May 2, 2021

The Best Time to Post on YouTube

5 minute read
Michael Aubry

YouTube is the largest platform for content creators, mega brands, small businesses, and more.

If you have a YouTube channel where you want to share content, it’s important to figure out the best time to upload your content.

That is because posting at the wrong time will impede the growth of your channel. Also, you may not be able to reach your target audience.

But what is the best time to post on YouTube?

Some say Tuesday, others say Friday., others say it doesn't matter.

What about 9 am or 9 pm or maybe even midnight?

So what is the best time to post on YouTube?

That's exactly what we'll answer in this article.

But not just generally..

We'll answer how to find the best time for YOU!

So let's get on with it and let's learn how YouTubers and content creators like you can gain more exposure!

And remember, you can always try Motionbox to create great YouTube intros or full videos if you'd like to.

Time of Uploading Video on YouTube

These days, the majority of the people using the internet use social media and post their thoughts, blogs, content, etc on their page. But posting on YouTube is different from others. You have to maintain a posting schedule to gain a consistent audience.

At least that's what most people say.

However, we can name at least a dozen channels that post only once per month and have over a million subscribers.

In reality, the biggest factor is your audience.

For example, you need to take time zones into consideration. You have to figure out when exactly the viewers will be the most active. YouTube indexing algorithm will target audiences who will stay active in those times. Then they will recommend your channel or your content to them.


What Are The Best Days To Post?

As you might be able to guess, weekends are the best time to upload content since most people are online then. But another better option to publish your video is on Thursday and Friday. That is because most people feel restless knowing that the week is ending. Hence, they want to enjoy their leisure with TV shows and movies or social media networks like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. It is considered to be wise to upload a brand new video a few days before the weekend so that it can go to the list of trending topics of the week.

On the other hand, if you publish a video earlier in the week, you won’t gather much of an audience. It is because people get busy with work early in the week. Therefore, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday may be the worst days to post videos.

What Is The Best Time To Publish?

All the YouTubers on the platform are not from the same place. Depending on the time zone they’re from and the time zone of the target audience, the time of uploading videos should be on fixed schedules. The best time to post a video is between 2 and 4 PM in your audience's timezone. From lunch break to late afternoon, most of the viewers remain free and check online platforms. Hence it’s the best time to publish a video.

In case you are not from the United States, England, Canada, and India - that is the countries with the largest audience bases - you might have some difficulties at the beginning since it’s harder to reach an audience in the non-dominant countries.

Tips on Finding the Best Time

However, the above is all just general advice.

As we mentioned, the best time can significantly vary by channel.

In fact, there might not even be a best time.

If you've got a large following then we'd go as far as to say it doesn't matter when you post.

This is due to one simple fact.

If you've got great content people will watch it no matter when you post!

YouTube Video Reach

Some YouTube video reach statistics may help to understand the majority of subscribers or viewers. Most of the people who use YouTube are from the US, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and the UK. In New York City, YouTube has reached the 18-34 year old audience better than any traditional TV shows have. The algorithm of YouTube is not instantaneous like any other normal site. If you upload a video in standard time and want it to show in search results, you have to post it a few hours earlier. In other cases, the video might be lost or shown on the last pages of the search results. That is unless you've already got an audience to promote it to.

Uploading On the Weekend

According to the viewer statistics, weekends are the best time to post your video on the channel. In these peak times, people want to relax and do something to get rid of stress. They might want to find something entertaining, educational, or interesting - anything that might be of interest to them on the social media platforms. And visual content like YouTube videos seems to be the best way to draw and retain their viewership. You can use social media planning tools to schedule your YouTube videos on the weekends.

Use Google Analytics

If you are having a hard time finding the proper timing for uploading videos, you can get help from Google analytics. It gives data about viewership. For instance, when they stay active, what they search, or any other related custom reports. If you opt for an analytics report, it will show visit times, clicks, and many other metric groups based on your subscriber count. The metric groups help YouTubers to check their content statistics and upload them right before peak hours.

Best Time to Post on YouTube According To Different Studies

Of course, the best time to post on YouTube is a widely debated topic. As we mentioned, once you're getting enough views, you can use analytics to determine the best time to post for your audience.

Additionally, as mentioned during the day on Thursday or Friday, or Saturday or Sunday are generally good times to post.

However, here are some additional studies on the best time to post on YouTube.


According to Edgy, users stay the most active on the internet between 2 PM to 4 PM (EST). For the weekends, the schedule should be from 10 AM to 11 AM.

The Frederator networks survey says the best time to post is Friday and Thursday at 3 PM. On weekends, the video should be uploaded a few hours before 9 AM-11 AM.

In Misfit hustler technique, they suggest posting videos just 2 hours before the peak time. The majority of views will come in the first two days of uploading a video.

Magisto’s ideas survey has also mentioned following the standard EST to maintain time zone while posting videos on YouTube. All the other surveys observe more than 1300 channels to publish their results.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does It Matter When You Post On YouTube?

For most channels, yes, it matters. When you post on YouTube at the right time, it will have views and engagements. The YouTube algorithm recommends watching it throughout the networks. Therefore, posting the videos at the right time is a good strategy.

Is It Good To Post Every Day On YouTube?

The best option to grow or increase subscribers to your channel is to upload videos daily. But it depends on your content and niche. If you cannot post on YouTube daily, try to post at least one video once a week. Then take a break and upload more YouTube videos.

Can You Post Too Much On YouTube?

It depends on what type of channel you have. If your channel content is for gaming, then you can post one or two videos every week for your viewers. Otherwise, keep the videos limited. We won’t recommend posting more than one video daily on YouTube.

Conclusion

Timing is incredibly crucial when it comes to posting videos on YouTube to maintain the channel’s growth. As a YouTuber, you should know the best time to post on YouTube because it will affect your subscriber count and the channel views. Get help from custom reports and improve your timings along with exposure in search results.

Michael Aubry

Hey 👋 I am the founder and maker of Motionbox. My mission is to build useful tools in the video space. I enjoy science, art, and sports. Feel free to reach out to me.

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