Making your channel memberships public so viewers can see them
To make your YouTube channel memberships visible, go to your channel settings, find the Community or Memberships section, and toggle the visibility setting to public. The exact steps depend on whether you're using YouTube Studio on desktop or the mobile app, but the core process takes about two minutes. Once enabled, viewers will see a "Join" button on your channel and in videos, and they can see which membership tiers you offer and what perks come with each one.
By default, YouTube keeps membership programs hidden from your channel unless you turn them on. This means even if you've set up membership tiers and perks, potential members won't know they exist. Making memberships public is what actually lets people discover and purchase them.
Key Takeaways
- Memberships must be enabled in YouTube Studio under the Monetization section before you can make them public.
- The visibility toggle is found in your channel settings under Community or Memberships, depending on your account type.
- Once public, viewers see a "Join" button on your channel home page and during videos you've marked as member-only.
- You can customize which membership tiers appear publicly and hide specific tiers if you want to test them first.
- Changes take effect immediately, but it may take a few hours for the "Join" button to appear everywhere on your channel.
Steps to enable memberships in YouTube Studio on desktop
Open YouTube Studio and select Monetization from the left menu. Look for the Memberships card. If you see a "Set up memberships" button, click it and follow the prompts to create your membership tiers and set pricing. If memberships are already set up, you'll see an "Edit memberships" button instead.
Once your tiers are created, go to the Community tab in YouTube Studio. Scroll down until you find the Memberships section. You should see a toggle or checkbox labeled something like "Show membership option on your channel" or "Make memberships visible." Turn this on. YouTube will ask you to confirm, and the change takes effect right away.
If you don't see a Memberships option in Community, check that your channel meets YouTube's requirements: you need to be in the YouTube Partner Program, have at least 1,000 subscribers, and be at least 18 years old. Channels that don't meet these requirements won't see the memberships feature at all.
How to manage membership visibility on mobile
Open the YouTube app and tap your profile icon in the top right corner. Select Create a channel or go to Channel settings if your channel already exists. Tap Memberships or Community depending on your app version. You should see a toggle to show memberships on your channel.
The mobile interface is simpler than desktop but has fewer customization options. If you need to adjust individual tier visibility or change pricing, switch to YouTube Studio on a computer. Mobile is best for quick on-off toggles and checking that your memberships are live.
Customizing which membership tiers are visible
You don't have to make all your membership tiers public at once. In YouTube Studio, go to Monetization and select Memberships. Each tier you've created will have its own visibility setting. You can hide a tier by toggling it off, which is useful if you want to test a new tier with a small group first or phase in tiers over time.
Viewers will only see the tiers you've made public. If you have three tiers but only two are visible, the "Join" button will show only those two options. This lets you control which membership levels are available without deleting tiers you might want to use later.
What viewers see when memberships are public
When you make memberships public, a "Join" button appears on your channel's home page, usually near the Subscribe button. Viewers can click it to see your membership tiers, pricing, and the perks included with each level. The button also shows up during videos you've marked as member-only content, prompting non-members to join if they want to watch.
Your membership page displays the tier name, monthly price, and a list of perks for each level. You control what perks appear here when you set up your tiers — things like ad-free videos, exclusive content, or custom badges. Viewers can choose which tier to join and will be charged monthly on the same date each month.
Troubleshooting: why the Join button isn't showing
If you've turned on memberships but the "Join" button isn't visible, wait a few hours. YouTube sometimes takes time to sync the change across all your channel pages. Clear your browser cache and refresh your channel page to see if it appears.
If the button still doesn't show after several hours, check that memberships are actually enabled in YouTube Studio. Go back to Monetization and confirm the toggle is on. Also verify that your channel meets the requirements: Partner Program status, 1,000+ subscribers, and you're 18 or older. If any of these aren't met, the memberships feature won't work even if you've turned it on.
Another common issue is browser extensions blocking the button. Try viewing your channel in an incognito or private window, which disables most extensions. If the button appears there, an extension on your regular browser is hiding it.
Managing membership settings after going public
Once memberships are public, you can still change your tiers, pricing, and perks without turning the feature off. Go to Monetization in YouTube Studio and select Memberships. Any changes you make take effect immediately for new members, though existing members keep their current tier and pricing until they renew.
You can also turn memberships back to private at any time by toggling the visibility setting off. This hides the "Join" button from viewers but doesn't cancel anyone's membership. Members will keep their access until their subscription renews or they cancel manually. When you turn memberships back on, the "Join" button reappears.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to make all my membership tiers public at the same time?
No. Each tier has its own visibility toggle in YouTube Studio. You can make some tiers public and keep others hidden, which is useful for testing new tiers or rolling out membership levels gradually over time.
What happens to existing members if I turn memberships back to private?
Existing members keep their access and continue to be charged until they cancel or their subscription renews. Turning memberships private only hides the "Join" button from new viewers. You can turn it back on anytime without affecting current members.
Can viewers see how many people have joined my membership program?
No. YouTube doesn't show member counts publicly. Only you can see how many members you have and which tiers they've chosen, visible in your YouTube Studio analytics under the Memberships section.
How long does it take for the Join button to show up after I enable memberships?
Usually a few minutes to a few hours. YouTube syncs the change across your channel pages, but the timing varies. If it hasn't appeared after several hours, refresh your page or try viewing your channel in an incognito window to rule out cache issues.
Can I change membership pricing after I make them public?
Yes. You can change pricing, tier names, and perks anytime in YouTube Studio under Monetization. New members will see the updated pricing, but existing members keep their current rate until they renew or cancel.