This post analyzes the growth of MrBeast. Comparing MrBeast’s growth to larger corporations like Facebook, Snapchat, and X (formerly Twitter) presents a challenging yet intriguing task. The most suitable comparison will hinge on the specific metric under consideration. The objectives of this post are to answer the following questions:
1. How does MrBeast’s past growth compare to that of Facebook, Snapchat, and X?
2. What growth rate must MrBeast maintain in the future to keep pace with Facebook, Snapchat, and X when they were of comparable size?
3. What is the value of a MrBeast viewer, and how does it compare to the value of a user on Facebook, Snapchat, and X?

NOTE: This post comes from a report I prepared for the Beast team. You can view the original report here.

Finding Comparable Metrics

Comparison to Facebook, Snapchat, and X

In order to effectively and accurately assess the growth of present-day MrBeast in comparison to that of Facebook, Snapchat, and X when they were at a similar stage, we must identify a comparable metric for the sake of relativity. While MrBeast and these companies operate in completely different industries and have different product lines, they also share several similarities.

Table 1 shows the similarities between MrBeast and Facebook, Snapchat, and X based on two criteria: (i) revenue source, and (ii) growth metric for success. As shown, MrBeast and these respective companies earn the majority of their revenue through advertising. The amount advertisers pay is correlated to the number of active users (or in MrBeast's case, viewers) that exist on their platform.

Therefore, the key metric to determine growth across these three enterprise companies is the number of active users and the money earned on average per active user. One can reasonably draw a connection between MrBeast's core metric for growth (greater viewership equals greater advertiser spend) and these enterprise companies.

Apples to Apples Comparison

Having established the parallels between MrBeast and Facebook, Snapchat, and X, this post will now proceed to draw an apples-to-apples comparison between MrBeast’s viewership growth and average earnings per view, and these corporations’ publicly filed Daily Active User (DAU) statistics over time, along with their Average Revenue Per User (ARPU).

This comparison will allow us to evaluate MrBeast’s performance in a context that transcends the boundaries of industry and product line differences. By aligning MrBeast’s viewership growth and earnings per view with the corporations’ user growth and revenue per user, we can create a common ground for comparison. This approach will provide a more nuanced understanding of MrBeast’s growth trajectory and financial performance in relation to established enterprise corporations.

Table 2 defines the three key metrics that we will look at to compare the enterprise corporations with MrBeast. Prior to this comparison, we must first make a few assumptions in order to translate the data we have available to be compared with the data published by the corporations.

Translating MrBeast Data – Total Users

To make a meaningful comparison between MrBeast and enterprise corporations like Facebook, Snapchat, and X, we need to convert the available MrBeast data into metrics that correspond with Daily Active Users (DAU), Monthly Active Users (MAU), and Average Revenue Per User (ARPU).

The data we have for MrBeast includes:

• Growth in follower/subscriber count over the past three years
• Views over the past three years, segmented by platform
• Assumptions about earnings from YouTube advertising from ViewStats

If we were to consider MrBeast as a social networking platform, similar to the companies we’re comparing it with, it would boast an impressive 550 million total users. This is a staggering one-third the size of TikTok! It’s important to mention that this user count intentionally includes duplicate users.

For example, the same individual might follow MrBeast on both YouTube and Instagram, but not on TikTok, while others may only follow one platform. This approach is taken because each platform has its unique advertising revenue structure. In other words, different platforms generate varying amounts of advertising revenue, even when they host identical media content in some cases.

Translating MrBeast Data – MAU and DAU

Next, we need to convert this total users figure into MAU and DAU metrics. The data below will assist us in doing so. The charts provided illustrate the number of followers gained and the number of views per day for MrBeast’s YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok accounts over the past three years.

We can make a simplifying assumption that each view represents a unique user for that particular day or month. While this is a simplification, as a single user could view multiple videos in a day or month, it’s a reasonable starting point given the lack of more granular data.

Calculating DAU

To calculate the Daily Active Users (DAU), we can utilize the total views for each day, with the assumption that each view represents a unique daily user. Given MrBeast’s extensive following across multiple platforms, the estimated equivalent DAU is approximately 80 million unique daily active users. This figure, while seemingly large, is a reasonable estimate when we take into account the scale and scope of MrBeast’s digital footprint. The company’s content, spanning across platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, appeals to a wide audience across various geographies.

Calculating MAU

Calculating the Monthly Active User (MAU) figure for MrBeast is slightly more complex. Most viewers engage with MrBeast’s content once every week or month. To calculate the monthly active unique viewers, or in this case our MAU, we need to consider the DAU to MAU ratio. The industry average for enterprise companies varies, with most companies having a ratio of around 10% to 20%. This means that their DAU is 10% to 20% the size of their MAU, or in other words, 10% of their monthly unique users engage with their service at least once per day.

For companies such as Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok, the DAU to MAU ratio is significantly higher due to the addictive nature of these platforms. Their average DAU to MAU ratio is around 60%.

However, it’s argued that MrBeast will have a lower average DAU to MAU ratio. This is because the majority of unique viewers engage with MrBeast’s content on a weekly basis, with only a small subset of unique users engaging with the content daily. The estimated MrBeast DAU to MAU ratio is 10%.

With this in mind, we can conclude that MrBeast’s MAU is approximately 800 million unique monthly active viewers. While this number is extremely high, it’s important to remember that it includes every unique viewer who has watched at least one piece of MrBeast’s content across all platforms where the content is available.

DAU Comparable Analysis

In this section, we will compare the growth of MrBeast’s Daily Active Users (DAU) with that of Facebook, Snapchat, and X (formerly Twitter). This comparison is crucial as it provides a perspective on MrBeast’s growth trajectory relative to these established social media giants.

MrBeast’s DAU has shown a remarkable growth trend, starting from around 10 million in March 2021 and reaching 80 million by February 2024. As we calculated in the last section, MrBeast has achieved a 5.9% compounded monthly growth rate over the last three years (36 compounding periods).

Comparing DAU Growth at Relative Size

Having calculated the estimated DAU of MrBeast and presented the entire reported DAU history of Facebook, Snapchat, and X (formerly Twitter), it’s now time to draw some insights. As demonstrated in the previous section, the average compounded monthly growth rate of each company’s DAU hovers around 1-2% over their entire published data period. While 1-2% may seem small, it signifies that their Daily Active Users have been increasing by 1-2% every month on average for many years. Even small increments can have a significant impact over time.

On average, this peer group of companies expands their DAU by 12% to 24% every year (when translating the monthly compounded growth rate to an annual compounded growth rate).

MrBeast, on the other hand, has averaged a 5.9% compounded monthly growth rate in our estimated equivalent DAU analysis. While this rate is notably high, it’s important to remember that the calculation period is only 36 months (three years), compared to the much longer data history of Facebook, Snapchat, and X. To make our comparison more relevant for assessing MrBeast’s growth, we will compare the DAU growth rate over a 36-month period when the companies were at a similar stage to MrBeast.

We will begin their DAU assessment when their DAU reached 80 million users, which is MrBeast’s current DAU. This comparison will provide insights into the growth trajectory MrBeast would need to maintain to match the growth of Facebook, Snapchat, and X.

Facebook, Snapchat, and X (formerly Twitter) all experienced a decrease in their compounded monthly growth rate (CMGR) after reaching the 80 million Daily Active Users (DAU) milestone. However, Facebook’s growth rate was the fastest among the three.

Facebook vs. MrBeast

Facebook’s 36-month CMGR figure is nearly identical to MrBeast’s previous 36-month figure. This implies that if MrBeast aims to grow at the same rate as Facebook did when it was of a similar size, he will need to increase the DAU CMGR. Currently, MrBeast’s CMGR stands at 5.9%, which will result in slower growth compared to Facebook.

MrBeast vs. Snapchat and X

On the other hand, if MrBeast aims to grow faster than Snapchat or X when they were at a similar size in terms of DAU, MrBeast should maintain a 12-month CMGR of more than 4% and a 24-month CMGR greater than 3.5%. Any CMGR lower than these figures will result in slower growth compared to these companies.

The comparison of CMGRs provides a valuable benchmark for MrBeast to measure the growth against established social media platforms. This can help in setting realistic growth targets and strategies.
The decrease in CMGR after reaching the 80 million DAU milestone for Facebook, Snapchat, and X highlights the challenge of maintaining high growth rates as the user base expands. This suggests that MrBeast should prepare for similar challenges as his platform grows.

Growth Comparison 12-Months Before 80M DAU

This section presents a comparison of MrBeast’s Daily Active Users (DAU) Compounded Monthly Growth Rate (CMGR) over the past 12 months with that of Facebook, Snapchat, and X. The comparison involves an analysis of the DAU growth, taking into account the total DAU 12 months prior to each platform reaching the 80 million DAU milestone. By examining the DAU CMGR of these three companies, we can evaluate MrBeast’s growth performance over the past year.

Table 5, as shown below, illustrates the results of this comparison. It’s important to note that MrBeast ranks last on a 12-month CMGR basis. This is primarily due to the fluctuation in our DAU estimation for MrBeast, as viewers tend to be less consistent than registered users on other platforms. February 2023 was a particularly successful month for MrBeast’s content.
However, when considering the 6-month growth prior to reaching 80 million DAU, MrBeast takes the lead with a CMGR of 7.6%.

Value of a MrBeast viewer

Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)

In this section, the post will examine the average revenue per user of MrBeast in comparison with Facebook, Snapchat, and X. Average revenue per unit (ARPU) is an indicator of the profitability of a product based on the amount of money that is generated from each of its users or subscribers. It is a particularly useful measurement for companies in the media industries, which rely on subscribers or users. In our case, we make the argument that a viewer in our DAU calculation is the equivalent to a user the likes that Facebook, Snapchat, or X would define a user.

First, we must estimate the following for MrBeast:
- Total revenue over a period (last twelve months)
- Unique users over the same period

Once we estimate these two figures, we can calculate the total ARPU for MrBeast over the last twelve months. We will then compare this to the total ARPU for Facebook, Snapchat, and X for the period when these companies were at 80 million DAU.

[Total revenue over a period] / [unique users over the same period] = total ARPU

MrBeast YouTube Revenue Estimation

This revenue estimation exercise is only going to include revenue from media related assets, such as advertisements and YouTube profit sharing. This exercise will not include any merchandise sales or sales from other business lines such as Feastables. We aim to solely assess the average revenue earned by the unique individual viewer across all platforms where MrBeast content is monetized. This figure is not displayed anywhere, nor it is even possible to 100% determine the true number of “unique” viewers (unless everyone had a static IP address, but sigh, that is not the case).

So, this post will try to estimate with the highest accuracy given the access to public information. According to ViewStats, the estimated revenue from YouTube profit sharing on MrBeast YouTube accounts is shown in the table below.

Using the data displayed in the table, in addition to the data available on ViewStats, we are able to estimate the amount MrBeast content is paid for every 1,000 views using 2023 video payout estimations.

1,000 views = $4.00 payout on YouTube in 2023

In total, this report assumes that the MrBeast content on YouTube across all channels generated $80,000,000 in YouTube advertising profit sharing payout. Note that this figure does not include sponsorship, which we will calculate next.

Video Sponsor Revenue

This calculation is a little more straightforward. The MrBeast main channel released 22 videos in 2023. The report assumes that the average sponsorship price is $1 million per video. Therefore, this report assumes that the MrBeast main channel sold $22 million in video sponsor revenue for the year 2023. For simplicity, this report assumes that all other channels sold an additional $3 million in sponsor advertisements during 2023.

Total YouTube Revenue

Using the calculations we just made, the total YouTube revenue for MrBeast in 2023 is:
$80 million + $22 million + $3 million = $105 million

Other Platform Revenue

As shown earlier in this report, MrBeast content is very popular across other platforms such as TikTok, X, and Instagram. Each of these platforms contribute millions of views each day for MrBeast content. Unfortunately, all effort that I have tried to estimate the segmented earnings in terms of advertising profit sharing for these platforms have proven challenging and unsuccessful.
As such, we will be forced to assume a total figure in terms of the estimated advertising revenue across these platforms and hope that is accurate.

As such, this report assumes that these other platforms have contributed $25 million in advertising revenue for MrBeast content, with TikTok being the highest contributor. This number is justified across a few data points. Few example, we know (thanks to Jimmy’s post), that a MrBeast video on X will earn $250,000 in advertisement income payouts. This is almost half of what YouTube will pay for the same video within the first week (not including advertisement income earned on the video after one week).

Total 2023 Media Revenue Estimate

In total, this report assumes that all MrBeast media content across all platforms earned a total of $130 million in 2023. This estimate includes revenue from platform profit sharing payouts and video sponsor sales.

Calculating Unique MrBeast Users

Please note that the following calculation will require a bit of creative thinking. It is virtually impossible, regardless of the amount of information available, to accurately calculate the total number of unique viewers of MrBeast’s content for 2023 across all media platforms.

The only feasible way to do this would be if platforms like YouTube, X, TikTok, and Facebook provided us with the IP addresses and device information of all users over the past three years, assuming that everyone’s IP address remained unchanged for an entire year. Unfortunately, the reality is that 99% of people have dynamic IP addresses, which change randomly, making this task unfeasible. However, this could potentially be an innovative business idea for MrBeast to pioneer!

Definition of a Unique User

Before we attempt to estimate the total number of unique users, it’s important to clarify what we mean by this term. In this context, a view of a MrBeast video counts as one interaction from a single user.

So, how many unique individuals worldwide interacted with MrBeast’s content in the past year?

We already have our DAU and MAU estimations. Recall from earlier, we estimated DAU and MAU to be 80 million and 800 million respectively.

Now, we simply need to move one level higher and estimate the YAU (yearly annual users). YAU is the number of unique users that have viewed MrBeast content at least once in 2023.

We assume the MAU to YAU ratio to be 50%. Meaning that 50% of people who watch MrBeast content once a year also watch it once a month.

Therefore, our YAU is 1.6 billion unique people. In total, this report assumes that 1.6 billion unique people watched MrBeast content during 2023 at least once.

MrBeast Average Revenue For All Users (ARPU)

Using the estimated gross revenue for 2023 across media assets and the estimate unique number of users, we can now determine the YAU ARPU for 2023.
$130 million / 1.6 billion = $0.081 per user per year

Wow! MrBeast makes an staggering 8 cents per year from 1.6 billion people according to this report’s assumptions.
Of course, Facebook, Snapchat, and X don’t actually calculate their ARPU this way (shareholders would have a heart attack). The reason is that the YAU figure is only good for an abstract “fun-fact” figure, but does not actually mean much.
Instead, we are going to use our DAU estimation in line with what Facebook and Snapchat use.

ARPU using DAU Comparison

As established earlier, this report estimates that MrBeast’s content engages with 80 million unique users at least once daily. Utilizing this figure, the average revenue per daily active user for MrBeast can be calculated.
$130 million / 80 million = $1.63 per DAU per year

The determined ARPU, when using DAU, stands at $1.63 per user annually. This figure is now ready for comparison with those of Facebook and Snapchat when they had a similar DAU size to MrBeast, to evaluate the ranking. The outcomes of this comparison are illustrated below.

As depicted in Figure 7, MrBeast’s ARPU DAU consistently surpassed that of Snapchat when both entities had the same DAU. However, Facebook’s ARPU DAU is marginally higher.

This comparison provides valuable insights into MrBeast’s monetization potential and indicates room for growth. As MrBeast continues to expand its user base and refine its monetization strategies, it’s reasonable to anticipate that the ARPU DAU could potentially increase, further enhancing the revenue stream.

Sources

All revenue estimates are in USD unless otherwise stated. All data last updated in Feb 2024.

Please note that the data used in this post is limited to publicly available sources, including:

• Jimmy’s X (formerly Twitter) subscriptions profile
• YouTube public API
• Socialblade API
• ViewStats
• Company filings from peer group examples