Gaining organic subscribers takes time and effort. It’s slow going, and new channels often struggle on the platform.
So why not just buy YouTube subscribers to boost your numbers?
It seems an easy enough solution. The theory is that it will make you look more established in the eyes of viewers and the YouTube algorithm, and give your videos a boost in rankings and recommendations.
Plus, there are hundreds of services out there that offer “high-quality YouTube subscribers” for cash. Many of them look entirely reputable.
But does it actually work? Is it a scam? Or does the truth lie somewhere in-between?
Quick Facts
- Yes, you can buy YouTube views and subscribers.
- No, you shouldn’t.
- Yes, it’s against the TOS and can get your channel terminated.
- Paid subscribers are typically unengaged, which distorts your metrics.
- YouTube regularly purges bot and spam accounts.
Keep reading for the full scoop!
Contents
Can You Buy YouTube Subscribers?
Sure, you can buy YouTube subscribers. (And views, likes, shares, watch time and so on).
There are hundreds of services online that let you purchase subscribers. Some are plain scams: They just take your money and disappear. But many do deliver what they promise – increased subscriber counts on your channel.
Some of the most well-known among these services are GetFans.io and UseViral. To give you an idea of the pricing, these two offer 1,000 subscribers starting at $92 and $129, respectively. (Another big name we used to mention here, Stormviews, is now defunct.)
They’re not limited to YouTube views and subscribers, of course. You can also get paid followers on other social media platforms, especially Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
There’s also a trend towards ‘targeted’ packages of subscribers, views and likes. Rather than buying 500 generic followers, you could also get “500 subscribers from Germany,” “100 male subs” or “50 likes from influencers” – whatever you think suits your purposes.
Sure, you can buy YouTube subscribers. (And views, likes, shares, watch time and so on).
There are hundreds of services online that let you purchase subscribers. Some are plain scams: They just take your money and disappear. But many do deliver what they promise – increased subscriber counts on your channel.
Some of the most well-known among these services are GetFans.io and UseViral. To give you an idea of the pricing, these two offer 1,000 subscribers starting at $92 and $129, respectively. (Another big name we used to mention here, Stormviews, is now defunct.)
They’re not limited to YouTube views and subscribers, of course. You can also get paid followers on other social media platforms, especially Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
There’s also a trend towards ‘targeted’ packages of subscribers, views and likes. Rather than buying 500 generic followers, you could also get “500 subscribers from Germany,” “100 male subs” or “50 likes from influencers” – whatever you think suits your purposes.
Is Buying YouTube Subscribers Safe?
Like we said before, it’s absolutely possible to buy YouTube subscribers. But it’s not the way to go if you’re aiming for sustainable channel growth. Or building a loyal audience.
You’re pretty much just paying to make a vanity number go up.
In fact, purchasing YouTube subs can be dangerous. The fake popularity can hurt your monetization, mucks up your own analytics, alienate your real audience, and even get your channel penalized or deleted.
Here’s why.
Why You Shouldn’t Buy YouTube Subscribers
There are several very good reasons to stay away from fake engagement. We’ll look at the six big ones.
It’s Against YouTube's Rules
First off, buying YouTube subscribers is explicitly against the platform’s Terms of Service.
Trying to manipulate YouTube metrics, including subscribers, can get creators into deep trouble. If you’re found out, your channel can get suspended temporarily or even deleted permanently.
So what’s the likelihood of being found out? That’s difficult to answer precisely. While YouTube hasn’t released any official figures, it’s not hard to for it to spot a YouTube account that’s trying to fake its way to the top. Instead of the gradual increase that comes with organic growth of real subscribers, there’ll be a sudden jump in new subscribers.
Even more damningly, you might see a sudden drop when YouTube bulk-deletes suspicious accounts – and this is a lot harder to mask. (This is where the “refill” promises come in.)
An abrupt change like this is easy to flag. And the YouTube channel owners who’ve resorted to purchasing subscribers will face the consequences – account suspension and deletion.
Is It Illegal to Buy Subscribers?
YouTube’s rules are pretty much the same all over the world. Laws aren’t, so paying for subscribers is not illegal in many places and under every circumstance.
In the U.S., the key word is “commercial intent.” The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) can come down hard on businesses who manipulate their social stats to increase profits. It has previously shuttered fake follower services, as well. As Business Insider explains, the FTC’s rules on this don’t just apply to big brands, but also to solopreneurs like YouTubers.
If there’s no commercial intent, then you’re not defrauding anyone. That means that if you don’t monetize in any way, shape, or form, you’re theoretically in the clear. Don’t take this as legal advice – that’s per Robert Freund, the legal expert Business Insider asked for their article.
The laws are pretty similar in the EU (check out the official Influencer Legal Hub for more information) and other parts of the world, but the details can vary.
If you’re here reading this, you likely do want to monetize – in which case, yeah, buying subs can land you in hot water.
They’re Likely Bots
A more practical reason to avoid buying subscribers is that they are often bots, even when providers offer “high-quality subscribers.” Those may just be smarter bots – like AI agents. These cost a lot more to run, so you’re charged more.
Most services that offer subscribers for pay rely on bots programmed to access your account more or less regularly. This is an artificial inflation of your subscriber count – and something that YouTube’s algorithms can pick up on easily.
While you may see your subscriber numbers and view counts surging initially, it’ll soon be followed by a steep drop. That’s because YouTube regularly purges fake subscribers and penalizes accounts that benefited from them most.
Fake subscribers are relatively easy to spot as well. They lack the genuine human qualities and patterns that active users of the platform display.
Instead of watching videos, jumping between topics, getting sidetracked, and following up with a favorite creator like real YouTube subscribers do, these fake accounts do little besides subscribing to accounts in a disjointed multitude of niches.
Bots can be made to be more convincing, of course – but this is costly to do at scale, even with new AI tools, so subs and views services typically don’t bother.
Even If They’re Real, They’re Unengaged
A fourth reason to avoid paying for subscribers is that they’ll be unengaged, no matter the quality of the service you picked.
Even if they are real people, they’re not genuinely interested in your content or your personal brand. It’s just a gig to them.
The foundation of a solid YouTube growth strategy is growing a loyal audience of active subscribers. Having a smaller but highly engaged subscriber base is eons better than boasting hundreds of thousands of subscribers who don’t care about you.
Active YouTube subscribers will check in on your channel regularly, keep up with notifications, and like and share your videos. They’ll rewatch favorites, get into debates in the comments section, and sign up for memberships.
All these are signals to the YouTube algorithm that the content you produce is popular, and resonates with your target audience. As a result, it will flag your videos as high-quality content, rank them high up in search results, and feature them in recommendations.
And that’s because this is the kind of audience that YouTube itself can monetize.
You’ll Hurt Your Monetization
Most YouTubers’ ultimate goal is to make a living off their content.
Buying YouTube subscribers, though, can seriously hurt your ad revenue and your entire monetization strategy.
Not only are these subscribers unlikely to use features like Super Thanks, click on affiliate links, leave tips on platforms like Buy Me a Coffee or Patreon, or buy any of your merchandise.
As said above, fake subscribers can seriously lower your overall engagement metrics. Organic YouTube subscribers like content, leave comments, and click links. They might spend money on you, that’s a big green flag. If you artificially inflate your number of subscribers, all your genuine user engagement counts for much less.
This is a big disadvantage if you’re looking for sponsorships or partnerships. Potential brand partners now pay a lot of attention to your engagement metrics. Paid follower services have responded by offering views, watch hours, comments and so forth.
But no marketer wants to waste money on an apathetic audience, let alone bots. Consequently, many brands now routinely use tools or services to spot fakes, and you might well get blacklisted instead of monetizing your channel.
Among the most popular of these tools are those offered by HypeAuditor or Grin. In other words, influencer marketing platforms that themselves have a vested interest in not connecting brands to fakers.
Your Audience Will Feel Duped
Finally, you always run the danger of alienating your organic audience of active YouTube users if they realize that you buy subscribers.
If someone checks into your channel regularly, it’s pretty easy to see when your subscriber counts jump unrealistically. And they call you out on it.
Growing an audience on YouTube takes authenticity. Your viewers tune in to see you. If they realize you’re trying to trick the system, and by extension them, losing subscribers will be the least of your worries.
Conclusion - Avoid Buying YouTube Subscribers
The bottom line is that it is possible to buy YouTube subscribers. But you should absolutely avoid it.
Most bought subscribers are simply bots that manipulate your metrics in the short run before getting purged by YouTube. Even those that are real people are unengaged and not interested in your content.
Last but not least, buying your audience from YouTube subscriber services is against the platform’s terms of service. It may also be illegal.
At best, this can hurt your monetization strategy. At worst, it can get your channel deleted, or you might get slapped with a fine.
Growing a successful YouTube channel takes time and dedication. There are no shortcuts.
So how do you boost your channel visibility and find long-term success? The best place to start is to find a great niche, develop a killer content and monetization strategy, and stick with it. And resist the urge to turn to shady “service” providers for help.
There are far better ways to invest money that’ll actually get you a return – better equipment, a video editor, or a channel manager.
FAQs
Yes. It is possible to buy YouTube subscribers off platforms such as UseViral and GetFans. However, these subscribers are likely to be either bots or unengaged and can ultimately hurt your channel.
No. Buying YouTube subscribers is against the platform’s terms of service. It can get your account suspended or deleted.
No. If you want to grow your channel sustainably, you should absolutely not buy YouTube subscribers. Not only is it against YouTube’s terms of service. Unengaged or artificial subscribers also hurt your engagement metrics and monetization.
There are plenty of fake follower scams. But even if you do get the promised subscribers, views, and so on, it won’t do you any good.
