTubers? Using the social media statistic tool Social Blade, The Messenger looked at who the biggest YouTubers are today, eliminating any channels that are a part of a larger production company and including the channels where the focus of the content is on who the face (and name) of the channel is.

Although channels like the Indian production company T-Series and the kids entertainment series Cocomelon boast some of the highest subscriber counts on YouTube, they are more akin to corporate entities rather than an individual or a group.

Even though the musicians on the list are arguably tied to larger institutions like a music label, because they are the focus of the channel and the primary content drivers, they are included on the list of the most popular YouTubers.

Who has the most subscribers on YouTube?

1. MrBeast

Known for his massive financial giveaways, MrBeast (real name Jimmy Donaldson) is a YouTuber based out of North Carolina. Although Donaldson rose to fame by creating videos in which his friends and fans could partake in challenges like playing a real-life version of Netflix's Squid Game (see video below) or participating in a battle of the sexes to win $500,000, the YouTuber has turned to philanthropy. In a somewhat controversial recent video, he paid for a thousand people's eye surgeries to "cure" their blindness. As of June 2023, his channel boasts over 160 million subscribers.

Donaldson has been on YouTube since 2012, when he was 13 years old.
Much of his life has been spent trying to become a successful YouTuber, as he's experimented with gaming, estimating the wealth of other creators on the platform and commentating on YouTube pop culture.
His first viral video was simply him counting to 100,000, which took him 44 hours.

Mr. Beast's most-viewed YouTube video:

2. Kids Diana Show

Kids Diana Show (stylized as ✿ Kids Diana Show) follows the life of nine-year-old Eva Diana Kidisyuk and her older brother Roma through vlogs, as they are shown singing, playing, unboxing toys and roleplaying, often as children's cartoon characters. Her parents, Volodymyr and Olena, run the channel and manage their children's careers, which have expanded to animated shows, dubs of their videos into at least eight languages and merchandise. The channel now has about 112 million subscribers.

Diana was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and the channel was created as a way for her parents to show videos of her as a newborn to friends and family.
Before quitting to run the channel and manage their children's careers, Volodymyr worked as an IT programmer and Olena worked as a marketing manager.

Kids Diana Show's most-viewed YouTube video:

3. PewDiePie

Although he topped the YouTube charts from 2013 to 2019 as the most subscribed-to YouTuber on the platform, PewDiePie now sits at No. 8 overall (on the broader list that includes entities) when it comes to subscriber count. Known for his comedy videos, PewDiePie (real name Felix Kjellberg) is a Swedish content creator whocovers everything from video games to YouTube drama. As of June 2023, his channel has 111 million subscribers and he continues to be one of the most popular YouTubers in the platform's history.

Before becoming a YouTuber professionally, Kjellberg was interested in art and studied industrial economics and technology management, but he left the school before he graduated.
In late 2018, a rivalry began to form between fans of Kjellberg and the aforementioned Indian record label and production company T-Series when the label's channel began to approach PewDiePie's subscriber count, threatening his spot as the No. 1 subscribed-to channel. T-Series eventually surpassed PewDiePie.
For a period, he was also the most-viewed channel on the platform, although the spot is now held by T-Series.

PewDiePie's most-viewed YouTube video is linked here

4. Like Nastya

Like Nastya is a Russian-American YouTube channel that follows nine-year-old Anastasia Sergeyevna Radzinskaya, or Nastya, in content that includes vlogs, roleplaying, unboxing toys and music. The channel is managed by her parents Sergey and Anna, and although they originally were located in Russia, they moved to Miami in 2018 after gaining popularity online. Her channel has 106 million subscribers.

Nastya's channel is dubbed in 10 different languages.
Nastya and her parents also have 2 other channels under their umbrella, titled Like Nastya Vlog and Like Nastya Show.
Before quitting to run the YouTube channels full-time, Anna and Sergey owned a bridal salon and construction company, respectively.

Like Nastya's most-viewed YouTube video:

5. Vlad and Niki

Adding to the apparently long list of Russian-American children who are some of the most popular YouTubers, Vlad and Niki Vashketov have more than 20 channels in their network, releasing videos in 18 languages. Like Nastya and Diana, their parents run their YouTube channels and their videos include unboxings and roleplays. They currently have 98.2 million subscribers.

In 2020, the pair's parents, Victoria and Sergey, signed a deal with Playmates Toys to produce toys under the Vlad and Niki brand.
The boys' father quit his sales role in 2018 to assist with the channel's marketing.

Vlad and Niki's most-viewed YouTube video:

Music rounds out the top subscribed on YouTube list

6. Blackpink

The K-pop group Blackpink (stylized as BLACKPINK) is made up of members Jennie, Lisa, Jisoo and Rosé. The girl group has broken countless records on YouTube, and are currently sitting at 89.2 million subscribers on the platform.

The group holds the Guinness World Record for the most viewed music channel on YouTube by a group.
Additionally, their channel has six videos that have over one billion views each.
In 2022, their music video for their song "Pink Venom" became YouTube's biggest music video debut of the year, garnering a staggering 90.4 million views in a day.

Blackpink's most-viewed YouTube video is linked here

7. BangtanTV

The channel is K-pop group BTS's official one (named after their other moniker, Bangtan Boys) and currently has 75.4 million subscribers. The group has leaned into the platform, using it to debut exclusive content from streaming events to a documentary.

Amid pandemic restrictions in 2020, they held a two-day online streaming concert called Bang Bang Con, sharing footage of past concerts on BangtanTV.
The music video for their single "Dope" was viewed over 100 million times upon its release on YouTube.

BTS's most-viewed YouTube video:

8. Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber became one of the very first artists to be discovered and become successful on the platform in 2007, and years later he is still breaking records as one of the most popular YouTubers. In 2020, he released a 10-part YouTube Original docuseries to his channel titled Justin Bieber: Seasons, and the series at the time had the highest-viewed debut episode in its first week. His YouTube channel currently has 71.5 million subscribers.

Bieber was also the first artist to reach 50 million subscribers on the platform.
As of June 2023, his channel has amassed over 30 billion views.

Justin Bieber's most-viewed YouTube video:

9. EminemMusic

Eminem has found great commercial success on YouTube, and is still breaking records nearly 15 years after he began posting his music to the platform. To date, he has 56.6 million subscribers.

In 2018, the rapper broke the record for the biggest debut for a hip hop video when the audio for "Killshot" reached 38.1 million views in its first 24 hours online.
Eminem also held the record for the most solo music videos on YouTube with over 100 million views with 23 videos, but rapper NBA YoungBoy overtook him in 2022, when he released his 24th solo video and it garnered over 100 million views.
As a whole, his channel has over 26 billion views.

Eminem's most-viewed YouTube video is linked here

10. Marshmello

Marshmello (real name Christopher Comstock) is an electronic music artist and DJ who's had hit songs featuring artists like Khalid, Selena Gomez and Bastille. However, the producer also has a history of publishing more traditional YouTuber content on his channel along with music and lyric videos, including gaming and cooking videos. His channel has over 56.4 million subscribers.

In 2019, Marshmello released a documentary to his channel, as a part of YouTube Music's Artist Spotlight Stories series. The 26-minute doc has amassed over 7.4 million views.

Marsmello's most-viewed YouTube video:

11. Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran has had international and mainstream success, and his channel boasts numbers that squarely land him in the most popular YouTubers echelon. As of June 2023, his channel has 53.4 million subscribers.

Sheeran's "Shape of You" music video (see below) is one of the most-viewed videos on the platform of all time. At No. 5, the video has 3.6 billion views and is topped only by children's creators like Cocomelon and LooLoo Kids, as well as Luis Fonsi's "Despacito."

Ed Sheeran's most-viewed YouTube video:

The 11 Most Popular YouTubers Right Now

A look at the most popular YouTubers (based on subscriber count) right now: from talented little kids to top musicians.

Who has the most subscribers on YouTube?

Music rounds out the top subscribed on YouTube list