Viewstats
Viewstats is a YouTube analytics and research platform built by the team behind MrBeast. It surfaces outlier videos, competitor moves and winning thumbnail styles, helping creators settle on ideas, titles and packaging before they hit record.
What is Viewstats?
Viewstats is a YouTube analytics and content research platform published by Cstats, LLC, a company based in Greenville, North Carolina. Its origin is unusual for a SaaS product: from 2016 onwards, Jimmy — better known as MrBeast — and his co-founder logged every title tweak, thumbnail test and retention curve of their own channel, and turned those notebooks into an in-house analytics engine. The site credits that engine with accompanying the MrBeast channel from one million to more than 300 million subscribers, and Viewstats is that engine packaged for the public. The company's own FAQ confirms MrBeast co-founded and owns the product.
The platform answers one question: what will perform, before you commit to filming. Seven modules serve it. Outliers surfaces videos performing far beyond what their channel size predicts, in long and short formats. Analytics breaks down channel and video performance. Thumbnail Search reveals which visual styles earn clicks in a niche, searchable by keyword, by URL or by uploaded image. Competitors tracks rival channels, Alerts fires on custom keywords and thresholds, Collections stores video and thumbnail prototypes so packaging can be previewed before publishing, and a Creator Dashboard pulls it together. Public Top Lists — top subscribers, top views, most subscribers gained — are readable without an account, and a free Chrome extension overlays stats while browsing YouTube. The terms of service also describe credit-based AI Image Services: text-to-image generation, face swap and the alteration of existing images.
Viewstats claims the largest dataset in its category, processing 2,500 times more datapoints per day than competing tools. Access runs across three tiers: a permanent free site, Pro at USD 49.99 per month, and Business from USD 249 per month with unlimited credits, volume licensing, creator discovery and a Business API. A Discord community of more than 17,000 creators sits alongside it, with dedicated channels for Pro members. The interface and support are English only.
What it does
- Find outlier videos that are heavily overperforming for their channel size, in long and short formats
- Analyse channel and video performance to see what actually drives growth and views
- Search top-performing thumbnails by niche, by video URL or by uploaded image
- Track competitor channels in your niche and see what is working for them
- Set custom keyword and threshold alerts to catch a trend as it emerges
- Collect video and thumbnail prototypes in Collections and preview packaging before publishing
- Read channel and video stats directly on YouTube through the free Chrome extension
When to use Viewstats / When not to
A quick filter to help you decide if Viewstats is the right fit.
When to use Viewstats
- YouTube creators of any size who want to know what will perform before they film
- Content and social media managers running channel strategy for a brand or a client
- Thumbnail and graphic designers researching the visual styles that earn clicks in a niche
- Agencies and content teams needing volume licensing, unlimited credits and creator discovery
- Growth marketers and analysts tracking competitor channels and emerging trends in a vertical
When not to use Viewstats
- Teams running a multi-platform strategy: Viewstats covers YouTube only, with no TikTok, Instagram or X data
- Developers looking for a documented public API, as the advertised Business API has no accessible documentation
- Anyone who needs a mobile app, since the product ships as a web platform and a Chrome extension only
- Non-English speakers, because the interface, the legal documents and the support portal are English only
- Enterprise buyers with a procurement checklist, given the absence of a DPA, of published subprocessors and of any security certification
How to use Viewstats
A typical end-to-end flow, from setup to results.
- Browse the free site and the public Top Lists without creating an account at all
- Create a free account by email, or authenticate through Google
- Install the free Chrome extension from the Chrome Web Store to read stats while browsing YouTube
- Explore Outliers and Analytics to identify formats that are overperforming in your niche
- Add the rival channels you want to watch to Competitors
- Run Thumbnail Search by keyword, by video URL or by uploading a reference image
- Set Alerts on the keywords and thresholds that matter to your channel
- Save your video and thumbnail prototypes into Collections to preview packaging before publishing
- Upgrade to Pro from the pricing page, paying by card or through a supported payment provider
- For the Business tier, book a call rather than buying online, as pricing is quoted after that conversation
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Operational pedigree that is genuinely rare: the engine was proven on the growth of the largest YouTube channel
- Depth of data claimed as the industry's largest, at 2,500 times more datapoints processed per day than rival tools
- A permanent free tier plus public Top Lists that need no account, and a free Chrome extension
- Single, readable Pro price at USD 49.99 per month, cancellable at any time
- Coverage of the whole pre-production cycle: ideas, titles, thumbnails, monitoring, alerts and organisation
- Active Discord community of more than 17,000 creators, with dedicated channels for Pro members
- Detailed and recently updated legal documents, both terms and privacy policy dated 4 August 2026
Cons
- The Pro price is absent from the pricing page itself, which renders it in JavaScript and displays a placeholder
- Single-platform by design: YouTube only, with no coverage of any other network
- All subscription and top-up fees are non-refundable, and subscription credits expire at the end of each billing cycle
- The perpetual, irrevocable and sub-licenseable licence granted to the publisher over User Content extends to promotional use
- Behavioural advertising shares personal data with Meta and Google, including YouTube
- No DPA, no published subprocessor list, no security certification and no stated retention period
- No mobile app, English-only interface, and no Article 27 EU representative despite offering EU and UK rights
Pricing & Plans
A permanent free plan is available: the free site, the public Top Lists and the Chrome extension require no payment, and a free account may be opened. The lowest paid entry point is the Pro plan at USD 49.99 per month. The Business plan starts at USD 249 per month and is quoted after a scheduled call. It should be noted that all subscription fees and top-up fees are non-refundable, except where the publisher states otherwise or where applicable law requires it.
- free site
- public Top Lists (top subscribers
- top views
- most subscribers gained) and the Chrome extension
- Outlier Video Search
- Thumbnail Search
- Video Alerts
- Collections
- Creator Dashboard
- Competitors
- and access to the Pro Discord channels announced as coming soon
- unlimited credits
- volume licensing
- advanced business and creator analytics
- Creator Discovery
- Business API and tailored software solutions
- quoted after a booked call
- purchasable separately to supplement the credits included in a subscription
- and they do not expire
Data, GDPR & hosting
A consolidated view of how Viewstats handles your data.
GDPR overview
The privacy policy, in force since 4 August 2026, states GDPR compliance explicitly, specifically regarding lawful transfer mechanisms. A dedicated "EU and UK data subject rights" section lists six rights: information, access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing and objection. They are exercised by writing to gdpr@viewstats.com, and identity verification may be requested. The policy also confirms the right to lodge a complaint with an EU supervisory authority or with the UK ICO, after contacting the publisher first. Implementation stops there: no Article 27 EU representative is designated, no data protection officer is named, no Data Processing Agreement is offered, and no subprocessor list is published although a subprocessors section exists. The publisher has no EU entity or address.
Who owns the data?
Under the terms of service, ownership is split. You keep your ownership rights in the Input you provide, and you own the Output the Image Services return; the publisher formally assigns you whatever rights it may hold in that Output. In exchange, by submitting any Input you grant Cstats, LLC, its affiliated companies and its agents a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licenseable, perpetual and irrevocable licence to reproduce, adapt, publish, create derivative works from, copy, display, transmit, distribute, store and modify your User Content, without compensation, both to operate the service and to promote, advertise or market it. Everything else on the site remains the property of the publisher and its licensors.
Reuse rights
You may reuse the Output freely: you own it, and the publisher assigns you any residual rights it holds, so no further permission is needed for your own videos, thumbnails or client work. That freedom is bounded by the Image Generation Policy rather than by a licence fee. You must not use the Image Services to identify a person or infer private information about them, to reproduce anyone's likeness without express and verifiable consent, or to edit uploaded images containing real people under 18. Output that harasses, defames, promotes violence, sexualises children, defrauds or hides the fact that AI was involved is prohibited, as is any Input you do not own. You remain solely responsible for the content you submit, and you warrant that you hold every right you grant.
Data retention & training
Hosting summary
The privacy policy states that personal data relating to the services is hosted by Google as the publisher's third-party hosting partner. No hosting country and no region are named anywhere, and the publisher describes itself as an international company with offices across the globe whose services can be used worldwide. It adds that third-party SaaS tools hosted in various countries may also be involved, and that data entered into the AI Image Services is processed and stored by third-party AI technology providers. On transfers, the policy commits only to compliance with GDPR requirements on lawful transfer mechanisms, without naming any. Security is described as reasonable precautions, HTTPS/TLS encryption in transit and access limited to staff and providers who need it, with no guarantee of complete security. The site itself is served behind Cloudflare, on an anycast address. Jurisdiction is North Carolina, United States: judicial proceedings are brought in its state or federal courts.
Things to keep in mind
Risks and trade-offs to weigh before adopting Viewstats.
- Chasing outliers can flatten a channel's voice: optimising every title and thumbnail toward what already performs pushes creators to imitate rather than to make something of their own
- The data invites constant comparison with rivals, and monitoring competitors daily is a reliable way to trade creative confidence for anxiety
- Every payment is final, so a subscription taken on impulse during a promotion cannot be unwound; the fifty-percent-for-life discount is also lost for good once cancelled
- Subscription credits expire at the end of each billing cycle and all credits are forfeited when an account is terminated, which quietly penalises irregular use
- The licence granted over User Content is perpetual, irrevocable and sub-licenseable, and covers promotional use of what you upload, including images of real people you were responsible for clearing
- Personal data, including pages visited and search queries, is shared with Meta and Google for behavioural advertising, so your competitive research shapes the ads you later see
- With no stated retention period, no subprocessor list and no DPA, you cannot establish how long your data lives or who exactly holds it
Setup & Integrations
Technical difficulty
Very low. Nothing is installed to use the web platform, and the public Top Lists are readable without an account at all. Signing up takes an email address or a Google login. The Chrome extension installs in one click from the Chrome Web Store and is free. No API key, no YouTube account connection and no technical configuration are required to consult public channel data. The only step involving any friction is the Business tier, which cannot be bought online and requires booking a call first.
Deployment
Integrations
Supported languages
Behind Viewstats
Social
Resources
All the official URLs gathered for verification and reference.
Frequently asked questions
Who is behind Viewstats?
How much does Viewstats cost?
Is there a free version?
Can I cancel, and will I be refunded?
Is there a mobile app or an API?
What is the minimum age to use Viewstats?
Where is my data hosted?
Is my data used to train AI models?
How do I exercise my GDPR rights?
Should you pick Viewstats?
Viewstats is one of the few analytics products whose credibility rests on something other than a pitch deck: the engine was built and stress-tested on the growth of the largest channel on YouTube before it was ever sold. That shows in what the tool prioritises. It is not a reporting dashboard but a pre-production instrument, aimed at the moment before a video exists, when the idea, the title and the thumbnail are still decisions rather than commitments. Outliers, Thumbnail Search and Competitors are the load-bearing modules, and the claimed data volume of 2,500 times more datapoints per day than rival tools is the argument the company leans on.
The commercial offer is honest in structure and awkward in execution. A permanent free tier and a free Chrome extension let anyone judge the data before paying, and USD 49.99 per month is a legible price. Yet that price does not appear on the pricing page, which renders it in JavaScript and shows a placeholder instead; it had to be recovered from the publisher's own support portal. Anyone buying should confirm the amount at checkout, especially while a fifty percent promotion is running.
The reservations are contractual rather than functional. Every payment is non-refundable, subscription credits expire with the billing cycle, and the licence granted over User Content is perpetual, irrevocable, sub-licenseable and extends to promotional use. Personal data feeds behavioural advertising on Meta and Google. There is no DPA, no published subprocessor list, no security certification, no stated retention period and no Article 27 EU representative, despite EU and UK rights being offered.
For a working YouTube creator or content team, the value is real and the entry cost is low. For a regulated or enterprise buyer, the paperwork is not there.
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