Guide

Best Time to Post on YouTube in 2026, Videos and Shorts

On YouTube, the best time to post may fall at the weekend: it is the one platform where it can win, and long videos and Shorts behave differently.

YouTube: the best time to post, per study

One 2026 study: long videos did best on Sunday at 10 a.m., and Shorts on Friday at 4 p.m.

Another 2026 study: most long videos are published between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and most Shorts between 2 and 6 p.m.

A sensible starting point

Publish a few hours before your viewers usually watch, so the video is ready when they arrive. YouTube Studio’s “When your viewers are on YouTube” chart shows those hours for your own channel.

Finding your own YouTube time

Dripost reads the numbers for YouTube videos it publishes. After five measured videos, its Insights page suggests a day and hour, and you can schedule the next upload for it.

Because a video keeps getting views for weeks, judge a time by the first 24 to 48 hours, when the upload time matters most.

Best time to post YouTube videos on a Wednesday

Midweek is the day many studies call best for video views on other platforms. For YouTube, check the Wednesday posts in your own Studio analytics, under Audience, When your viewers are on YouTube.

Sources

Questions

Should Shorts and long videos go out at the same time?

Not necessarily. The studies found different peaks for each, so test them separately.

When is the best YouTube time to post?

It is the one platform where the weekend can win, and long videos and Shorts behave differently. YouTube Studio shows when your viewers are on YouTube, under Audience, and that is the time to post just before.

Is there a best Wednesday time to post on YouTube?

Only for your channel. YouTube Studio's Analytics has a 'When your viewers are on YouTube' card; publish an hour or two before the busiest Wednesday slot it shows.

Try it on your own post.

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