Top 10 YouTube Challenges

Nothing brings YouTubers together quite like a YouTube challenge. Over the years, as YouTube has changed and the number of creators has grown, new challenges arise every few months. No matter what category a YouTuber is in, challenges have the ability to take over the platform and inspire thousands of videos that receive millions of views. If you’re looking to do a fun challenge with friends, check out the top 10 YouTube challenges below!

1. I’ll Buy It Challenge

As one of the most popular YouTube challenges, this challenge comes in many different forms. Various creators have put their own spin on the challenge, but the trendiest videos appear to be focused on “Whatever You Draw, I’ll Buy It”, “Guess The Word and I’ll Buy It”, and “Anything You Can Carry, I’ll Buy It” challenges. Many family channels have also challenged their children by creating “I’ll Buy Whatever You Can Spell” videos. With some creators focusing on luxury items, others opt to head into stores like Target or BestBuy; this way, viewers are drawn in by their curiosity to see what items are featured. Popularized by influencers like MrBeast, who has gained up to 50 million views on his video featuring the challenge, the videos quickly took over the internet and the game even made its way to TikTok.

2. Extreme Hide and Seek Challenge

Also popularized by MrBeast, these challenges often feature large cash prizes to the last player found in a game of hide and seek. While some YouTubers play inside of their homes, others choose to rent out acres of land or large buildings that have hundreds of rooms and hiding spots to make the game more interesting. To make the game even harder, YouTubers like MrBeast have up to 10 of their friends play at once, which requires more than one person searching for players. The creators behind the channel 123 GO! CHALLENGE even posted their own take on this YouTube challenge that lasted 24 hours.

3. Overnight Challenge 

Whether it’s in Target, their local mall, or their siblings’ bedroom, the Overnight Challenge involves YouTubers attempting to spend 24 hours overnight somewhere they’re not supposed to be. The players generally sneak in just before the store’s closing time and build a fort out of the products to keep themselves hidden or hide in the bathrooms to remain undetected. By avoiding employees, creators hide out in the store overnight until they can make a run for it without being caught in the morning. However, the challenge has caused controversy, with the police and several companies speaking out to warn people about the possible consequences.

4. Pause Challenge

Loosely based on the movie Click, this challenge has taken over both YouTube and TikTok. To understand what the Pause Challenge is, think of it as a freeze challenge. During the challenge, YouTubers and their friends or family, take turns saying “pause” randomly throughout the day to each other, which can land them in some crazy situations. The challenge, which can last anywhere from 24 hours to a week, can be played indoors or in public, and it can definitely get risky. YouTubers of all ages play, which makes the challenge super popular across the platform. 

5. Most Likely to Challenge

For this challenge, YouTubers ask each other a series of questions starting with, “Who is most likely to…” and decide which one of them relates the most to the question. While some YouTubers just write each other’s names on posters to play, others get creative. In the extreme version of this challenge, many family channels put bowls of water or flour in front of them and have someone else stand behind them to dunk their heads in the bowls and decide the answers to the questions for them. Others have even played with slime!

6. Try Not to Challenge

This challenge comes in many forms since different YouTubers put their own spin on the challenge. The most popular versions are “Try Not to Laugh”, “Try Not to Look Away”, “Try Not to Make a Sound”, Try Not to Cringe”, and “Try Not to Move”. There has even been a whole entire channel created by the Fine Brothers starring several YouTubers taking part in the many different versions of the challenge. Viewers love this challenge because it’s not only entertaining, but it can be interactive, too! Most audiences love to play along and see how well they do in the challenge compared to their favorite creators.

7. 100 Layers Challenge

Unless you were hiding under 100 layers of rocks, then you’ve definitely seen one of these videos that are dominating the platform. Out of all the YouTube challenges on this list, this one takes the most forms because many YouTubers from many different categories can participate. Beauty gurus post videos such as “100 Layers of Makeup” or “100 Layers of Nail Polish”, while other YouTubers in various categories take different directions like “100 Layers of Shirts” or “Wrapped in 100 Layers of Duct Tape”. No matter their niche, a ton of creators love taking part in this challenge, getting creative, and taking things to a new level.

8. Letting the Person in Front of Me Decide What I Eat Challenge

After the “Letting My Subscribers Decide My Day” challenge took off, YouTubers decided to head to the drive-thru and put a new spin on the game. In this challenge, creators go to several different popular fast-food restaurants and tell the cashier at the drive-thru that they want “what the person in front of them ordered”. The challenge has been done everywhere from Starbucks to KFC, and some YouTubers even hold the challenge for an entire 24 hours, letting a random person decide their breakfast, lunch, and dinner. With the popularity of this challenge, creators like MoreWolfie have even changed things up and let the person behind them decide on their order.

9. Gummy Food vs. Real Food Challenge 

From the Merrell Twins to The Prince Family, plenty of YouTubers have taken part in these challenge videos, going head to head to discover if they’ll be eating the real or gummy version of their favorite meals. Here’s how it works: two creators have two covered plates in front of them, one with gummy food and one with real food. They flip a coin, or play a game of rock, paper, scissors, to decide who will get which plate. After a count of three, they uncover their plates and can eat anything from gummy burgers to gummy pizza. Similar to the Bean Boozled Challenge, which food they’ll end up with is a total surprise, and some even end up with real worms instead of gummy worms. Overall, this challenge may not be for creators with weak stomachs, but the videos are super entertaining to watch!

10. Hot vs. Cold Food Challenge

To show how important temperature can be when it comes to food, YouTubers started the Hot vs. Cold Food YouTube Challenge so their subscribers could see their hilarious reactions to some awful dishes. Some YouTubers, like Azzyland and Gloom, have featured foods like hot sushi, frozen salad, and melted cupcakes in their videos, while others take their own spin on the challenge. The Prince Family and the Dobre Twins both chose to use either spicy foods or cold foods in their videos, instead of always messing with the food’s temperature, making the challenge even harder.

Check out these other YouTube challenges that didn’t make the cut: