The OG video pioneer and perhaps the only platform where long-form content still wins, YouTube is a unique beast in the grand scheme of social media apps. While we’d never advocate painting two platforms with the same brush, YouTube is even more individual – and that mentality extends beyond post mechanics to its user behavior trends, algorithms, and best practices.
In 2024, post time isn’t a central factor to the YouTube algorithm, but it still pays to know when your audience is online, and to be aware of the macro trends shaping content success. So, we’ve done all the heavy lifting for you, poring over hours of analytics reports to find the top days and times to post to support better performance.
Keep reading for our must-save guide to the best times to post to YouTube (and YouTube Shorts!) in 2024, packed full of data, insights, and quick-win tips to help you nail your YouTube strategy.
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Why does posting time matter on YouTube?
YouTube’s top ranking factor is past behavior, which means the videos suggested to you are based almost entirely on the content you’ve previously watched or interacted with.
As seen here, the YouTube algorithm relies heavily on past behavior – but knowing the best times to post on YouTube can still help you amplify your success.
However, that doesn’t give you permission to underestimate the power of post timing. It’s not as influential a factor as it is on Instagram or Facebook, mainly due to YouTube’s high-time investment nature, but it’s still important to be aware of in your quest for social media success.
By timing your video drops effectively, you can increase your chances of receiving a high number of early views, which in turn can make your video more likely to trend and appear in recommendations across the site.
When is the best time to post on YouTube?
So, when’s the perfect time to post on YouTube for your best shot at success? We reviewed a bunch of studies, and here’s what we found.
- Best day of the week to post on YouTube: The best day of the week to post to YouTube is likely Friday, according to reports. This might be because users are winding down for the week and are heading into relaxation mode over the weekend, opening up more time to consume long-form content like YouTube is famous for. Other top-performing days include Thursday and Saturday, with activity slowing down on Sunday and into the early work week.
- Best time of day to post on YouTube: This depends on the day of the week, but between 2pm and 5pm in your most popular time zone has proven effective for many creators. This gives you time to get your video out there before people settle in front of their screens for the evening, increasing your likelihood of receiving clicks and views.
Best time to post on YouTube: day-by-day breakdown
Best time to post on YouTube on Monday
Help alleviate the Monday blues by publishing some entertaining YouTube content for your audience. If this is your day of choice, research suggests the best time to post to YouTube on a Monday is between 2pm and 5pm local time.
Best time to post on YouTube on Tuesday
Tuesdays are notoriously bad days for posting to most social media platforms – by Tuesday, it’s likely your audience is overwhelmed by the demands of work and life, and consuming content takes a back seat. However, if you do choose to post on a Tuesday, we recommend slating your video for between 2pm and 4pm for your best chance at performance.
Best time to post on YouTube on Wednesday
Bring some joy to your followers by publishing a midweek YouTube video! The best time to post to YouTube on Wednesday is once again between 2pm and 4pm, tapping into the rush YouTube experiences between 5pm and 6pm.
Best time to post on YouTube on Thursday
The best times to post to YouTube fall a little later on Thursday, usually between 3pm and 6pm. While we can’t pinpoint exactly why this is, we can assume that in the lead-up to the weekend, audiences have more energy to watch content… or less energy to do other things!
Best time to post on YouTube on Friday
Happy Fri-yay! Accelerate your YouTube performance by posting between 3pm and 5pm to time your content drop with when people are clocking off work for the week.
Best time to post on YouTube on Saturday
As we roll into the weekend, the best times to post to YouTube shift pretty dramatically in line with our behaviors. Instead of selecting an afternoon time slot to capitalize on activity, schedule your content throughout the day to see results. Some studies suggest between 9am and 11am, whereas others indicate mid-afternoon, between 1pm and 3pm, is best.
Best time to post on YouTube on Sunday
While Saturdays are a great day to post to YouTube, Sundays don’t have the same charm – in fact, they’re widely known as one of the worst days for YouTube performance. If you insist on programming content for the day of rest, do it between the hours of 11am and 2pm.
Best time to post on YouTube: by Content Type
If you’re planning your YouTube schedule, the final piece of the puzzle to consider is the type of content you’ll be posting. Unsurprisingly, there’s a difference in consumption behavior between snappy, snackable YouTube Shorts and long-form YouTube videos that require a much longer time investment.
Discover the best time to post on YouTube Shorts, the main app’s rapid-fire little sibling and answer to short-form video
- Best time to post long YouTube videos: In general, the best times to post YouTube videos in the traditional long format are between 2pm and 5pm on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
- Best time to post YouTube Shorts: YouTube Shorts videos are easy to watch on your commute, in short periods of downtime, or as you scroll through the YouTube app, which may explain why they’re more successful during the platform’s peak hours.
According to a handful of studies, the best time to post to YouTube shorts is between 12pm and 3pm and 7pm and 10pm, and the best days to post are Mondays and Tuesdays. This gives us a great snapshot of user trends, indicating that most people use YouTube as a short-form video platform early in the week, before transitioning to longer-form content as the week progresses.
How to check your brand’s unique best posting time on YouTube
While we can suggest the best times to post to YouTube based on data from the platform, this should never be taken as a prescription – the only way to know for sure which days and times will be successful for you is by analyzing your audience data.
If you can nail down exactly when your followers are online, you can make the most of that active window by posting within or just ahead of it, so you know your content has landed by the time they’re looking for videos to watch.
Luckily, YouTube makes finding the perfect time to post for your audience super easy! Let’s break down the steps.
Accessing your YouTube Analytics on desktop
1. Navigate to YouTube on desktop.
2. Click your profile picture at top-right, then click ‘YouTube Studio’.
3. At left, click ‘Analytics’.
4. Along the top, you’ll see four sections: ‘Overview’, ‘Content’, ‘Audience’, and ‘Inspiration’. Click ‘Audience’.
5. Scroll down to the ‘When your viewers are on YouTube’ section. This depicts exactly when your current audience is most active.
6. The default time period is set to the last 28 days. Change this by clicking on the dropdown at top right (underneath the ‘Advanced mode’ button) and selecting your preferred reporting period.
Accessing your YouTube Analytics on mobile
1. Download and open the YouTube Studio app for iPhone or Android.
2. In the bottom menu, tap on ‘Analytics’.
3. At the top, select ‘Audience’.
4. Navigate to the ‘When your viewers are on YouTube’ section.
Once you’ve got a strong idea of when your audience is online, factor these times into your posting schedule and monitor performance over a few weeks or months to see if you notice a shift in your views, impressions, or engagement.
Plann tip: We recommend trialling a range of time slots to see which ones perform best, including within your peak viewing time and up to three hours before.
Of course, YouTube is just one social media platform you should be leveraging to support your business goals in 2024.
Explore top times to post to social media across the full suite of apps in this comprehensive guide.
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From AI-generated captions to cross-posting, analytics, hashtags and more, Plann can help you maintain a consistent posting schedule while you remain focused on business growth. We even auto-post your Instagram Reels to take the hassle out of growing organically on the platform!
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