Apart from how delicious it is that the creator who most rooted for PewDiePie to earn that title now holds it, how did MrBeast make it to the top? Keep reading to find out.
MrBeast Becomes the Most-Subscribed YouTube Channel
What YouTube channel has the most subscribers has always been a question on people’s minds, so it’s hardly a surprise it’s so well-tracked. Way back when PewDiePie first earned the title of the most-subscribed individual creator, he did so by reaching 100 million subscribers. As of the writing of this article, the Swedish creator has 111 million subscribers compared to MrBeast’s 114 million.
Funny enough, America creator MrBeast spearheaded the campaign to make PewDiePie the most-subscribed YouTuber. He was behind a vigorous campaign of public support to push ahead PewDiePie’s subscriber count.
Fast forward to 2022, when MrBeast’s subscriber count began rising and inching closer to surpassing PewDiePie’s, the Swedish creator reacted to potentially becoming the second most-subscribed individual creator, saying that MrBeast deserved it.
Why Was PewDiePie the Most-Subscribed Individual Channel?
As mentioned, MrBeast led a vigorous campaign in support of PewDiePie. He began a full-on ‘Subscribe to PewDiePie’ movement, distributing all manner of ads plastered everywhere imaginable (including above urinals).
Jimmy, MrBeast’s offline name, shouted from the rooftops that Felix, PewDiePie’s offline name, should win number one instead of the other YouTube account closing in on the number one spot—T-Series, an Indian record label and film producer.
There was a great appeal in this battle for the number one spot as both names were battling it out for the most popular YouTube channel by subscribers—PewDiePie was the ’little guy’ going against a massive company.
That, of course, culminated in a massive online trend with many popular memes, resulting in PewDiePie holding his ground until, inevitably, T-series surpassed his subscriber count.
Despite that, PewDiePie remained the most-subscribed-to individual on the platform. That is until MrBeast surpassed him in 2022.
How MrBeast Beat PewDiePie
So, how did MrBeast manage to surpass PewDiePie? Let’s go over some major differences between the two creators and shed some light on why one organically gained a larger subscriber count.
1. MrBeast Invests More Time (and Money) on His Videos
This is not a dig at PewDiePie. He also invests in quality video equipment, and his videos are crisp—despite the meme that he uploads videos with 480p quality.
With that said, MrBeast is pretty famous for spending all the money he earns from his videos to make more videos.
The money either gets put towards purchasing equipment or goes toward the prize pool for the following videos. On more than one occasion, MrBeast has offered big monetary prizes, like islands and planes, for the challenges he crafts for his videos.
As MrBeast puts it, he just wants to make the best videos he can, and his subscribers know it.
2. Quality Over Quantity
As of 2022, PewDiePie is somewhat retired, so his upload schedule is more infrequent, and he tends to upload whatever and whenever he feels like, knowing his fans would enjoy it.
Before his retirement, he tended to keep a more rigorous schedule of daily uploads. And since daily uploads are demanding, unless you’re committed to being creatively drained at all times, he usually stuck to doing react videos with the occasional different topic sprinkled throughout uploads.
MrBeast’s uploads are the opposite—they’re more sporadic but of the highest creative quality. More often than not, the videos involve a whole production crew behind the camera and dozens of people in front of the camera.
The video quality between the two creators is like night and day. That doesn’t mean one’s better and the other worse, just that they’re different and appeal to different people.
3. MrBeast’s Videos Appeal to a Wider Audience
And, speaking of appeal, MrBeast’s videos appeal to a broader audience; because of this, he’s more likely to gain new viewers.
For instance, in September 2021, Netflix released a show called Squid Game. Not long after the show came out, on November 24, 2021, MrBeast released a video recreating some of the show’s key points—contestants competing for a monetary prize in various children’s games. The video was so well done that, as of writing, it has amassed 308 million views.
Even if you’d never heard of MrBeast, it’s more than likely that you’ve either seen this video or at least know about it. It’s not the same with PewDiePie’s videos, as they’re a bit more niche and, compared to MrBeast, seem unlikely to gain as many eyes on them.
4. The Drama Behind PewDiePie
Comparing the two YouTubers, it’s clear that PewDiePie has gotten in hot water more times than MrBeast. That, of course, can do with dozens of attributing factors.
For example, PewDiePie’s videos are often reactions, discussions, and similar. That paves the way to overshare a lot more than releasing (somewhat) scripted content like MrBeast does. Oversharing then leads to people having more to pick apart.
Though PewDiePie has—deservingly so—found himself in trouble multiple times, he has made public apologies.
MrBeast is still unmarred by major controversy, which is likely one reason he has a larger subscriber count. People probably view him as a family-friendly, safe YouTuber to consume.
Subscribers Don’t Equal Viewers
In the end, subscriber counts don’t matter too much. Of course, they’re grand for bragging rights, but it matters little if the audience doesn’t engage with the YouTuber they’ve subscribed to.
Many YouTubers have mentioned not seeing the engagement rise despite their subscriber count. And on the opposite end, even more have noted that many of their viewers aren’t subscribed.
So, who knows? Maybe MrBeast and PewDiePie have even larger fan bases that their subscriber counts don’t quite reflect yet.
