SciShow

Who Is SciShow?

SciShow is the Missoula, Montana-based educational YouTube channel co-created by Hank Green and John Green (of VlogBrothers fame) through their Complexly production company, and now operated with a full editorial team that publishes science news, discoveries, and explanations for a general audience. With 7.5 million subscribers accumulated since its 2012 launch, SciShow represents one of YouTube's most successful experiments in converting the platform's engagement mechanics into genuine scientific literacy at scale: a channel whose content is neither dumbed-down enough to insult an intelligent viewer nor technical enough to exclude someone encountering a topic for the first time.

What distinguishes SciShow from other science YouTube channels is the editorial structure behind it: Complexly operates SciShow alongside SciShow Space, SciShow Psych, SciShow Kids, and a portfolio of other educational channels, giving the production company the institutional research and writing capacity that individual science creators building solo cannot match. The result is a channel that publishes daily, covers breaking science news within 24–48 hours of publication, and maintains the editorial consistency that builds habitual daily viewing rather than occasional discovery.

Origins: Hank Green, VlogBrothers & Complexly Education Network

SciShow launched in January 2012, created by Hank Green — one half of the VlogBrothers YouTube duo alongside his brother John Green (the novelist) — through the Missoula, Montana-based production company that would become Complexly. Hank Green's specific background positioned him to build this channel: his environmental studies degree, his natural science communication ability, and the production infrastructure developed through VlogBrothers gave the channel a foundation of genuine scientific curiosity, editorial discipline, and production quality that individual science creators building from scratch would take years to develop independently. The channel was part of the first YouTube Original channel initiative — an early Google investment in premium educational content — which provided initial production funding that allowed the team to build the editorial infrastructure that daily science publishing requires.^[1]

Complexly Network, Daily Science Publishing & 7.5M Subscribers

SciShow operates within the Complexly network alongside SciShow Space, SciShow Psych, SciShow Kids, Crash Course, and multiple other educational channels — a production company that employs writers, researchers, animators, and producers whose collective output represents one of YouTube's most prolific educational publishing operations. The daily publishing frequency — five or more videos per week — is possible because the editorial team, not a single creator, generates the scripts, researches the sources, and manages the production pipeline. This institutional model differs fundamentally from the individual-creator science YouTube channels (Veritasium, Kurzgesagt) that function as one-person or small-team creative studios: SciShow's model is closer to a digital science magazine with a video production arm than to a creator channel. Its 7.5 million subscribers represent the audience that specifically values habitual daily science news consumption over occasional deep-dive documentary content.^[2]

Brand Deals & Educational Channel Economics

SciShow's estimated brand deal rate is $20,000–$60,000 per placement, reflecting 7.5 million YouTube subscribers in the educated adult 25–45 demographic with high disposable income and the specific consumer profile that science and educational content self-selects: viewers who read, subscribe to premium publications, purchase learning-adjacent products, and make considered purchasing decisions rather than impulse buys. Online learning platforms (Brilliant.org, Skillshare, Coursera), software and productivity tools, science and technology consumer brands, book publishers, and financial services targeting educated young professionals are the primary brand deal categories. The channel's daily publishing frequency gives brand partners the impression frequency advantage that weekly-or-less educational content cannot provide — a viewer who watches SciShow daily encounters a brand integration multiple times per month. For educational channel and science creator rate benchmarks, see our influencer pricing guide and celebrity pricing breakdown.

Related Creators

Veritasium's deep-investigation science storytelling and SciShow's daily science news publishing represent the two dominant models of science YouTube: Derek Muller's single-creator investigation format producing 10–15 high-investment videos per year, Hank Green's institutional editorial team producing 200+ shorter videos per year. Both reach the science-curious adult audience but through fundamentally different content relationships — appointment documentary versus daily news habit. Kurzgesagt's German animation studio science content represents a third model — the visually-invested explainer that prioritizes aesthetic quality over publishing frequency — and together the three define the triangle of approaches to science education YouTube has developed as its dominant formats.

Sources

1. 1 The Atlantic -- Hank Green, SciShow, and the Complexly Educational YouTube Empire (2016)
2. 2 Forbes -- Educational YouTube Economics: How Complexly's Network Model Competes with Solo Science Creator Channels at Scale (2020)

Frequently Asked Questions

SciShow — Official Social Media & Links

All accounts below are the verified official profiles for SciShow. Follower counts are approximate and updated periodically.