The best time to post on YouTube depends on the format. In Buffer's study of 1.8 million videos, long-form videos did best on Sunday at 10 a.m., and Shorts did best on Friday between 4 and 7 p.m., in your audience's local time. But YouTube itself says publish time "is not known to impact a video's long-term performance", so treat these as starting points, not rules.
Below: the best times for long-form videos and Shorts on every day of the week, what YouTube and a 40-million-video study say about how much timing really matters, how to convert the times for an audience in another country, and how to find your own best time in YouTube Studio. Updated October 2026.
To convert these windows to your own clock, use our free best time to post finder.
What the data says
Only one of the big four posting-time studies currently covers YouTube. Buffer published its YouTube study in July 2026 and splits long-form videos from Shorts. Sprout Social's 2026 study doesn't cover YouTube, and Hootsuite and Later don't publish YouTube data of their own.
| Study | Published | Sample | Measures | Time zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer | Jul 2026 | 1.8 million YouTube videos | Median engagement | Audience's local time |
Buffer says its times need no converting: "Our data scientist has done some mathematical magic to make the recommended time zones universally applicable." In other words, they're in the audience's local time.
We add two more sources to answer a different question, which is how much timing matters at all:
- YouTube's own guidance: "Publish time is not known to impact a video's long-term performance." Publishing when your audience is active "can be beneficial for early viewership", and timing does matter for Premieres and live streams (YouTube Help).
- vidIQ's analysis of 40.2 million US long-form uploads: the gap between the best and worst upload hours had shrunk "to within a few percent by day 30". The day had a steadier effect: videos posted on Sunday did about 3.5% better than the channel's average day, Saturday about 2.2% better, and Wednesday about 2.2% worse (vidIQ).
Best time to post long-form YouTube videos
Buffer's best long-form slots are all mornings or around midday: Sunday at 10 a.m., then Sunday at 9 a.m. and Friday at 12 p.m. Its best days are Sunday, Tuesday and Monday. The weakest times were weekday early-to-mid afternoons, especially Wednesday and Thursday.
| Day | Buffer |
|---|---|
| Monday | 9 a.m., 10 p.m., 7 a.m. |
| Tuesday | 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 8 a.m. |
| Wednesday | 7 a.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m. |
| Thursday | 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 a.m. |
| Friday | 12 p.m., 11 a.m., 3 p.m. |
| Saturday | 12 p.m., 10 a.m., 3 p.m. |
| Sunday | 10 a.m., 9 a.m., 12 p.m. |
Long-form, day by day
- Monday: 9 a.m. is Buffer's best Monday slot, then 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
- Tuesday: one of Buffer's best days. The 8–11 a.m. window is "consistently high-performing".
- Wednesday: 7 a.m., 3 p.m. or 5 p.m. vidIQ found Wednesday the weakest day for 30-day views.
- Thursday: 5–7 p.m. or 7 a.m. Avoid early-to-mid afternoon, which Buffer found among the week's lowest.
- Friday: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with 12 p.m. one of the top three slots of the week.
- Saturday: 10 a.m., 12 p.m. or 3 p.m. vidIQ ranks Saturday second for 30-day views.
- Sunday: the best day in both Buffer's and vidIQ's data. Buffer's best hours are 9–11 a.m. and 12 p.m.
Best time to post YouTube Shorts
Shorts peak at almost the opposite time of day. Buffer's top three Shorts slots are all on Friday: 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. Its best days for Shorts are Friday, then Saturday and Thursday, and Shorts engagement peaks "generally between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m." The weakest Shorts times were weekday afternoons from 12 to 5 p.m., except on Friday.
| Day | Buffer |
|---|---|
| Monday | 8 p.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m. |
| Tuesday | 8 p.m., 9 p.m., 7 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 7 p.m., 8 p.m., 9 p.m. |
| Thursday | 7 p.m., 8 p.m., 9 p.m. |
| Friday | 4 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 p.m. |
| Saturday | 7 p.m., 11 a.m., 6 p.m. |
| Sunday | 7 p.m., 8 p.m., 5 p.m. |
Buffer's explanation is that the two formats are distributed differently. Shorts are "continuously resurfaced by YouTube's recommendation engine over days or even weeks, which means the initial publish time is less make-or-break". If you post both, give them separate schedules rather than uploading both at once.
Converting YouTube times for viewers in another country
Buffer's times are in the audience's local time. If most of your viewers are in the US and you live in the UK or India, post at US times converted to your clock. Here's Sunday at 10 a.m., Buffer's best long-form slot:
| Audience in ↓ / you post from → | New York | London | Mumbai | Manila | Sydney |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | Sun 10 a.m. | Sun 3 p.m. | Sun 8:30 p.m. | Sun 11 p.m. | Mon 2 a.m. |
| Los Angeles | Sun 1 p.m. | Sun 6 p.m. | Sun 11:30 p.m. | Mon 2 a.m. | Mon 5 a.m. |
| London | Sun 5 a.m. | Sun 10 a.m. | Sun 3:30 p.m. | Sun 6 p.m. | Sun 9 p.m. |
| Mumbai | Sat 11:30 p.m. | Sun 4:30 a.m. | Sun 10 a.m. | Sun 12:30 p.m. | Sun 3:30 p.m. |
| Manila | Sat 9 p.m. | Sun 2 a.m. | Sun 7:30 a.m. | Sun 10 a.m. | Sun 1 p.m. |
| Sydney | Sat 6 p.m. | Sat 11 p.m. | Sun 4:30 a.m. | Sun 7 a.m. | Sun 10 a.m. |
Toronto shares New York's time, and Vancouver shares Los Angeles's. These conversions are for mid-November; the gaps shift by an hour for a few weeks each spring and autumn. The best time to post finder handles daylight saving and split audiences.
How to find your own best time on YouTube
YouTube Studio shows you when your own viewers are online, and YouTube points creators to that report rather than any general list.
- Open YouTube Studio and go to Analytics, then the Audience tab.
- Find "When your viewers are on YouTube". It's a heatmap of the days and hours your viewers are online. YouTube suggests it for planning Premieres and live streams.
- Upload a little before the darkest hours, so the video has processed and is ready when your viewers arrive.
- Compare with Buffer's windows for your format and pick two or three slots to test.
A simple four-week test:
- Weeks 1–2: upload in Buffer's windows (Sunday morning for long-form, Friday evening for Shorts).
- Weeks 3–4: upload just before your own viewer peaks.
- Then compare first-day views and the views each video has after a month. If the first-day numbers differ but the monthly ones don't, the time matters less than the video, which is what YouTube's guidance predicts.
The bigger levers are the click and the watch: a clear thumbnail and title, a strong first few seconds, and a video people finish. Our guides to filming and editing short videos and writing hooks people stop for cover those.
Best times to post on other platforms
- Best time to post on Instagram
- Best time to post on TikTok
- Best time to post on Facebook
- Best time to post on LinkedIn
- Best time to post on X (Twitter)
- Best time to post on social media: every platform in one place
Common questions
What is the best time to post on YouTube?
For long-form videos, Buffer's data points to Sunday at 10 a.m., then Sunday at 9 a.m. and Friday at 12 p.m., in your audience's local time. For Shorts, it points to Friday at 4, 6 or 7 p.m.
What is the best time to post YouTube Shorts?
Friday afternoon and evening, between 4 and 7 p.m., in Buffer's data, followed by Saturday and Thursday evenings. Buffer says Shorts engagement generally peaks between 6 and 11 p.m.
What is the best day to post on YouTube?
Sunday, for long-form videos, in both Buffer's and vidIQ's data. vidIQ found Sunday uploads did about 3.5% better than a channel's average day and Wednesday about 2.2% worse. For Shorts, Buffer says Friday.
Does the time you upload to YouTube matter?
Less than most guides suggest. YouTube says publish time "is not known to impact a video's long-term performance", though posting when viewers are active can help early views. It matters most for Premieres and live streams.
What time zone are these times in?
Your audience's local time. Buffer normalised its times so they apply wherever your viewers are. If your viewers are in the US and you're not, convert the times to your own clock.
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Sources
Checked October 2026. We summarise each study's findings; see the publisher's page for its full charts.
- Buffer: The best time to post on YouTube, data from 1.8M Shorts and long-form videos (July 2026)
- vidIQ: Best time to post on YouTube: what 40 million videos actually show (updated June 2026)
- YouTube Help: YouTube performance FAQ and troubleshooting
