5-Minute Crafts

5-Minute Crafts is a DIY and life-hack video channel launched in November 2016 by TheSoul Publishing. It is not an individually valued company but one of several large channels within TheSoul’s portfolio; third-party estimators suggest the channel alone generates several million dollars or more in annual advertising revenue.

Early Life & Family

5-Minute Crafts was registered on November 15, 2016, by TheSoul Publishing (also known as TheSoul Group), a digital media publisher based in Limassol, Cyprus, with Russian origins. Its first video was uploaded on November 16, 2016.

Rise to Fame

The channel grew rapidly, reaching 4 million subscribers by June 2017 and roughly 40 million subscribers with over 10 billion views by November 2018. Its format — top-down shots of hands performing crafts, hacks, and experiments — became instantly recognizable and was widely imitated.

Career History

By January 2022, 5-Minute Crafts had reached 75.4 million subscribers, and as of July 2026 the channel has grown to 80.6 million YouTube subscribers and 28.55 billion total views, ranking as the 33rd most-subscribed channel on YouTube and the 5th most-followed Facebook page. The channel compiles and produces DIY and life-hack content across YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

How They Built Their Wealth

5-Minute Crafts generates revenue primarily through YouTube advertising at massive scale, supplemented by its presence on Facebook and Instagram. Third-party estimators have suggested the channel alone earns anywhere from roughly $3.6 million to over $16 million a year in advertising revenue, though these figures are not officially confirmed. Its parent company, TheSoul Publishing, which also operates channels such as Bright Side, La La Life, and 123 GO!, reported annual revenue of approximately $750 million as of 2025 across its full portfolio of brands.

Personal Life

5-Minute Crafts has drawn sustained criticism from media outlets and fact-checkers. Vox described its videos as “do-it-yourself how-tos that no person could or should ever replicate,” and the BBC’s Click program found that one of its microwaved-corncob “popcorn” hacks did not work. YouTuber Ann Reardon of How to Cook That specifically flagged a bleach-soaked strawberry video as potentially hazardous if attempted by children, and the channel continues to face criticism for clickbait thumbnails and unreplicable hacks.

5-Minute Crafts does not have an official standalone valuation, since it operates as one channel within TheSoul Publishing’s much larger media portfolio (reported at roughly $750 million in annual company-wide revenue as of 2025). Third-party estimates suggest the channel itself generates several million dollars or more per year in advertising revenue.