Have you ever learned about a topic or question by watching an explainer animation? We are sure that on YouTube or on social networks, at least once you have come across an animation or video infographic explaining a given question. You can’t have missed it, as this type of video content has sprung up in recent years, literally taking the internet by storm. We at Spread It are huge fans of the genre and have prepared for you a ranking of the 5 most interesting educational animation channels on YouTube in our opinion. You’ve probably come across some of their videos at least once. You may have never heard of them. In any case, we strongly recommend you to try some of their videos, as we are almost 100% convinced that after watching, you yourself will become a fan of at least one of them and recommend it to your relatives and friends. Going through the ranking, we will reveal information about the people behind the popular channels, their business model and the various types of added value they offer their followers. The top 5 channels are also among the most popular in the area, so we have arranged the ranking according to the number of followers that each of them managed to attract. We strongly recommend that you go through the entire ranking, as we will present the channels in descending order – from number 5 to number 1 in our opinion.
So, fill yourself with curiosity and let’s dive together into the world of explainer animations, suitable for young and old.
5. Life Noggin / 3.26M subscribers
Оn the 5th position in our ranking we put Life Noggin. The channel is one of the pioneers in the genre of educational animations, having been created in 2013 – 9 years ago. Their videos are short, funny and engaging. From the very first seconds, it can be seen that they do not particularly emphasize on the visual style. The illustrations are super simple and even ugly to grotesque levels. However, the animation is dynamic and well thought out. The continuous smooth movement in sync with the lyrics engages the eye, and the sense of humor and lightness of the narrative make their videos easy and fun to watch.
Life Noggin also has a solid presence in the world of social networks – on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Interestingly, the YouTube channel is powered by Lifespan.io – a New York-based non-governmental organization made up of different types of experts, scientists and journalists whose mission is to promote research in the direction of human longevity through medical technology. We are talking about increasing the human lifespan to 200 years through the methods of biotechnology!
In addition to themes related to biotechnology and human lifespan, the Life Noggin team creates videos on many and varied, often curious topics such as “How Much Can You Eat Before Your Stomach Bursts?”, “What Happens When You Go To Sleep High?” or “What If You Never Washed Your Face?”.
4. The School of Life / 7.98M subscribers
The 4th place in our ranking is occupied by The School of Life. The channel was founded in 2010 and to this day it has gathered as many as 8 million followers! Unlike most similar successful YouTube channels that try to enrich their viewers with as diverse content as possible, all of The School of Life’s videos are in the field of psychology, which makes their success even more remarkable. In the beginning, they started with long clips – interviews with prominent specialists in the field of psychology, and 8 years ago they started experimenting with different animations. They went through drawn clips, whiteboard animation, and collages until they finally landed on the fast-growing genre of explanatory 2D animation, also known as video infographics.
The School of Life is present on Facebook and Instagram, has its own mobile application, as well as a website through which they sell books and trainings for professional teams. It seems that the YouTube channel for them is just another advertising channel. They emphasize common human and life topics, such as “Why can’t you find a partner?” or “How to Simplify Your Life”. They share a new video every week, keeping their audience engaged with short but informative clips. From the channel you can learn both useful lessons about life and growing up, as well as the philosophies of key figures such as Søren Kierkegaard, Charles Darwin, Socrates, Karl Marx, Niccolò Machiavelli, Plato, Friedrich Nietzsche, Aristotle, Kant, Sartre, Camus and others .
3. The Infographics Show / 12.4M subscribers
Coming to number 3 in our ranking, we also come to the really successful giants in the YouTube space. Here, every channel has long passed the 10 million follower milestone! In third place is The Infographics Show. This is also probably the most popular channel in this niche. It was created a little over 10 years ago, during which time it has accumulated a total of over 4.5 billion views and 12 million followers. Really remarkable considering the relatively low visual and artistic qualities. Its channel creators rely more on consistency and quantity. Uploading a new clip EVERY DAY definitely sets them apart and floods viewers with content. On top of that, their videos are also long, often lasting 15 or 20 minutes and sometimes over an hour! Yes, the quality of their illustrations and animation may not be brilliant, but they shine with a noticeable and distinctive style that they follow tirelessly. Their videos are often on “spicy” topics exciting the public. Their most watched video has garnered 26 million views and is about “What happens when you die?”
The Infographics Show is one of the purest examples of an educational YouTube channel with animations. They are actively present on social networks – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tik-Tok and are supported mainly by sponsorships and YouTube monetization. They also have a well-maintained website where they regularly upload articles on a variety of scientific topics.
2. TED-Ed / 17.7M subscribers
There is hardly anyone who has not heard of Ted Talks. The lectures of the Ted Talks series over the years have reached millions of viewers in over 150 countries around the world. Founded nearly 40 years ago, the American-Canadian organization distributes free lectures under the slogan “ideas worth spreading.” And indeed, their contribution to enriching the population with scientific discoveries and innovative ideas is enormous. In 2011, they launched their own YouTube channel – Ted-Ed, which takes the honorable second place in our ranking of the most successful and interesting channels for educational video animations with its colossal 18 million followers.
In the beginning, the channel shared some of the interesting TED lectures and conferences, and about 9 years ago, TED-Ed became an educational animation channel, as a result of the rising global trend towards this type of content. Their videos are often excerpts from their lectures, they regularly invite guest speakers as well as animation teams to create the videos. This is what makes the channel particularly interesting – their videos are in a variety of styles, which is a result of their lack of an in-house video production team. Each of their clips is created by a different studio or team of professionals, giving it its own unique style and look. The topics are the most varied, they are presented in an extremely intriguing and enriching way and they are also relatively short – about 4-5 minutes, which makes them great for young viewers and also for older people who want to learn interesting new ideas and concepts related to modern life, science and technology.
A significant role in the success of the channel is also played by their riddles – short clips that provoke the imagination and thought through complex mostly mathematical or logical tasks. It is no coincidence that this type of videos are also one of their most successful, as they are interactive and involve the viewers, provoking their thinking and, due to their short duration, are extremely convenient to consume in the morning with the coffee.
Their upload frequency is quite intense – an average of 2 clips per week, which gives their wide audience a huge amount of interesting content, presented with attention to detail. Their videos often refer to other works, books and authors, and one can easily spend hours on their enriching YouTube channel. In addition to all the websites, conferences and platforms for which TED is now a world-renowned organization, TED-Ed, as their division, is also present on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and their well-developed Patreon page, in addition to further supporting their extensive work, provides to their fans a limitless set of additional resources.
1. Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell / 19.5M subscribers
We also reached the honorable first position in our ranking
And by the way (perhaps you noticed the “wrong” calendar for the year 12,023) they push and for years maintain the scientific argument that, for the sake of credibility and historical correctness, we need to add 10 thousand years to our “human calendar “. You can learn about it from the following video:
The channel emphasizes on unconventional and intriguing scientific and futuristic concepts, talks about geoengineering, atomic energy, colonization of distant planets and amazes its fans with titles such as “Why Alien Life Would be our Doom”, “What Happens if the Moon Crashes into Earth?”, “What If You Fall into a Black Hole?”, “What if We Nuke the Moon?”, “How to Move the Sun: Stellar Engines” and many, many more.
Honorable Mentions
Minutephysics / 5.57M subscribers
MinuteEarth / 2.72M subscribers
Amoeba Sisters / 1.48M subscribers
Freedom in Thought/ 1.42M subscribers
Koranos / 241K subscribers
Enjoy watching and may the curiosity and logic be with you!
We at Spread It are ready to help you grow your business with the help of animated explainer videos. Let’s get in touch and arrange a short free meeting to set the direction of our joint work.
