The Most Popular YouTubers of 2022
Reading Time: 6 minutesYouTube is a global digital platform that connects over 1 billion people each month. It’s also home to some of the world’s most famous and influential YouTubers, who make videos on a daily basis and reach millions of viewers.
Because of its popularity, it’s no surprise that YouTube has become a powerhouse in the world of social media. We’ve seen that top influencers can help brands gain recognition and build brand loyalty by reaching consumers at a more personal level than traditional advertising platforms can offer.
So we wanted to look at some of these influencers and see which ones dominate YouTube—and why? We found the Top 12 influencers who are acing the social network with their viral videos, according to the number of subscribers to their channels. We’ve excluded all celebrities, singers, or other public figures who did not achieve fame via the platform itself from this YouTube ranking. For example, the top worldwide channel T-series (with now over 227M subscribers) is an Indian film production and distribution company. We didn’t define this company as a ‘YouTuber’ and therefore have not included it in our selection.
1. PewDiePie
111M subscribers
Felix Kjellberg is a gamer, comedian, and YouTuber. He was born in Sweden but moved to the UK when he was four years old. He started his YouTube channel in 2010 and now has over 111 million subscribers and 28 billion views.
In addition to gaming, Felix has some notable comedy sketches on his channel and writes books. He also recently published a book called “True Story: A Memoir by Felix Kjellberg” that was released on April 5th 2019.
2. ✿ Kids Diana Show
102M subscribers
Papa Player is a channel that puts the limelight on 6-year-old Diana as she plays with her family, including her brother Roma, and her friends. The channel is all about childhood, with toy unboxing, stories, and games. This little Ukrainian girl quickly came to dominate YouTube’s children’s entertainment sphere.
Diana’s videos are all about playing with toys and having fun with family and friends. Her series “Favorite Things” features her showing off toys she has received for Christmas or birthdays which she then proceeds to play with in hilarious ways. She also does “Toys Game” where she takes turns picking out a toy from a box and then attempts to use it in creative ways.
The videos have been watched over 2 billion times so far!
3. Like Nastya
101M subscribers
Nastya was only 12 when she started to record videos for her channel, still in the kid’s sphere and not far behind Diana is Nastya and her cute vlogs. Covering new toys, family games or trips with her friends, Nastya shares her daily life in her vlogs and has become the most subscribed to channel in Russia. What’s more, this channel is only one of the many channels run by Nastya and her family: for example, Like Nastya Vlog and Like Nastya Show also have several millions of subscribers.
Nastya’s vlog covers everything from everyday life to trips with friends or family. On the other hand, like many Russian YouTubers, she has a strong relationship with modeling agencies that keep her busy all year round.
In addition to being an active YouTuber, Nastya also runs a clothing line called “Like” which sells both at home and abroad. She has recently launched a perfume line called “Like Perfumes”.
4.Vlad and Niki
88.3M subscribers
The Russian-American brothers Vlad and Niki are both 6 years old, and they love playing games with their mom. The brothers also have a channel on YouTube that shows them playing games and having fun together.
The Vashketov family started the channel in 2016, but it wasn’t until 2019 that they hit their stride. Now, they have 16 channels and translate their content into 13 languages, attracting more than 112 million subscribers in total!
5. MrBeast
65.2M subscribers
Launched in 2012, this is one of YouTube’s most random, dazzling, and attention-grabbing channels. Jimmy Donaldson from the USA is known for his viral challenges, like eating the world’s largest slice of pizza, and his charity stunts, like giving away $1M dollars with only 1 minute to spend them. It’s hard not to be drawn in by these original and extraordinary videos!
Jimmy has received over 30 million views on his channel. He started by making videos about how he was going to eat a whole pizza (and do so in record time). The videos have been viewed more than 5 billion times! He has also done challenges such as going to Las Vegas with no money, eating 10 hot dogs at once, and drinking a whole bottle of wine all while blindfolded.
6. Dude Perfect
58.3M subscribers
The Dallas-based sports channel is a great place to get your daily dose of sports entertainment. It was founded in 2009 by five friends who wanted to create a channel for fun, laughter, and fun. Since then, they’ve grown into one of the most popular channels on YouTube with videos on basketball trick shots, nerf battles, funny stereotypes, and even more! The creators’ unique mix of sports and humor explains their huge success.
7. HolaSoyGerman/JuegaGerman
43.4M / 46.4M subscribers
Germán Garmendia is Chile’s biggest YouTube star. An actor and musician, he started by posting comedy sketches and vlogs, while his second channel JuegaGerman, launched in 2013, is focused on gaming videos though it also expanded into comedy. Even though he hasn’t posted on his first channel for years, it remains in YouTube’s top listings and has only recently been narrowly superseded by JuegaGerman, which is still being updated frequently.
The Chilean artist made his name with his work in a sketch show called “Vientos de humor” (Winds of Humor). In this series he portrays a different character each episode and interacts with other characters through short skits. His videos have been viewed millions of times since they were published online in 2014.
Germán Garmendia has been nominated several times for the Goya Award as one of the best Spanish actors of the year (2016).
8. Whinderssonnunes
43.9M subscribers
Germán is a young Brazilian singer and comedian who has been uploading different sorts of comedic content since he was 15. He’s been uploading songs, travel vlogs, podcasts, movie reviews, or vlogs about his daily life on YouTube—and he’s still going strong.
In his latest upload (which we won’t ruin for you), Germán talks about how he decided to do an interview with a new singer coming out of Brazil. He asks the young artist about how their family life is going and what they’re hoping for in the future—and it turns out that this young man is also a stand-up comedian!
9. Felipe Neto
44.6M subscribers
Luccas Neto is a Brazilian influencer and entrepreneur who has turned his passions for entertainment into a successful career. In addition to creating content for YouTube, he also manages other brands and acts as an actor.
Born in 1993, Neto started out on YouTube by sharing personal vlogs with his friends and family. He quickly built up an avid following by offering videos about celebrities and movies that were always critical and comedic in tone. His channel grew quickly, reaching 45M subscribers in Brazil by 2013.
Nowadays, Neto focuses on general entertainment—and offers varied content to his followers: comedy, vlogs, challenges, gaming…
10. Fernanfloo
45.3M subscribers
Luis Fernando Flores is a Salvadoran YouTuber who mainly makes gaming videos, though not exclusively. He does offer more personal vlog-style videos as well. His channel has a whole playlist of animation videos, and he plays all sorts of games, from horror to GTA5 to GOW and random indie games.
