Creator economy · Hubli-Dharwad
Top 5 Richest YouTubers in Hubli (2026)
Hubli-Dharwad’s biggest YouTube channels are Kannada comedy skits and Dharwad’s exam-coaching academies. Here is who runs them, how they began, what has been reported about their earnings, and what is on the public record.
Please read first: YouTube earnings are estimates. No credible outlet has published a net-worth figure for any creator on this list, so we print none. The one income figure below was given by the creator himself to a newspaper. Social Blade numbers are rough ad-revenue guesses from public view counts. Subscriber counts are from each official channel, as of 18 Oct 2026.
How we picked the richest YouTubers in Hubli
Hubli (Hubballi) and Dharwad form one twin-city corporation in north Karnataka, so we treated them as one market. We kept only channels that are clearly made in Hubli-Dharwad or Dharwad district, as shown by a national or state newspaper or by the channel’s own description. Many big north Karnataka creators come from nearby districts such as Vijayapura, Belagavi or Bagalkot; they are not on this list.
We found five channels we could verify, so this is a top 5 rather than a padded top 10. Because no outlet has published a net worth for any of them, we ranked by subscribers on the main channel. That measures reach, not wealth. Two of the five are coaching institutes rather than individual creators; we include them because they are among the largest YouTube channels run from the city. Earlier cities in this series: the richest YouTubers in Delhi NCR, the richest YouTubers in Lucknow and the richest YouTubers in Mumbai. Next in the series: the richest YouTubers in Patiala.
Related reading on SkillCircle: our India YouTuber rankings, list of top YouTubers in Chandigarh and guide on Richest Cricketers in the World.
Richest YouTubers from Hubli-Dharwad at a glance
| # | Channel | Hubli-Dharwad link | Niche | Subs* | Reported earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mukaleppa (Khwaja Shirahatti) | Dharwad | North Karnataka comedy skits | 2.55M | No credible figure |
| 2 | Vidyakashi Career Academy | Dharwad (coaching institute) | Govt exam prep | 448K | No credible figure |
| 3 | Jagadish Mooki (Udaala Member) | Parasapur, Kalaghatagi taluk, Dharwad district | Village comedy, short films | 426K | ~₹60,000/month, self-reported (TOI, Aug 2023) |
| 4 | Gurudev IAS & KAS Academy | Dharwad (coaching institute) | Govt exam prep | 132K | No credible figure |
| 5 | Insena | Hubballi creator group | Comedy, satire, podcasts | 56.3K | No credible figure |
*Main channel, as of 18 Oct 2026 (YouTube). No net-worth figures are published for these channels. The only earnings number is self-reported.
A rough reference point: Social Blade estimates ad income from public view counts and gives very wide ranges. For 5–18 October 2026 (14 days) its daily estimates add up to about $104–$1,630 for Gurudev IAS & KAS Academy, $82–$1,319 for Jagadish Mooki, $71–$1,132 for Vidyakashi Career Academy and $0–$16 for Insena. Social Blade did not return data for Mukaleppa’s channel when we checked. These are guesses for ad revenue on the main channel only, and leave out brand deals, shows, courses and fees. You can check any channel yourself on Social Blade.
1. Mukaleppa (Khwaja Shirahatti) — Dharwad’s biggest YouTube name
- Niche: Kannada comedy skits in north Karnataka dialect, about family, friends and village life
- Hubli-Dharwad link: a Dharwad-based YouTube comedian whose real name is Khwaja Bande Nawaz Mahammad Hanif Shirahatti, per The Hindu (Hubballi bureau, Sept 2025)
- Main channel: mukaleppa real team, 2.55M subscribers, 671 videos and about 1.34 billion views (as of 18 Oct 2026, YouTube)
- Reported net worth: no credible figure found, so none is printed.
Photo: we could not find a freely licensed picture of this creator, so we have not used one. Their official channel is linked above.
How he started
The main channel was created in June 2020 and grew on short comedy sketches in the local dialect about family, friendship and everyday social issues. By September 2025 The Hindu put his following at “over 2 million”. Several smaller channels use the Mukaleppa name; we have counted only the main one.
Early days
Browse the channel’s earliest uploads (sorted oldest first) to see the first sketches. We could not find a freely licensed photo.
Critical information
In September 2025 his interfaith marriage drew police complaints: her family alleged he had kidnapped and brainwashed her, and some Hindu groups alleged the marriage was registered with false papers. His wife, Gayatri, told police and the media that she had married him of her own free will, and the Hubballi-Dharwad police commissioner said she was an adult (The Hindu, 23 Sept 2025). Vijaya Karnataka reported in September 2026 that police closed the case after taking her statement and checking the marriage certificate, and that the two families have since reconciled.
2. Vidyakashi Career Academy — Dharwad exam-prep channel
- Niche: daily current affairs and lessons in Kannada for KAS, PSI, FDA, SDA, RRB and other government exams
- Hubli-Dharwad link: a coaching centre near Shree Nagar Circle, Dharwad, per the channel’s own description
- Main channel: Vidyakashi Career Academy Dharwad, 448K subscribers, about 2,700 videos and 56.7 million views (as of 18 Oct 2026, YouTube)
- Reported net worth: no credible figure found. It is a coaching business, and most of its income is likely to come from fees rather than YouTube.
Photo: we could not find a freely licensed picture for this channel, so we have not used one. The official channel is linked above.
How it started
The channel launched in September 2020 and has kept up a near-daily rhythm of current-affairs updates and live classes, with about 2,700 uploads so far.
Early days
See the channel’s earliest uploads (sorted oldest first).
Critical information
No major public controversy reported in the sources we checked.
3. Jagadish Mooki (Udaala Member) — village comedy from Dharwad district
- Niche: village comedy, short films and songs under the “Udaala Member” banner
- Hubli-Dharwad link: from Parasapur village in Kalaghatagi taluk, Dharwad district, per The Times of India (Hubballi edition, Aug 2023)
- Main channel: Jagadish Mooki, 426K subscribers, about 1,400 videos and 156 million views (as of 18 Oct 2026, YouTube)
- Reported earnings: about ₹60,000 a month on average, as he told The Times of India in August 2023. This is his own figure, not an audited one.
Photo: we could not find a freely licensed picture of this creator, so we have not used one. Their official channel is linked above.
How he started
Mooki told TOI he opened his channel in 2012 without knowing how monetisation worked. After he finished his BCom in 2018, friends filmed a party at the start of Shravana month; the upload passed one lakh views in 24 hours. The channel was monetised in 2019. He had acted in a few TV serials in college and does his own shooting and editing, and about 200 local artists have appeared in his videos. He also farms and works in photography in the village.
In 2023 he raised about ₹5.16 lakh from his viewers and took a bank loan to buy an ambulance costing ₹8.89 lakh, which he runs free of cost for patients in nearby villages.
Early days
Browse his earliest uploads (sorted oldest first).
Critical information
No major public controversy reported in the sources we checked.
4. Gurudev IAS & KAS Academy — Dharwad
- Niche: coaching for IAS, KAS, PSI, PDO, FDA, SDA, banking, SSC and RRB exams
- Hubli-Dharwad link: an exam-coaching academy in Dharwad, per the channel’s own description
- Main channel: Gurudev IAS and KAS Academy, 132K subscribers, about 1,660 videos and 9.8 million views (as of 18 Oct 2026, YouTube)
- Reported net worth: no credible figure found. As with Vidyakashi, fees are likely to matter more than ad income.
Photo: we could not find a freely licensed picture for this channel, so we have not used one. The official channel is linked above.
How it started
The channel opened in October 2017 and posts strategy talks, study plans and exam tips alongside regular lessons.
Early days
See the channel’s earliest uploads (sorted oldest first).
Critical information
No major public controversy reported in the sources we checked.
5. Insena — Hubballi comedy and podcast group
- Niche: Kannada comedy sketches, satire and podcasts
- Hubli-Dharwad link: “We are basically from Hubballi,” the team says in its channel description
- Main channel: insena, 56.3K subscribers, 93 videos and 4.8 million views (as of 18 Oct 2026, YouTube)
- Reported net worth: no credible figure found, so none is printed.
Photo: we could not find a freely licensed picture of this creator, so we have not used one. Their official channel is linked above.
How they started
Insena began in 2018 as a group of friends from different backgrounds who wanted to make good Kannada content. Everyone who appears in the videos is part of the core team, and the channel posts rarely; its own description jokes that it uploads “one video every month or maybe not”. It is the smallest channel on this list.
Early days
Browse the channel’s earliest uploads (sorted oldest first).
Critical information
No major public controversy reported in the sources we checked.
Who we left out of this Hubli list
Some popular north Karnataka creators are often linked to Hubli but come from elsewhere. Shivaputra Yasharadha (about 2.56M subscribers) is from Basavana Bagewadi in Vijayapura district, per Hindustan Times Kannada. Comedian Sanju Basayya is from Murgod in Belagavi district, per the same outlet, and Mallu Jamkhandi is associated with Jamkhandi in Bagalkot district. Tech in Kannada’s Sandeep Gowda and podcaster Skandyyman list Bengaluru as their base. We also left out Udaal Pavvya, because we could not confirm his city, and several smaller local channels that carry Hubli in their name but have no outside source. If you have a solid source for anyone we missed, we will review it.
What new creators can learn from these channels
Two formats win in Hubli-Dharwad: comedy in the local north Karnataka dialect, and practical lessons for government-exam aspirants. Both serve an audience that national channels ignore, and both post often. The academies also show that a YouTube channel can work as a marketing engine for an offline business, bringing in students rather than just ad money.
If you want to build a channel or grow a business on YouTube, marketing skills help with titles, search, analytics and audience building. Learners in the city can look at the digital marketing course in Hubli at our Vidya Nagar centre, or the online digital marketing course. If you prefer numbers, see the data science course in Hubli and the data analytics course in Hubli, and every location on our centres page. For career options beyond YouTube, see our list of the highest paid jobs in Delhi.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the richest YouTuber in Hubli?
No credible outlet has published a net-worth figure for any Hubli-Dharwad YouTuber, so nobody can say for sure. By reach, Mukaleppa (Khwaja Shirahatti) of Dharwad is far ahead, with about 2.55 million subscribers on his main channel as of 18 October 2026. The only income figure in the press is Jagadish Mooki’s: he told The Times of India in August 2023 that he earned about ₹60,000 a month from YouTube.
Which Hubli-Dharwad YouTuber has the most subscribers?
Mukaleppa’s main channel, mukaleppa real team, has about 2.55 million subscribers as of 18 October 2026. Next come Vidyakashi Career Academy of Dharwad (448K) and Jagadish Mooki’s channel (426K).
How much does a YouTuber in Hubli earn?
It varies widely. Jagadish Mooki told The Times of India in 2023 that he made about ₹60,000 a month. Social Blade’s rough ad-revenue estimates for 5–18 October 2026 put the larger Dharwad channels at about $70 to $1,600 for those 14 days. These figures exclude brand deals and other income and are estimates, not audited numbers.
Why are Dharwad coaching channels so big on YouTube?
Dharwad is known as Vidyakashi, a city of learning, and has a large cluster of coaching centres for Karnataka government exams such as KAS, PSI, FDA and SDA. Academies like Vidyakashi Career Academy and Gurudev IAS & KAS Academy post daily current-affairs and exam lessons in Kannada, which aspirants across the state watch.
Where can I learn YouTube marketing and digital marketing in Hubli?
SkillCircle’s Hubballi centre is on the 2nd floor of Kalburgi Katwe Fortune Complex, opposite KLE University, Vidya Nagar. It runs digital marketing, data science and data analytics programmes, and you can also take the online digital marketing course if you prefer to learn remotely.
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