The best time to upload to YouTube in 2026.
Shorts and long-form behave differently. The tool below converts peak hours to your timezone based on where your audience lives. Free in beta.
Best times, in your timezone
Your timezone: UTC. Pick where your audience lives and the table converts automatically.
| Day | Morning | Midday | Evening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 12 PM | 5 PM | 8 PM |
| Tuesday | 12 PM | 5 PM | 8 PM |
| Wednesday | 12 PM | 5 PM | 9 PM |
| Thursday | 2 PM | 8 PM | 10 PM |
| Friday | 3 PM | 7 PM | 10 PM |
| Saturday | 10 AM | 2 PM | 9 PM |
| Sunday | 11 AM | 3 PM | 8 PM |
Times shown in your timezone, optimized for an audience in: Auto detect (your timezone).
Upload before peak
Long-form needs 2 to 4 hours of algorithmic runway. Upload before the evening watch window, not during it.
Thursday to Saturday
The strongest 3-day stretch on YouTube. Long-form videos uploaded here get the most lift through the weekend.
Shorts ≠ long-form
Shorts behave like TikTok. Long-form needs runway time. Don't apply one strategy to both.
How to find your personal best time
- 1. Open Influ8 and paste your last 10 video links, or connect your channel.
- 2. Influ8 reads when each video peaked and where your viewers are.
- 3. You get one number: the exact hour to upload next.
- 4. Upload in that window for two weeks. Track the lift.
Upload time matters less than your thumbnail and hook.
A perfect time adds 10 to 20 percent more views. A great thumbnail plus a strong 5-second hook can 10x your CTR. Run your next video through the score before you publish.