How to clip YouTube videos (and do it for money)

Updated 15 October 2026 · Written by the SOVE7GN founders

This guide is for anyone who wants to cut a moment out of a YouTube video, whether you're sharing a funny bit with a friend or making clips for a paid campaign. The right method depends on one question: do you own the video, or have permission to use it?

The four ways to clip, compared

Pick the method by what you want at the end: a link, a Short on your own channel, or a file you can post anywhere.

Sources: YouTube Help on Clips and Shorts from your videos, and the YouTube Blog on Cut. Checked October 2026.

Method 1: the YouTube Clip button

The Clip button is for sharing, not for reposting. It makes a link to a 5 to 60 second section of the original video.

1. Open the video in the YouTube app or on a computer.
2. Tap Clip in the row of buttons under the video.
3. Drag the selector to cover 5 to 60 seconds and add a title.
4. Tap Share clip, then copy the link or send it to an app.

Three limits catch people out, according to YouTube Help:

• Clips from a live stream only play once the stream ends and is posted as a video.
• A clip is removed if the creator deletes the original or makes it private.
• Clipping is on by default, but creators can turn it off for their channel.

A clip is a link, not a file. You can't upload it to TikTok or submit it to a campaign.

Method 2: Edit into a Short (your own videos)

If it's your channel, YouTube will cut the Short for you. Open your long video, tap Remix, then Edit into a Short, select up to 60 seconds and add text or music. YouTube Help says it won't work on private or unlisted videos, or on videos with a third-party copyright claim.

Shorts themselves can run up to 3 minutes since October 15, 2024. For a longer Short, export the section yourself and upload it as a vertical video. The full workflow is in YouTube Shorts from long videos.

Method 3: cut a file in CapCut or Premiere

This is how clippers work. You start with a source file, cut the moment, reframe it to 9:16, add captions and export.

1. Get the source file legally. Download your own uploads in YouTube Studio: Content, then the menu on the video, then Download. For anyone else's video, use files they give you. Paid campaigns usually share a folder or a sheet of approved sources.
2. Find the moment. Scrub at 1.5x speed and note timestamps where something changes: a punchline, a reveal, a strong opinion.
3. Cut tight. Start on the line that makes people stop, not on the setup. Use the shortest version that still makes sense.
4. Reframe to 9:16. In CapCut, set the canvas to 9:16 and scale the speaker to fill the frame. In Premiere, use a 1080x1920 sequence and Auto Reframe.
5. Add captions. Auto captions are a good first draft. Fix names and slang by hand. See how to caption clips.
6. Export at 1080x1920 and upload natively to each platform.

On a phone, the steps are the same in the CapCut app. Our phone clipping guide covers the mobile version.

What you can and can't download

YouTube's Terms of Service bar downloading content unless the service expressly allows it or YouTube gives written permission. That's why "YouTube to MP4" sites are a risk: they break YouTube's terms even when the creator is happy to be clipped.

Safe sources for clippers:

• your own uploads, through YouTube Studio
• files the creator sends you, or a campaign's shared folder
• footage you recorded yourself

Permission is also not the same as originality. YouTube's reused content policy, which decides who can earn from ads, applies even if the original creator said yes. And since October 1, 2026, Shorts that re-upload other creators' videos without adding anything get less reach. Read the Shorts originality update before you build a channel on reposts.

Clipping YouTube videos for money

Clipping for money means posting clips on your own accounts and getting paid per 1,000 views through a campaign. The creator or brand supplies the source videos and the rules, so the permission question is already answered.

1. Join a campaign or a clipper network.
2. Read the brief: which videos, which platforms, which tags.
3. Cut clips from the approved sources only.
4. Post on your own accounts and submit the links.
5. Get paid on approved views. At $1 per 1,000 views, 200,000 approved views earns $200.

To find campaigns worth your time, see how to pick a Whop clipping campaign. SOVE7GN clippers join through our Discord (application only) and are paid per 1,000 approved views through Whop. More in how to become a clipper.

Questions people ask