A gifted sub on YouTube is a paid channel membership that one viewer buys for another person. The recipient usually gets the channel’s member perks for free for a set period, and the creator gets support from the purchase.

What it does

  • Gives the other viewer access to member-only benefits, such as badges, emotes, or exclusive content, depending on the channel.
  • Lets fans support a creator while sharing those perks with someone else.
  • Can be given to a specific person or sometimes distributed randomly in the community, depending on how the channel enables it.

Simple example

If someone gifts 10 memberships in a livestream, 10 viewers may receive temporary channel membership without paying themselves, while the creator earns revenue from those gifts.

Bottom line

It’s basically YouTube’s version of “buying someone else a membership” so they can enjoy subscriber perks for a limited time.