Best time to post on YouTube in 2026: five studies, and what YouTube says
YouTube says publish time isn't known to affect a video's long-term views. Five studies still name best times for videos and Shorts. Both, side by side.
Short answer
It matters less than on other networks. YouTube says publish time isn't known to affect a video's long-term performance, though it can help early views and matters for Live and Premieres. The studies still disagree: Buffer and vidIQ favour weekends, SocialPilot Wednesday to Friday afternoons. Check When your viewers are on YouTube in YouTube Studio.
PostDaily has no YouTube timing data of its own, so this page doesn't draw a heat map. It sets the 5 studies people quote side by side, with what each measured and when, and reads them against what YouTube itself says. Every study was read on its publisher's site on 12 November 2026. Sprout Social and Hootsuite publish no YouTube study, and CoSchedule's YouTube times blend other publishers' reports, so they are left out.
What YouTube says
YouTube's Help Center answers the question directly: "Publish time is not known to impact a video's long-term performance." It says its recommendation system tries to show the right videos to the right viewers whenever they were uploaded. Publish time does matter for Live and Premiere videos, and publishing when your audience is active can help early views, but not, as far as YouTube knows, long-term ones.
Five studies, side by side
| Study | Data | What best means | Best times | Worst times |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer | 1.8 million videos, long-form and Shorts; dates not stated | Median engagement per time slot | Long videos: Sunday 10 am, Sun 9 am, Fri noon; Shorts: Friday 4, 6 and 7 pm | Long videos: Wed and Thu early-to-mid afternoon; Shorts: noon–5 pm, Mon and Tue |
| vidIQ | 40.2 million US long-form uploads; dates not stated | 30-day views against the channel's own average day | Sunday (+3.5%), then Saturday (+2.2%); the upload hour barely matters | Wednesday (−2.2%) |
| SocialPilot | 301,000 videos from 27,000+ channels; dates not stated | Engagement rate per view | Long videos: 2–4 pm, Wed–Fri; Shorts: noon–2 pm or 6–7 pm, Fri, Sat, Thu | Long videos: before 9 am, after 10 pm; Shorts: 3–7 am, Sunday evening |
| Metricool | 799,718 videos from 71,177 channels; dates not stated | When most creators publish, not results | Long videos 10 am–4 pm; Shorts 2–6 pm; no days given | Not stated |
| HubSpot | A survey of 1,500+ marketers for its 2024 trends report, not post data | The windows marketers picked | Saturday, then Friday and Sunday; 6–9 pm, then noon–3 pm | Monday and Tuesday; 6–9 am, then 9 pm–midnight |
Where they agree
- The hour matters little. vidIQ's 40.2 million uploads put the best day only 3.5% above a channel's average and say the upload hour barely matters, which fits YouTube's own answer.
- Long videos and Shorts need different schedules. Buffer, SocialPilot and Metricool report them separately, and where they give times, Shorts lean later in the day than long videos.
Where they disagree, and why
For long videos, Buffer and vidIQ favour the weekend, Sunday above all, and HubSpot's survey ranks Saturday first. SocialPilot says Wednesday to Friday, and Wednesday is the day vidIQ finds weakest. On the hour, Buffer finds mornings, SocialPilot 2–4 pm and HubSpot's marketers 6–9 pm. The reasons are in the methods:
- They measure different things. Buffer uses median engagement, vidIQ 30-day views against each channel's average, SocialPilot engagement per view, and HubSpot asks marketers. Metricool's windows are when most creators publish, not when videos do well.
- One page, two answers. SocialPilot's comparison table repeats Buffer's July 2026 figures, while its own summary says 2–4 pm on Wednesday to Friday; the table here uses its summary.
- Different years. HubSpot's survey page was last updated in November 2024; the rest are from 2026.
How to find your own best time
- 1In YouTube Studio, open Analytics, then Audience, and find When your viewers are on YouTube: it covers the last 28 days.
- 2For a Premiere or a live stream, schedule it inside the busiest hours.
- 3For other videos, Buffer suggests publishing an hour or two before your viewers' peak, so the video is ready when they arrive.
- 4Schedule Shorts on their own timetable, and compare views per video after the first few days, not totals.
In PostDaily, the assistant can suggest a time from your own workspace's engagement over the last 90 days, and each channel has its own weekly posting times. How to schedule YouTube videos and how to schedule YouTube Shorts cover the scheduling itself.
YouTube timing questions
What is the best time to upload on YouTube?
For long-term views, YouTube says publish time isn't known to matter. For early views, use the When your viewers are on YouTube report and publish shortly before your viewers' peak.
What is the best day to post on YouTube?
Buffer and vidIQ find Sunday best for long videos and HubSpot's survey Saturday, while SocialPilot says Wednesday to Friday.
What is the best time to post YouTube Shorts?
Studies lean to the afternoon and evening: Friday at 4, 6 and 7 pm for Buffer, and noon–2 pm or 6–7 pm for SocialPilot.
Does upload time affect YouTube views?
Mainly early ones. YouTube says publish time isn't known to affect long-term performance, but it matters for Live and Premiere videos.
Last checked against each study's own page and YouTube Help.
