Published May 28, 2025

/ Updated May 28, 2025

Best Times To Post On YouTube In 2025

When is the best time to post on YouTube?

New proprietary research from CoSchedule reveals the game has changed. The peak times for posting on YouTube aren’t what they used to be, especially if you’re aiming for maximum reach.

Read on for a full report.

Best Time to Post on YouTube on Sundays

Best times to post on YouTube on Sundays are (best to worst):

3 PM
4 PM
5 PM

Worst times to post on YouTube on Sundays are:

6 AM
7 AM
8 AM
9 AM
2 AM

Best Time to Post on YouTube on Mondays

Best times to post on YouTube on Mondays are:

4 PM
3 PM
5 PM

Worst times to post on YouTube on Mondays are:

6 AM
7 AM, 8 AM
9 AM
2 AM

Best Time to Post on YouTube on Tuesdays

Best times to post on YouTube on Tuesdays are:

3 PM
4 PM
5 PM

Worst times to post on YouTube on Tuesdays are:

6 AM
7 AM
8 AM
9 AM
2 AM

Best Time to Post on YouTube on Wednesdays

Best times to post on YouTube on Wednesdays are:

4 PM
3 PM
5 PM

Worst times to post on YouTube on Wednesdays are:

6 AM
7 AM
8 AM
9 AM
2 AM

Best Time to Post on YouTube on Thursdays

Best times to post on YouTube on Thursdays are:

4 PM
3 PM
5 PM

Worst times to post on YouTube on Thursdays are:

6 AM
7 AM
8 AM
9 AM
2 AM

Best Time to Post on YouTube on Fridays

Best times to post on YouTube on Fridays are:

3 PM
4 PM
5 PM

Worst times to post on YouTube on Fridays are:

6 AM
7 AM
8 AM
9 AM
2 AM

Best Time to Post on YouTube on Saturdays

Best times to post on YouTube on Saturdays are:

5 PM
3 PM
4 PM

Worst times to post on YouTube on Saturdays are:

6 AM
7 AM
8 AM
9 AM
2 AM

Best Time To Post On YouTube By Time Zone & Location

This research pulled data from accounts across multiple regions. However, to make it useful, everything is standardized to a 24-hour format.

I suggest applying these timing recommendations in your audience’s local time zone. For instance, if the data shows 8 AM as a Wednesday hotspot and your viewers are in California, post at 8 AM Pacific Time—and not 8 AM your time. Timing only works if it matches their schedule, not yours.

Best Time to Post on YouTube by Industry

B2C: For consumer brands, activity peaks when people are most likely to browse casually: weekday lunch hours (12 PM–3 PM), evenings (7 PM–10 PM), and weekend mornings (9 AM–12 PM). These are the windows when viewers are more relaxed and open to discovering something new.
B2B: Professionals tend to check YouTube during mental breaks in the workday. Aim for mid-morning (10 AM–12 PM) and mid-afternoon (2 PM–4 PM). This is when they’re looking for quick insights, how-tos, or industry updates.
Software & IT: Technical audiences engage most during late mornings (11 AM–1 PM) and afternoons (3 PM–5 PM). These time blocks align with research and learning moments, especially for tutorials, tool comparisons, or explainer content.
Healthcare: Fridays around 9 AM are your best bet. This tends to be a quieter time in the week when healthcare professionals are catching up on non-clinical tasks—and more likely to watch educational or industry-focused videos.
Media & Entertainment: If you’re publishing entertainment, post when people are most likely to seek a break. Engagement typically spikes at 1 PM, 5 PM, and 9 PM, syncing with lunch, end-of-day wind downs, and late-night scrolling.
Higher Education: Target Wednesdays around 10 AM and Thursdays from 11 AM–1 PM. These are prime slots when students have free periods between classes and are more likely to engage with academic or career-related content.

YouTube Shorts Timing

YouTube Shorts isn’t just riding the short-form wave—it’s dominating it, racking up over 70 billion views daily since launch. A massive chunk of that traffic comes from Gen Z and Millennials, who expect content that hits instantly.

So when should you actually post?

Weekdays (12 PM–1 PM, 4 PM–4:30 PM): Midday breaks and checking out timings are prime slots. People are more likely to tap into bite-sized content.
Evenings (7 PM–10 PM): This is the scroll-and-chill window. Engagement tends to spike as users unwind and binge quick hits of content.
Weekends (9 AM–11 AM): Mornings win. Users are in no rush, casually browsing with more attention to spare.

Note these are just patterns. Dig into your own YouTube Analytics and look at the “When your viewers are on YouTube” chart. That data is gold. It tells you when your audience is actually online—and that’s the timing that matters most.

How To Know Your Best Times To Post On YouTube

1. Use YouTube’s Audience Heat Map

In YouTube Studio, go to Analytics > Audience to find the “When your viewers are on YouTube” chart. This heat map displays viewer activity by hour, with darker shades indicating higher activity. Hover for exact times and switch the view from 28 days to 90 days to smooth out one‑off spikes. Use the darkest two‑hour window as your candidate slot.

Source

2. Monitor Real-Time Performance

After selecting a potential posting time, test it by publishing a test video 60–90 minutes before that slot. Then, go to Analytics > Overview > Realtime to observe viewer activity in the first 48 hours. A significant spike during your chosen window suggests it’s a favorable time for your audience. Repeat on different weekdays to confirm a pattern.

3. Evaluate Viewer Retention

High initial views are great, but retention matters more. In Analytics > Engagement, examine the average view duration for videos posted at different times. Consistently higher retention during a specific time slot indicates that viewers are staying engaged.

4. Automate Scheduling with CoSchedule

CoSchedule’s YouTube Scheduler (with Best Time Scheduling) studies your channel’s engagement history and auto‑slots your uploads—long‑form and Shorts—into the hour with the highest predicted lift. Drag a video on the calendar and it will reshuffle other posts to avoid crowding. Perfect if you don’t want to babysit a clock.

5. Ask Your Audience Directly

Sometimes, the best insights come straight from your viewers. Use YouTube’s Community tab and create a poll asking: “When do you usually open YouTube? This qualitative context can complement your analytics, especially if your audience spans multiple time zones.

6. Observe Competitor Posting Times

If top creators in your niche post at the same time each week, that window’s already packed with active viewers. Track it. Here’s how to go about this: subscribe to 3–5 key rival channels and log their drop times in your CoSchedule social calendar. You can create a color‑coded “Competitor Drops” project so your whole team sees the pattern at a glance. After four weeks, overlay their release cadence on your audience heat‑map. Then, test posting slightly before or after (+90 mins) to see if your Realtime bars climb faster.

💡 CoSchedule Calendars let you add notes, tasks, or full projects for competitive intel right next to your own content plan.

Note: We have aggregated the timings based on our YouTube channel findings, plus the reports from our peers like Buffer, Quickframe, Sprout Social, and Socialbee.

Best Times To Post On YouTube FAQs

What Is the Best Time to Make a Post on YouTube?

CoSchedule’s 2025 study shows the best “high‑engagement” window is between 3 PM-4 PM, especially on Sundays or Wednesdays. That slot overlaps with the top three times on nearly every day of the week and lets your video index before the evening surge.

What Is the Best Time Zone to Post on YouTube?

Always schedule in your audience’s time zone, not your own. If the data says 8 AM on Wednesday and most viewers are in California, post at 8 AM Pacific, even if you’re on the other side of the world.

What Time Is YouTube Most Active?

Across industries, activity spikes during weekday lunch breaks (12 PM – 3 PM), evening wind‑downs (7 PM – 10 PM), and weekend mornings (9 AM – 12 PM) when viewers have unhurried screen time.

What’s The Best Day To Post On YouTube?

Mid‑week uploads—Wednesday or Thursday—tend to build momentum fastest, but Sunday afternoons (3 PM – 5 PM) consistently deliver strong reach when viewers have more leisure time.