Best time to post on YouTube
Long-form videos and Shorts peak at different hours. The best slot for each day of the week, a planner for your time zone, and where YouTube shows your own audience’s hours.
Shaded = hours the study names. Times are your audience’s local time.
- Monday 9 a.m. · named by Buffer
- Tuesday 9 a.m. · named by Buffer
- Wednesday 7 a.m. · named by Buffer
The file adds 3 repeating 15-minute events with a 10-minute alert, in your audience’s time zone, to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook. It is built in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
The best time to post long-form YouTube videos is in the morning in your audience’s local time: Buffer’s analysis of almost 2 million videos puts Sunday at 10 a.m. on top. YouTube Shorts do best in the evening, 6-11 p.m., with Friday at 4 p.m. the top Shorts slot. The “When your viewers are on YouTube” report in YouTube Studio shows your own audience’s hours.
Checked by Koldflux · updated 2026-09-24 · times re-read from each study page
YouTube: best times by day
All times are the audience’s local time.
| Day | Buffer |
|---|---|
| Monday | 9 a.m., then 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. |
| Tuesday | 9 a.m., then 11 a.m. and 8 a.m. |
| Wednesday | 7 a.m., then 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. |
| Thursday | 5 p.m., then 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. |
| Friday | 12 p.m., then 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. |
| Saturday | 12 p.m., then 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. |
| Sunday | 10 a.m., then 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. |
YouTube Shorts: best times by day
Shorts: evenings; single best slot Friday 4 p.m.
| Day | Buffer (top three hours) |
|---|---|
| Monday | 8 p.m., then 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. |
| Tuesday | 8 p.m., then 9 p.m. and 7 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 7 p.m., then 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. |
| Thursday | 7 p.m., then 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. |
| Friday | 4 p.m., then 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. |
| Saturday | 7 p.m., then 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. |
| Sunday | 7 p.m., then 8 p.m. and 5 p.m. |
Why Shorts and long-form videos need different slots
In Buffer’s data, long-form videos did best in the morning on most days, while Shorts engagement peaked between 6 and 11 p.m. and was weakest in the afternoon, except on Friday. Buffer’s best days also differ by format: Sunday, Tuesday and Monday for long-form videos; Friday, Saturday and Thursday for Shorts.
This page relies on one large study because Sprout Social and Hootsuite do not publish YouTube posting times. YouTube itself gives you a better source: the “When your viewers are on YouTube” report covers the last 28 days of your own viewers. Buffer suggests publishing long-form videos one to two hours before that peak so YouTube has time to process the video.
What each study measured
| Study | Measures | Sample | Period | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer | which posting hour earned the highest median engagement rate for posts published through Buffer | almost 2 million YouTube videos, long-form and Shorts | published 2026-07-24 | Best: Sunday, then Tuesday and Monday. Worst: Thursday, then Wednesday |
| Buffer (YouTube Shorts) | which posting hour earned the highest median engagement rate for posts published through Buffer | almost 2 million YouTube videos, long-form and Shorts | published 2026-07-24 | Best: Friday, then Saturday and Thursday. Worst: Tuesday and Monday |
Find your own best time on YouTube
- Start with a shared slotUse the hours most studies agree on for your first posts, in your audience’s local time.
- Test one alternativeFor two weeks, post similar content at one shared slot and one slot only a single study names, same days each week.
- Compare like with likeCompare reach or views per post after the same number of hours, not total likes days later.
- Check YouTube StudioOpen YouTube Studio, then Analytics, then the Audience tab: the “When your viewers are on YouTube” report shows the hours your viewers were on YouTube over the last 28 days, in your local time.
Limits and when to use something else
- Study times come from their customers’ accounts, mostly brands. Your audience can differ, especially outside the US and Europe.
- A great slot does not rescue a weak post: the first seconds of a video or the first line of a caption matter more than the hour.
- This platform has one large published study, so treat it as a starting point and check your own analytics early.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best day to upload on YouTube?
For long-form videos, Sunday (10 a.m. is the top slot of the week in Buffer’s data), then Tuesday and Monday; Thursday was the weakest. For Shorts, Friday, then Saturday and Thursday; Tuesday and Monday were the weakest.
What is the best time to post YouTube Shorts?
Evenings, 6-11 p.m. in your audience’s local time. The single best slot in Buffer’s data is Friday at 4 p.m., followed by Friday at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Should I upload before my viewers are online?
Buffer suggests publishing long-form videos one to two hours before your audience’s peak so YouTube can process the video before viewers arrive, while noting there is no universal lead time. The “When your viewers are on YouTube” report in YouTube Studio shows that peak.
Is the best time to post on YouTube the same in India, the UK or Australia?
Yes, as a local time. Every study here converts times to the audience’s own time zone, so 10 a.m. means 10 a.m. in Mumbai, London or Sydney. What changes is your own clock when your audience lives somewhere else: set both time zones in the planner above to see the slot in your time.
Turn one idea into a week of posts
The hard part of posting at the right time is having something ready. Koldflux Studio turns one recording, idea or script into Shorts and carousel posts you approve and export, so the slots in your calendar are filled. It does not publish or schedule posts for you.
- 1 · Recording, idea or script
- 2 · Pick the angles
- 3 · Review and approve
- 4 · Export Shorts and carousels
