How to Find Out the Best Time to Publish a Video on YouTube

Many factors determine our success on YouTube. If you're a new creator, most of those might seem almost unattainable sometimes. But some are really within our control. Choosing the best time to publish your video on YouTube is one of them and could have a considerable impact on your video's performance.

As with most things in YouTube video creation, there isn't a straightforward answer. But we've covered two main ways to answer this question.

What is the Best Time of the Day to Post on YouTube?

While this data is not set in stone, certain timings are better than others on YouTube, mostly for two main reasons.

• Alignment with Leisure Activities: These recommended times coincide with typical leisure periods when users are actively seeking entertainment, making them more likely to engage deeply with new content.
• Consideration of Global Time Zones: For channels with a broad audience, these times can help bridge various time zones, hitting North American viewers in their evening peaks and Europeans in their early active hours.

We've gathered information from credible websites across the internet and can broadly ascertain these time ranges as effective across channels across the world.

Weekdays

It's safe to assume that weekdays are not the best option when it comes to posting content since people are mostly away from their screens. But using the week wisely can make a big difference to your video's performance.

Overall, it's better to post in the evenings. According to QuickFrame, any time between 6 PM and 9 PM is desirable, although the middle of the week, i.e. Wednesdays and Thursdays aren't generally rewarding. However, this article from Buffer details different time ranges for each day of the week and also claims that Friday is the best day to post according to their study which is based on a million uploads!

Weekends

For weekends, the earlier the upload, the better the chances. This period captures a relaxed audience who are scrolling through their feeds over morning coffee, ready to start their leisurely weekend.

According to a report by Influencer Marketing Hub, early afternoon is the way to go on weekends, whereas others may recommend uploading earlier in the morning.

If you're a new channel that is just starting, following this schedule roughly might bring good results. With time and uploading more content, YouTube can help you make better decisions informed by your audience's behavior. Let's understand how that works.

Read More: The Secret to Standing Out as a Small YouTube Creator

Insights from YouTube Analytics

Inside your YouTube Creator Studio, you can find a more concrete and realistic answer regarding the best time to upload your videos. Here is Rob explaining how in 35 seconds!

First, let’s start with the YouTube feature that will let you know the best times to publish your video content. To access this tool:

• Click on your YouTube profile image in the top right-hand corner of any desktop screen.
• From the Studio dashboard screen, click on the ‘Analytics’ tab from the left-hand navigation bar.
• From the main analytics screen, click on the ‘Audience’ tab at the top

On this dashboard, you'll see a new module labeled ‘When Your Viewers are on YouTube’. Now, to be clear, this isn't specifically about your viewers watching just your content. It's when viewers who watch your content are on YouTube watching any video.

Think of it like this. There may be somebody at home, sat on a sofa, watching Friends because they're a huge fan of sitcoms. Chances are, they're probably going to also enjoy The Big Bang Theory, so programming logic suggests that The Big Bang Theory should come on straight after Friends.

If you know when your audience is on YouTube you can schedule your videos to be published at that time.

In this visual representation, the deeper the color shade, the higher volume of viewers there are. For example, many of our viewers are on YouTube at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time Wednesday mornings while fewer viewers are online at 8:00 p.m. on a Friday evening.

You can also use our tool to determine when to upload on YouTube to get even more personalized data based on your content. Sign up today!

Best Practices to Follow

Choose the right time to upload your YouTube videos by considering when your audience is most active, similar to setting up a hotdog stand at lunch rather than at 3:00 a.m. Although YouTube suggests that publish time doesn’t usually affect long-term video performance, immediate timing can be crucial, especially with time-sensitive content. For instance, if there's breaking news like an iPhone launch or a movie trailer release, delay could mean losing viewer interest.

Avoid uploading during the busiest times, such as the start or half of the hour, when competition for viewer attention spikes. Instead, try posting slightly before or after these periods. Think of your video timing like stock trading: aim for times when audience interest is growing but not yet at its peak. Remember, preparing your video, including adding titles, tags, and thumbnails, takes time, especially for high-quality 4K videos. Plan to upload early enough to ensure everything is polished and ready for viewers.

So, now that you know the best time to upload your content on YouTube, let's start racking that watch time up! Speaking of watch time, make these types of videos to get ahead.