Best Time to Post on YouTube
YouTube's full weekly shape, hour by hour, in your audience's local time. Long-form and Shorts run on almost opposite schedules, so both are here.
UTC
Detected from this browser — change it if your audience is elsewhere
Peak window
2 PM – 4 PM
on Wednesday
Shown for an audience in UTC. These are the published hours, unconverted. Post 15 to 30 minutes early so you are live when the window starts.
Second widest
2 recommended hours on Monday
2 PM – 4 PM
Third
2 recommended hours on Tuesday
2 PM – 4 PM
Quietest
Sunday
8 AM – 10 AM
The whole week
Every hour, seven days
Source: SocialPilot · audience-local hours
Why this shape
How YouTube behaves
SocialPilot's analysis puts YouTube's best window for long-form uploads at 2 to 4 PM on Monday and Tuesday, 3 to 5 PM on Wednesday and Thursday, and 1 to 3 PM on Friday, with Wednesday through Friday the strongest days. Weekends shift earlier, to 8 to 10 AM. Uploading before 9 AM on a weekday or after 10 PM on any day is listed among the worst choices.
Those figures come from SocialPilot's study of more than 301,000 videos across 27,000+ channels, measured in the audience's local time. Note that Shorts run on almost the opposite schedule to long-form, so do not reuse this window for them without checking your own analytics.
What to do with it
Upload two to four hours ahead of the peak. YouTube needs time to process and start recommending.
Shorts and long-form have almost opposite best windows, so do not reuse one schedule for both.
Shorts follow a flatter curve than long-form and tolerate weekday posting far better.
The first 24 to 48 hours of click-through rate shape long-term recommendations. The thumbnail matters more than the minute.
Use YouTube Studio's 'When your viewers are on YouTube' report. It is real data about your channel, not a benchmark.
Premiere or schedule rather than uploading live, so the video lands in the window instead of whenever you finished editing.
FAQ
YouTube, specifically
What is the best time to upload a YouTube video?
Early to mid afternoon on a weekday: 2 to 4 PM on Monday and Tuesday, 3 to 5 PM on Wednesday and Thursday, 1 to 3 PM on Friday, per SocialPilot's 2026 analysis. Weekend uploads do better at 8 to 10 AM.
What is the best day to post on YouTube?
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are the strongest days in SocialPilot's data. Weekends still work but shift to a morning window.
Is the best time to post Shorts different?
Yes, somewhat. Shorts behave more like a scrolling feed, so their curve is flatter and weekday posting works better than it does for long-form uploads.
Does upload time actually affect YouTube views?
Less than on feed-based platforms. YouTube's recommendation engine surfaces videos for weeks, so timing mainly affects the first 48 hours of click-through rate, which then influences longer-term reach.
Next step
Promote every upload at the right time, automatically
Antwork schedules the posts that carry your video across every other platform and publishes them for you, straight from your AI assistant.
- No credit card
- 8 platforms
- Unlimited posts
More Free Tools
Explore our complete suite of social media management tools
Engagement Rate Calculator
Calculate your engagement rate and see it scored against published benchmarks for every platform at once.
Twitter/X Character Counter
Count characters and split threads for X, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Real-time character counting.
Instagram Font Generator
Convert text to fancy Unicode fonts for Instagram bios and posts. 20+ font styles available.