Everyone enjoys watching YouTube, perhaps for funny videos, movie trailers, vloggers, or even original programming.

Anyone can start a channel on YouTube, much like having your own TV station. But how do you start a YouTube channel, and what equipment do you need?

How to Start a YouTube Channel for Beginners: Grab Your Phone

It doesn't matter whether you're making reaction videos or reviewing products. You might have found another great video genre to try. Whatever the case, all you really need to start a YouTube channel is a Google account and a camera capable of recording video.

Phone recording for YouTube

For almost everyone, this means using your iPhone or Android. Sure, an old video camera or webcam might seem attractive, but smartphone cameras are overwhelmingly better. All you need to do is point the phone’s camera at the subject (probably you), press record, and start talking. This is why YouTube is a vlogger's dream: it's so easy to record thoughts and push them out to the world!

But you might want more than this; your viewers might want more. After all, while the camera and YouTube account are all you need to get started, there are other things you'll need to start a YouTube channel that can attract and keep new viewers.

You May Need a Dedicated Camera

Of course, you knew this already. While you can genuinely run a successful YouTube channel with just an iPhone camera, at some stage you’ll want to splash out on a brand new dedicated video camera or DSLR.

Recording YouTube video on a DSLR

However, this would be unwise early on. Starting a new venture or project like a YouTube channel should be done as cheaply as possible.

On the off chance that you're prepared to sink some funds into this project, however, a DSLR like the Nikon D3400 is a good choice. But unless you’re a professional photographer, you should probably buy a used DLSR.

There is a huge market in used cameras and lenses that you can call on. If your channel is going to be a vlog, check out our guide to the best vlogging cameras.

How to Start a Channel on YouTube

Once you have recorded your first video, and you’re ready to upload it to YouTube, you’ll need to create a channel.

To do this, first visit www.youtube.com in your browser and sign in (or sign up with a preferred email account), and follow the prompts to verify your account.

You then have two options:

  • Click the camera icon, set the channel Name, then Create channel
    Create a YouTube channel
  • Click your profile image, then Create a channel > Name > Create channel
    Create a YouTube channel

With the basic information in place, and your YouTube channel created, you’ll be able to start uploading. Note that unverified accounts cannot upload videos longer than 15 minutes in length.

Verified accounts, meanwhile, can upload videos of up to 12 hours in length, or 256GB in size. It is unlikely you will need to do this when you’re just starting out, however.

How to Start a YouTube Channel: 3 More Things You Might Need

Starting a YouTube channel is simple enough with a smartphone or DSLR. But there are a few other things you might need, such as a tripod, a microphone, and some video and audio editing tools.

You Probably Need a Tripod

For best results, you probably need a camera tripod to ensure stable videos. If you're recording video on your phone, a dedicated smartphone tripod is an affordable option.

But do you really need a tripod at all?

Many YouTubers -- if they're not using a webcam with its own little stand or housing -- simply pile up some books. Sitting a camera on top of other household objects isn't ideal, but it can serve its purpose when you're starting out. If all else fails, and you're using your phone camera, a DIY smartphone stand can work.

For those of you planning the full camera and tripod set up, you need to be looking for something reasonably heavy. It certainly shouldn't be lighter than your camera, otherwise the pairing will be top-heavy, leading to accidents. You should be able to find something suitable from $50 and up.

A Good Microphone

This is where things can get tricky. Good microphones are not cheap. Starting a YouTube channel without a microphone will mean utilizing the built-in mic on your smartphone, tablet, webcam, and video camera. This might work out alright... or it might not. Your only option is to try the device out, and see how your voice sounds.

If you plan to buy a microphone, think about where you want to mount it.

  • Camera mounted, so it picks up your voice and everything behind you
  • On your desktop so it picks up mostly you, as long as it is placed at the right angle
  • Clipped to your tie, so most of the audio captured will be just your voice

Once you've decided what is best for your YouTube channel (a tie-clip mic might be useless for running around outdoors) it's time to look at the best mics for YouTubers.

Video and Audio Editing Tools

As well as physical hardware, you'll need some software to start making videos for your YouTube channel. Most obvious is a video editor. So many editing tools are available, for Windows, macOS, and even Linux.

Editing a video

You might also need an audio editor. While your video editor might have the necessary tidy up tools built in, this isn't a feature you'll find in all video editing suites. We suggest checking out a free tool like Audacity, which is great for tidying up audio.

Start a YouTube Channel With a Dedicated Studio

By now you should have everything you need for a new YouTube channel. You might even have started breaking out from the confines of just a few views, and have commenters demanding more from you. So what can you do?

Well, the smart options would be to take what you've got so far, upgrade a few items, and move into a dedicated space. It doesn't have to be a custom-built studio or rented space -- it might be a corner of a room or a shed. All you need is for the space to be permanently devoted to making videos.

Our guide to building a low-cost YouTube studio should put you in the right direction.

Want to Start a YouTube Channel for Gaming?

While a niche option, gaming-based YouTube channels are popular. If you're planning to build a YouTube channel about video game walkthroughs or reviews, you'll probably need a way to record your exploits within the games.

Forget about pointing your camera at the TV. You need a video capture device. While consoles will let you save footage, there is a storage limit. The best option you have is to buy a video capture card for recording or streaming in-game footage. Our guide to the best video capture cards for PC and consoles will help you out there.

If that seems expensive, there is an alternative: Android gaming. If the game is available through Google Play Games, you can record your gaming sessions, complete with video and audio from the front camera if necessary. These can be instantly uploaded to YouTube.

For live-streaming games to YouTube, you may want to also think about how to live stream on YouTube.

Still Reading? Go Launch Your YouTube Channel!

By this point, you should have realized that everything you need to start your YouTube channel is either already in your possession, or is otherwise completely affordable. In fact, there's really no point in you still reading this. It's time to move: hit record, create your new video, and upload it to YouTube!