Top YouTube Sponsors in 2026 and What They Teach Brands

In a random sample of 10,000 sponsored YouTube videos posted from January 2024 to July 2026, PrizePicks appeared 617 times, BetterHelp 590 times and Squarespace 547 times¹. Together that's 1,754 appearances from just three brands, by our math on the published counts¹. A handful of advertisers buy a big share of YouTube's sponsored segments.

This page pulls together three independent trackers of YouTube sponsors, shows where they agree, and explains the habits the biggest sponsors share. Then it shows how to turn a competitor's sponsor list into your own shortlist of channels to email.

Facts and prices checked November 11, 2026. See something wrong? Tell us.

Key takeaways

• In a 10,000-video random sample from January 2024 to July 2026, the most active YouTube sponsors were PrizePicks (617 appearances), BetterHelp (590) and Squarespace (547).
• SponsorRadar's all-time leaders by detected deals are Gamersupps (14,331), Squarespace (8,436) and Streamyard (7,881).
• Ground News was the top YouTube sponsor by video count in the first half of 2025, with 1,863 integrations, up 202% year over year, per Gospel Stats.
• Squarespace, BetterHelp and Incogni rank near the top in all three trackers, which count sponsorships in different ways.
• 43.1% of tracked YouTube sponsorship deals ran on channels with 50,000 to 250,000 subscribers, so the biggest sponsors win by buying many mid-size channels.

How the lists were measured, and why they differ

No one publishes a full count of every YouTube sponsorship. Three trackers publish parts of the picture, and each counts something different.

These numbers can't go on one chart. An appearance in a sample is not a deal, and a detected deal is not a paid contract. Creators Agency says its counts don't show spend, price or sales¹. The deal tracker notes its coverage is densest for larger channels². Gospel Stats only counts videos that clear 25,000 views in a week³.

Where the lists agree, though, you can trust the signal. A brand that tops all three is buying YouTube at scale.

Top sponsors by sample appearances

Creators Agency drew a fixed random sample of 10,000 sponsored videos and counted how often each brand appeared¹. Here's the top 10.

Source for every row is Creators Agency's July 2026 brief¹. The top 10 appeared in 3,477 distinct videos, or 34.8% of the whole sample¹.

Two ways to win

The channel column tells the real story. BetterHelp and Skillshare each appeared on 160 channels. They spread wide. PrizePicks appeared on just 28 channels but averaged 22 appearances on each. It went deep with a few creators who mention it again and again¹.

Both work. Wide buying finds new audiences. Deep buying builds a habit with one audience. Most brands starting out should test wide, then go deep with the channels that pay back.

Top sponsors by detected deals

The tracker watches 129,386 channels and logs a deal when it detects a sponsor read, a disclosure, a promo code or a brand link². In the 12 months from February 2025 to January 2026 it logged 660,985 deals from 74,739 brands, and 36,120 of those brands sponsored for the first time².

Its all-time leaders look different from the sample above, because gaming channels post often and many gaming brands buy repeat mentions.

• Gamersupps, 14,331 deals across 361 creators
• Squarespace, 8,436 deals across 438 creators
• Streamyard, 7,881 deals across 703 creators
• Amazon, 6,435 deals across 690 creators
• Eneba, 6,395 deals across 139 creators
• Gfuel, 6,302 deals across 122 creators
• BetterHelp, 6,148 deals across 1,400 creators
• Instant Gaming, 6,021 deals across 134 creators
• Whatnot, 5,900 deals across 310 creators
• NordVPN, 5,382 deals across 647 creators

All figures are from the tracker². BetterHelp has the widest creator base of the top 10, at 1,400 creators. Gaming is the biggest niche overall, with 22.4% of deals in the 12-month window, ahead of entertainment at 13.5% and education at 10.0%².

Deals by niche

The niche split matters if you're planning where to look. In the tracker's 12-month window, lifestyle and vlog channels took 8.4% of deals, finance and business 7.8%, technology 6.5%, sports 6.1% and automotive 5.1%². Health and fitness took 2.0%, beauty and fashion 1.6% and food and cooking 1.4%². A small share isn't a bad sign. It can mean less competition for the best channels in that niche. If you sell a fitness product, you're fighting fewer sponsors for each creator's calendar than a gaming brand is. Check the niche share before you assume a channel is booked solid.

Here's the hard part for a brand reading this. Those 36,120 first-time sponsors all had to find channels and reach someone who could say yes. That search is where most teams stall.

Top sponsors by video count in 2025

Gospel Stats tracked 65,759 sponsored videos on English-language channels in the first half of 2025, up nearly 54% year over year. Those videos drew 19.1 billion views³.

Ground News led by integrations, with 1,863 sponsored videos, up 202% year over year. It also led by views, with 664 million³. Squarespace, BetterHelp and DraftKings followed by integrations. By views, Shopify, BetterHelp and Incogni came next³.

The Ground News lesson

Ground News is a news app. It didn't win by buying one huge creator. It ran always-on integrations across many channels, and it grew its count threefold in a year³. Tubefilter's write-up of the report credits much of the growth to YouTube's middle class, creators averaging 100,000 to 500,000 views per video⁵.

Cadence matters too. Tubefilter reported BetterHelp paid for more than 50 videos in a single week of June 2025⁶. That's not a campaign. That's a standing channel, like search ads.

For the full story of this and other published campaigns, see YouTube sponsorship examples and case studies.

Top sponsors in tech

Niche lists can be more useful than the overall ranking, because they show who you'd compete with for a channel. One creator analytics tracker's tech niche rankings for the 30 days to July 2026 put these brands on top by sponsored videos⁴.

Two patterns stand out. ExitLag bought lots of small videos, averaging 20,000 views. Odoo and Zocdoc bought fewer, bigger videos, averaging over 270,000 views. B2B software also shows up, with HubSpot among the top 15 tech sponsors⁴. If you sell software, read our guide on how to sponsor tech and SaaS YouTubers.

Brands on all three lists

Here's where the trackers overlap. These brands rank high no matter how you count.

Squarespace, BetterHelp and Incogni are the clearest repeat buyers. They also spend heavily in podcasts. Magellan AI estimates BetterHelp spent about $6.1 million on podcast ads in September 2026, second among all podcast advertisers, and Squarespace about $2.7 million⁷. Their teams treat creator ads as a core channel, not a test. You can see the podcast side in our list of top podcast advertisers.

What repeat sponsors have in common

Look past the brand names and the same habits show up.

1. They're always on. BetterHelp's 50-plus videos in one week⁶ and Ground News's 1,863 integrations in six months³ only happen with a standing budget.
2. They buy many mid-size channels. BetterHelp worked with 1,400 creators in the tracker's data². Spreading spend lowers the risk of any one video flopping.
3. They sell something easy to try. A website builder trial, a first therapy week, a news app, a meal kit. One link and one code are enough to act.
4. They track every creator. Codes and links are how the tracker detects deals², and they're how sponsors measure them too.
5. They renew winners. PrizePicks averaged 22 appearances per channel in the sample¹. When a channel works, they come back.

You don't need their budget to copy the habits. You need a list of channels, a way to reach them, and a plan to test and renew.

Sponsor activity by channel size

Most big-sponsor money flows to channels you've never heard of. SponsorRadar's deals for February 2025 to January 2026 split like this by subscriber count².

• Under 10,000 subscribers, 0.8% of deals
• 10,000 to 50,000, 1.1%
• 50,000 to 250,000, 43.1%
• 250,000 to 1 million, 34.9%
• Over 1 million, 20.2%

The tracker says its under-50,000 figures understate reality, since it covers bigger channels more densely². Even so, about 78% of deals sit between 50,000 and 1 million subscribers.

What that costs

1of10 prices mid-size channels with 50,000 to 500,000 subscribers at about $1,000 to $10,000 per sponsored video⁸. On views, the typical rate is $10 to $50 per 1,000⁸. So a channel averaging 80,000 views runs about $800 to $4,000 for an integration, by that math. That's within reach for a brand with a $10,000 test budget.

Here's one way to spend that $10,000. Pick 5 channels averaging 80,000 views. At $20 per 1,000 views, each integration costs $1,600, so 5 cost $8,000. Keep $2,000 back to renew the best one. That mirrors what the repeat sponsors do on a much bigger scale. Test wide on mid-size channels, then put more money behind the winners.

How to use competitor sponsorships to build a shortlist

Your competitors have already tested which channels reach your buyer. Use their work.

1. List 3 to 5 brands like yours. Include the category leader and two smaller rivals.
2. Search YouTube for their names and codes. Search the brand plus words like "sponsored" or "code". Check video descriptions for their links.
3. Note every channel. Record channel name, subscribers, recent views and the date of the sponsored video.
4. Look for repeats. A channel that ran the same sponsor three times is likely paying back for them.
5. Find lookalikes. Add channels in the same niche, size band and country that your competitor hasn't touched yet. Those may be cheaper and easier to land.
6. Get the contacts. Find each creator's business email and send a short note asking for rates and recent views.
7. Respect exclusivity. A channel may have a category exclusive with your competitor. 1of10 says a 30-day exclusive adds 20% to 30% to a fee⁸, so ask when it ends.

Our guide on how to find YouTubers to sponsor goes deeper on the search part.

Mistakes when copying top sponsors

Big-sponsor playbooks are easy to copy badly. Watch for these traps.

Copying the channel, not the fit

A channel that works for BetterHelp may not work for you. BetterHelp sells to almost anyone. If you sell payroll software, a gaming channel with a BetterHelp read is a poor match. Copy the channels whose audience matches your buyer, and skip the rest.

Buying one big video

The repeat sponsors spread spend. BetterHelp appeared on 160 channels in the sample¹. One large video is a coin toss. Five mid-size videos give you a real read on what works.

Paying on subscribers

Subscriber counts age. Price on the median views of the last 10 videos. 1of10's own floor formula is median views times a niche CPM, plus production⁸. For a 60,000-view finance channel at $40 per 1,000, that's $2,400 before production⁸.

Judging too early

Sponsored videos keep getting views for weeks. Give each creator a unique code and link, then judge results over a month or more, not over launch weekend.

Ignoring exclusivity

Top sponsors often lock categories. If a channel just ran your rival, ask when the exclusive ends before you pitch. 1of10 puts a 90-day exclusive at 50% or more on top of the fee⁸, so a channel that's open now may cost less than one that isn't.

Skipping the second deal

PrizePicks's 22 appearances per channel¹ show the value of renewing. If a channel pays back, book the next slot before your competitor does. Ask for a package price on three or four videos, since a bigger commitment gives you room to negotiate.

Why the market is growing

The trackers all show growth. Gospel Stats counted nearly 54% more sponsored videos in the first half of 2025 than a year before³. The IAB projects US creator ad spend at $37 billion in 2025 and $44 billion in 2026⁹.

For a new sponsor, growth cuts both ways. More brands means more competition for the best channels and their best dates. It also means creators are used to brand emails and know how to price a read. The 36,120 first-time sponsors the tracker logged in one year show it's not a closed club².

For the basics of running your first deal, start with our guide to YouTube sponsorship for brands.

Reach the channels your category leaders sponsor

Once you know who your competitors sponsor, you need a way to reach those creators and the ones like them. Media List has 189,000+ YouTube channels with contact emails.

• Find channels. Filter by minimum subscribers, category, country and language to match the size bands where most deals happen.
• Unlock the contact email. Emails unlock from your plan's allowance, no bot checks. Reach the creator or their manager directly, without a platform in the middle.
• Save a list. Keep competitor channels and lookalikes in one shortlist.
• Send outreach. On Professional, email the list from built-in campaigns and ask each creator for rates and recent views.

Media List doesn't track sponsors or show rates. It tells you who to contact. Basic at $99 a month covers search, saved lists and exports. Built-in email campaigns and AI search come with Professional at $399 a month. Start with a 3-day trial, $0 today, and cancel anytime. See the pricing page.

Questions, answered

Who are the biggest YouTube sponsors?

It depends on how you count. In a 10,000-video sample from 2024 to mid-2026, PrizePicks, BetterHelp and Squarespace appeared most. By all-time detected deals, Gamersupps, Squarespace and Streamyard lead. Ground News led by video count in the first half of 2025.

What are the most common YouTube sponsors?

Squarespace, BetterHelp and Incogni rank near the top in all three major trackers. Skillshare, Raycon, Brilliant.org, NordVPN, Factor and PrizePicks also show up often.

Why does every YouTuber have the same sponsors?

A few brands buy YouTube at huge scale and across many channels. BetterHelp worked with 1,400 creators in one tracker's data and paid for more than 50 videos in a single week of June 2025. Those brands sell products that are easy to try with one link and code.

What size channels do big brands sponsor?

Mostly mid-size. One tracker found 43.1% of deals on channels with 50,000 to 250,000 subscribers and 34.9% on channels with 250,000 to 1 million. Channels over 1 million got 20.2%.

How can I see which YouTubers a competitor sponsors?

Search YouTube for the competitor's name with words like sponsored or code, and check video descriptions for their links. Note each channel, its views and the date. Then add lookalike channels in the same niche and size band.

How much do big brands pay YouTubers?

Trackers don't publish what each brand pays. Published rate guides put integrations at about $10 to $50 per 1,000 views, and mid-size channels with 50,000 to 500,000 subscribers at about $1,000 to $10,000 per video.

Related guides

• YouTube Sponsorship for Brands and How to Sponsor YouTubers
• YouTube Sponsorship Rates by Views, Subscribers and Niche
• How to Find YouTube Influencers to Sponsor Your Product
• How to Find a YouTuber's Business Email for a Sponsorship
• How Much Does It Cost to Sponsor a YouTube Video

Sources

1. Creators Agency, Research brief, most active YouTube sponsors (Jul 2026), checked 2026-11-11
2. SponsorRadar, State of YouTube sponsorships (Feb 2025 to Jan 2026, data as of Aug 2026), checked 2026-11-11
3. Net Influencer, YouTube sponsorships surge 54% as brands shift marketing dollars to influencers (Gospel Stats H1 2025), checked 2026-11-11
4. CreatorDB, YouTube sponsorship rankings, Tech niche (last 30 days, Jul 2026), checked 2026-11-11
5. Tubefilter, Gospel Stats YouTube sponsorship landscape report (Oct 22, 2025), checked 2026-11-11
6. Tubefilter newsletter, Shopify and BetterHelp top the YouTube sponsored charts (Jun 30, 2025), checked 2026-11-11
7. Magellan AI and Podnews, Top podcast spenders (Sep 2026), checked 2026-11-11
8. 1of10, YouTube sponsorships, 2026 rates by channel size (Aug 24, 2026), checked 2026-11-11
9. IAB, 2025 Creator Economy Ad Spend and Strategy Report, checked 2026-11-11