Every "best time to post" chart you see online is an average of other people's channels. Your audience may live in a different country, work different hours and watch at different times. The only useful number is your own.
How to pick a publish time for YouTube videos
- Open YouTube Studio and select Analytics.
- Open the Audience tab and find When your viewers are on YouTube.
- Note the day and hour when the bars are highest, and the time zone your audience is mostly in. Studio shows this for the last 28 days.
- Open the Upload Time Planner, choose that time zone, and enter the busiest hour in their local time.
- Set how many hours earlier you want to publish. Two to three is a common starting point.
- Read the table. It lists the next seven days with the time to publish in your own time zone and the time your audience sees it.
What YouTube says
YouTube's audience analytics help page describes the report like this: it shows when your viewers are online across YouTube in the last 28 days, and you can use it to help build your community, schedule a Premiere or plan a live stream. It does not say that publishing at the peak hour boosts a video, so use it as a guide for when people are around, not as a ranking trick.
Why publish a little before the peak
A new video needs a bit of time to process and for your subscribers to be notified. Publishing an hour or two before your audience is most active means the video is ready and visible when they arrive. That reasoning is common creator practice, not an official YouTube rule, so test it and see.
Time zones are where people go wrong
If your audience is in Manila and you are in Berlin, a 7 pm peak for them is a different clock time for you, and the gap changes when daylight saving time starts or ends in one place but not the other. The planner converts between the zones for each specific day, so you see the real clock time instead of doing the sum in your head.
How to test it
- Change one thing at a time. Keep the same publish time for four to six videos, then compare how the first day goes.
- Compare videos of a similar kind. A tutorial and a vlog do not behave the same.
- Look at the first 24 to 48 hours of views, not just the final total.
- Remember a great video at a bad time often beats a weak video at a perfect time.
What the planner does not do
- It does not look up your analytics. You enter the peak yourself.
- It does not predict views or tell you that a time will perform better.
- It does not schedule the upload. Use YouTube Studio's schedule option for that.
- Audience patterns shift. Recheck every few months.
FAQ
What is the best time to post on YouTube?
It depends on your audience. Check "When your viewers are on YouTube" in Studio Analytics, Audience tab, and publish a little before the busiest time.
Does posting at a certain time help the algorithm?
YouTube does not say it does. The time helps your audience see the video when they are online. Treat it as a minor factor.
How early should I publish before the peak?
Two to three hours is a common starting point. Test it on your own channel.
What if my viewers are in several countries?
Pick the biggest group first, or choose a time that is reasonable for two of them. Check the report again after a few videos.
Where do I find the report?
In YouTube Studio, open Analytics, then the Audience tab, and look for "When your viewers are on YouTube".