Whether you’re trying your luck at viral stardom, or just looking to have some fun with a few of your friends, YouTube challenges are a great way to produce content you know people will definitely want to see.

We’ve worked hard to put together a valuable list of the best challenges for you to attempt on your YouTube channel. While a few of these recommendations are common, many of them required us to dig deep and do some genuine research. Several ideas here are not being utilized to their fullest potential, meaning you’ll have a greater chance of having success with them!

Along with each idea is a video we thought is a great example for you to imitate while creating your own content. Let’s get right into the list!

30 YouTube Challenges For Instant Viral Success

1. Last To Leave Challenges

We’re putting this challenge first because we think it has a lot of potential, and none of these “Youtube challenge” lists are talking about it.

The only caveat is you need friends that are willing to participate, and you need to be willing to offer up some sort of prize to the winner. This challenge works by rounding up a group of friends and putting them in a relatively uncomfortable position. The last person to leave, gets the prize!

MrBeast has had massive success with these videos in recent times, offering prizes as high as $100,000 for his friends to outlast each other. Here’s a video where he challenged 5 people to stay in a pit of slime as long as possible. It has 27 million views, meaning he has almost certainly earned back the prize money.

2. Impression Challenges

Simple but effective, challenging yourself or a friend to do the best impressions they can is fun, and there’s just about an endless amount of impressions you can do. We suggest doing it with a friend and surprising them with a list of impressions to do on the spot so they don’t have time to think or prepare. You can even take it a step further and do physical impressions in addition to vocal ones!

A word of advice, if you don’t have a very big fan base, you can probably save this one for when you do. People may not be interested in seeing this if they’re not invested in you.

Unless of course you’re really good at impressions. In that case you’ll kill it for sure.

3. Not My Arms Challenge

If you’re looking for challenges to do with friends at home, this is a hilarious option that will also be a lot of fun! The not my arm challenge requires you and a friend to be each other’s arms while you accomplish tasks ranging from mundane to highly dexterous. The person playing the role of the arms typically can’t see whats going on, and must rely on instructions from the person playing the body in order to accomplish the tasks.

4. Yoga Pose Challenges

The yoga challenge is great, especially if your physical fitness isn’t the best. Use google to find pictures of yoga poses that will be either challenging or hilarious for you to attempt.

If you’re not good at yoga don’t stress, that just means that your video is going to be even funnier. Alone or with a partner, struggling to maintain rudimentary yoga poses can be an excellent source of entertainment. Who knows, maybe you’ll start down a path of better physical fitness while you’re at it!

5. Weird Food Challenges

This idea was inspired by the countless different videos Good Mythical Morning have posted, in which they taste various odd foods. Here’s one example below.

You can participate in this challenge by heading to a local foreign market and grabbing the weirdest things you can find. Keep in mind that they do not necessarily need to be gross, just strange to you, or your viewership. Film yourself eating each item, and assign each one a score based on how much you liked it!

Note: If you already eat any foods as a part of your culture that is considered weird by the mainstream, you could film yourself eating that as well.

6. Speed Eating Challenge

Speed eating isn’t reserved for the likes of Matt Stonie, anybody can do it!

Simply think of a food item that seems relevant at the time of your video, and film yourself eating it as quickly as possible. If you have multiple people participating in your YouTube channel, have them compete with you.

7. Try Not To Laugh Challenge

We love this one because there is a constant stream of content you can film yourself trying not to laugh at. Consider which memes are currently trending and make a video of you reacting to the best of the best of them!

Tip: Make sure you’re actually seeing the memes for the first time while you’re on camera, so that you’re getting a genuine reaction. People hate it when you over-act your reactions. 

8. Baking Challenge

Now, the video we’ve linked below isn’t an actual YouTube challenge. Rather, it’s a clip from the show Nailed It, which serves as an excellent basis for a YouTube challenge of your own.

To participate in this challenge, all you have to do is find a really inspiring, well made artistic baked good. We recommend How To Cake It, a creator so prolific she was even featured on Nailed It. 

Once you’ve found a suitable project, attempt to create it yourself, preferably with a time limit. Unless you’re an artisan baker, your end result is probably going to come out horrifying and hilarious. Your subscribers will love it.

9.Boyfriend Makeup Challenge

If you’re a make up artist with a significant other, this is a hilarious opportunity you probably won’t want to pass up. Take your time to do your boyfriend’s makeup and make him look as preetty as possible. The more embarrassing the better!

Also consider checking out our article, 21 brilliant video ideas for makeup gurus. It is very popular, and  will ensure you never run out of makeup artist video ideas.

10. Speed Drawing Challenge

If you’re a good artist, this can be genuinely interesting, and if you’re a bad artist, it can be hilarious! This challenge just requires you to draw something in a time crunch, either alone, or with a friend.

The example below showcases the skilled artist DrawingWiffWaffles drawing the same piece in 10 minutes, 1 minute, and 10 seconds!

11.Bean Boozled Challenge

This is a challenge we often see everyone else recommending, and in our opinion it’s a bit overdone. However, the only reason why it’s so overdone is because it’s pretty entertaining.

If you’re not familiar, the Bean Boozled challenge requires you to purchase a Jelly Belly BeanBoozled Kit from Amazon or your local retailer, and play the game. The game consists of you spinning a wheel and then eating a corresponding jelly bean. The entertainment comes from the fact that the jelly beans have an equal chance of being delicious or absolutely disgusting, in flavors such as dead fish, rotten egg, or spoiled milk. This challenge is definitely not for those with weak stomachs!

Here’s a video of Markiplier partaking.

12. Ice Bath Challenge

It’s a bit late to do the Ice bucket challenge, but that doesn’t mean that freezing yourself in ice water isn’t still an entertaining sight.

Fill a tub to the brim with freezing cold water and jump in. Get creative with it – you can combine this challenge with just about any of the other challenges on this list for greater comedic effect. Try to complete a task while shivering violently, or just see which one of your friends can last the longest without getting out.

Fitness entertainer Jujimufu is notorious for partaking in ice baths very regularly, and in the video below he convinces two of his friends to jump in and try to eat ice cream with him. It’s great!

13. 100 Shirt Challenge

This challenge was a part of one of the first viral videos of all time, and it’s just as funny and popular today. Simply get a ton of your old shirts and film yourself putting them on one at a time.

The funniest part however comes after you finish putting the shirts on. We suggest going out in public somewhere and trying to go about your day while wearing 100 shirts. It’s harder than it sounds, and will be intrinsically hilarious.

Then when you’re done, consider donating some of your clothing to Goodwill. Nobody should have 100 shirts just laying around.

14. Accent Challenges

If you’re not self conscious, here’s an easy one! Just sit down with a friend and challenge each other to do a bunch of different accents.

Just make sure to imitate a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, and avoid stereotypes. Otherwise you may be interpreted as offensive.

YouTuber Zoella did a great job at completing this challenge without offending anybody, but that might just be because she’s so good at the doing the accents!

15. Weird Product Challenges

This challenge requires a bit of a small budget, but you’ll end up with a bunch of products to keep afterwards! (Some more useful than others). All you have to do is spend a bit of money on bizarre products, and test them to see if they are actually useful for their advertised function.

The best way to find great products for this challenge would be to head to either the “as seen on TV” or dollar store. Both will be filled with weird inventions of varying degrees of use.

16. Smash Or Pass Challenge

If you’re against the objectification of people this challenge might not be for you, but if you remain respectful and positive this can be a pretty fun challenge to do, especially with your significant other!

Create a list of various celebrities that you think would inspire interesting answers, then take turns asking each other if you would “smash” or “pass”.

You’ll probably find that men are a lot less picky than women.

17. Race The Tube Challenge

This one’s pretty unique, and not many people have done it, so it might be the perfect opportunity for you to get some exposure.

This could theoretically be done in any city with a metro system, and it appears the only person to attempt it was in London. Check out your local maps to see if there are any routes that might be doable!

18. 7 Second Challenge

This challenge is actually an application, but in theory, you could come up with things to do on your own. The premise is basically competing with your friends to see who can have the most success trying to accomplish specific tasks in a seven second timeframe.

19. Cinnamon Challenge

Probably the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks about YouTube challenges. It’s not fun. It’s not a good time. We don’t necessarily recommend it. However, it’ll probably get you views, so it’s worth a mention.

If you seriously don’t understand how it works, you just throw a spoon full of cinnamon into your mouth and film it while your sinuses explode in discomfort.

No matter how successful your cinnamon challenge video is, it probably won’t perform as the infamous video by GloZell.

20. The Whisper Challenge

The whisper challenge made its rounds through the famous YouTubers a few years back, and was even played a few times on Jimmy Fallon. It’s still popular today, as it’s always a good time, especially with people who haven’t done it before.

Get a pair of nice noise cancelling headphones or earmuffs, and trying to comprehend what you say to them by nothing other than your lip movements. Markiplier’s video on the challenge does a better job of explaining how it works.

21. Chubby Bunny Challenge

This challenge requires you and a partner to stuff marshmallows in your mouth one at a time until one of you is no longer able to utter the phrase “chubby bunny”.

Anybody that went through grade school in the last decade is sure to be familiar with this challenge. It’s a bit played out if we’re completely honest, but like all challenges on this list, we encourage you to make adjustments to the challenge to make it refreshing and creative.

22. Ghost Pepper Challenge

If you were to do every challenge on this list except for one, we’d recommend you skip this one. However, thousands of YouTubers have dared to attempt it, and clearly it has helped many of them get the attention they so crave.

You know how it goes. Just eat a really, really, really spicy pepper. Have milk ready, and don’t shoot your video the day before work. That’s all we have to say.

Blindfolded Challenges

These next few challenges all have one thing in common that make them so funny – you can’t see what you’re doing! Here are our favorite blindfolded challenges.

23. Blindfolded Taste Test Challenge

There are a few different ways you can go with this challenge. You could try to confuse your friends by trying to get them to guess what strange tasting foods are, or you could even test your ability to differentiate between name brand and generic products.

24. Blindfolded Drawing Challenge

Extremely straightforward, this is one of the easiest challenges on the list that you can attempt. Put on a blindfold and attempt to draw things without the ability to see what you’re doing. All you need is a pencil and paper.

25. Blindfolded Makeup Challenge

You don’t need to be a make-up guru, or even someone who knows anything about makeup to do the blindfolded makeup challenge. Simply put a blindfold on and try to do your friend’s makeup!

26. Buying Everything I Touch Blindfolded Challenge (Fake?)

We’re a little bit hesitant to include this challenge on the list because it is clear that most of the people participating are faking it. However, they are getting an unprecedented amount of views, so we feel obligated to tell you about it.

This “Challenge” features clickbait YouTubers walking around a store blindfolded, touching things that someone else has to “buy”. It is important to note that most of these YouTubers are not actually purchasing the items off-camera, and if they are, they are likely returning them as soon as the cameras are off.

Here’s a video with 15 million views. It is offensively obvious that they are acting. However, if you look through the comments their audience (of children), is thoroughly convinced.

On second thought, do us a favor and avoid this challenge. We don’t need people like this influencing our children.

27. Touch My Body Challenge

This is one of the more common ones we see all the other lists recommending, but it’s still a decent choice nonetheless if you already have a bit of a following (and/or a sexy companion to attract viewers). This challenge requires one participant to be blindfolded, while the other guides the blind person’s hand around their body. The blindfolded individual must then guess which body parts they are touching in order to score points!

This one might not have as much viral potential as some of the other choices, but it will definitely be a lot of fun to make.

This funny example featuring MyLifeAsEva showcases how you can include interesting objects to add some excitement and comedy to the challenge.

Long Term Challenges

If you’re down to spend a little bit more time, long term challenges can be a great way to produce high quality content. Here are a few examples of YouTube challenges that take a little bit longer to complete.

28. Fitness Challenge

This one can take a month or longer to come together, but probably has the best personal results out of any of these challenges.

Set a fitness goal for yourself to hit over the next 30-90 days. Maybe you want to do 100 push ups a day? Maybe you want to try counting your calories, working to run a marathon, or even trying to do the splits. Find a routine that would accomplish a goal you would like to meet, and stick to it while documenting the process!

People love to watch transformation videos because it gives them a window into seeing what is possible for them if they also put in the effort.

If you’re struggling to find a suitable workout challenge, here are some of reddits top recommended routines! We can personally vouch for all of them. 

29. Cold Shower Challenge

Here’s another challenge you can attempt that can end up making major improvements to your life.

Cold showers have been proven to improve blood flow, strengthen your immune system, and increase energy and productivity levels. They’re also pretty hard to follow through with, especially every single day. Try your best to make them a part of your daily routine and document your struggles. People will be inspired by the positive effects you experience, and entertained by watching you squirm in the freezing waters.

30. Living Off A Dollar Challenge

In this super creative challenge, you try to stretch a dollar as far as it can go using coupons and special offers to survive a full day in your town or city, documenting the process as you go.

This is one of our absolute favorites for several reasons.

1. It forces you to get creative
2. Not that many people have done it, and the few that did have found huge success with it.
3. It is really unique and different depending on where in the world you live!

Check out the video below for some inspiration on the things you can do when you attempt the challenge!

Many people attempting this challenge attempt to go even further than food, by finding cheap sources of entertainment and recreation as well. The sky is the limit, and this challenge can also serve as a great financial lesson to help you save money in the future as well!

Conclusion

Well there you have it, thirty YouTube challenges you can use to grow your YouTube channel. While these are all great ideas, we suggest you keep an eye on what new challenges pop up and jump on them as soon as possible.

These ideas can help you produce entertaining content, but true viral potential comes from being ahead of the curve when it comes to trends. If you see a challenge going around, try to put out a video the same day!

Here are some guides you’d probably find useful if you enjoyed this list.

The Ultimate Guide To Getting Your YouTube Channel Seen – The most comprehensive guide we’ve ever put together that can teach you exactly how to get the views you’ve been missing.

20 Creative Vlog Ideas Proven To Grow YouTube Channels – All around great ideas for anyone running out of things they can vlog.

21 Brilliant YouTube Video Ideas For Beauty Gurus – The same deal, but for Beauty YouTubers.

How To Get 1000 Subscribers On YouTube – A simple but effective guide anyone under 1000 subs would benefit a lot from reading.

Famous YouTuber Gear – A collection of articles dissecting the various gear that all of your favorite YouTubers use. Great if you haven’t finished rounding your kit out yet.