What is the best day to post YouTube Shorts?

Friday, according to Buffer's study of 1.8 million videos (published 24 July 2026), followed by Saturday and Thursday. SocialPilot's study names the same three days. Both samples are from scheduling tools, so confirm with your own numbers.

Does the time I post a Short matter?

Less than for other videos. Buffer says YouTube resurfaces Shorts over days or weeks, and YouTube's help page says publish time is not known to affect a video's long-term performance.

How do I see when my viewers are on YouTube?

In YouTube Studio, open Analytics, then Audience. The report "When your viewers are on YouTube" shows when your viewers are online across YouTube in the last 28 days.

Should I post Shorts and long videos at the same time?

SocialPilot's study says the two formats have almost completely opposite best windows, so test them separately. Its page is the only source we read that makes that claim.

Guide

When is the best time to post YouTube Shorts?

Updated 18 October 2026

In short: the two studies that analyse Shorts on their own both put Thursday, Friday and Saturday near the top, with Friday strongest. Buffer's top slots are Friday at 4, 6 and 7 pm. Timing also matters less for Shorts than for other videos: Buffer says YouTube keeps resurfacing Shorts over days or even weeks, and YouTube's help says publish time is not known to affect a video's long-term performance (read 18 October 2026). Use the studies as a first guess and test your own.

The studies side by side

Most "best time to post on YouTube" pages mix Shorts with long videos. These two split Shorts out. Each row is from the study's own page, read on 18 October 2026.

Study	Published	Data window	Sample	Headline answer for Shorts
Buffer	24 July 2026	Not stated	1.8 million Shorts and long-form videos (the headline says 1.8 million, the intro says "almost 2 million"); number of channels not stated	Best day Friday, then Saturday, then Thursday. Top slots Friday 4, 6 and 7 pm. Times adjusted so they apply in your local time. Worst days Tuesday and Monday.
SocialPilot	Not stated	Not stated	301,000 videos published through SocialPilot by more than 27,000 channels, long-form and Shorts; the split by format is not shown	Best days Friday, Saturday, Thursday. Best upload times 12–2 pm or 6–7 pm, audience local time. Its summary calls Friday 4–7 pm the strongest window.

Sprout Social's best-times page has a YouTube heading but gives no YouTube times, and Hootsuite's YouTube page did not load when we checked. We cite neither for Shorts.

Buffer's day-by-day Shorts slots

Day	Top three slots (Buffer, in order)
Sunday	7 pm, 8 pm, 5 pm
Monday	8 pm, 5 pm, 6 pm
Tuesday	8 pm, 9 pm, 7 pm
Wednesday	7 pm, 8 pm, 9 pm
Thursday	7 pm, 8 pm, 9 pm
Friday	4 pm, 6 pm, 7 pm
Saturday	7 pm, 11 am, 6 pm

SocialPilot's own tables disagree with its summary: the day-by-day list gives Friday Shorts uploads at 7–9 am or 11 am–1 pm, while the summary says Friday 4–7 pm. Use its summary with that in mind.

What they agree on

Thursday, Friday and Saturday are the best days in both studies.
Evenings are strong. Buffer's slots are almost all 4–9 pm. SocialPilot lists 6–7 pm, plus midday.
Your own analytics are more reliable. SocialPilot's page says a channel's own YouTube Studio heatmap is more reliable than its study. Buffer points readers to YouTube Studio too.

Why your own data beats a study

Neither sample is about streamers. Neither page says it studied streamers or creators. SocialPilot's videos were all published through its own scheduler.
Neither states a data window. You cannot tell what months they cover or whether summer behaves like winter.
Time zones. Buffer does not name a zone. If your viewers are spread across several, "7 pm" is a blend. Late-night streams also push a streamer's regulars to later hours.
Shorts resurface. Buffer says YouTube's recommendation engine keeps showing Shorts over days or even weeks. A Short posted at a "bad" hour is not lost.
Publish time and long-term performance. YouTube's help page says publish time is not known to affect a video's long-term performance. It adds that Premieres and live streams can benefit from timing around when viewers are active.

What YouTube shows you

In YouTube Studio, open Analytics, then the Audience tab. The "When your viewers are on YouTube" report shows when your viewers are online across YouTube in the last 28 days (YouTube Help, read 18 October 2026). The help text says "across YouTube", so it covers when they use YouTube, not only when they watch your channel, and it does not mention a time zone. If most of your audience watches you on Twitch or Kick, your YouTube audience may be a different group.

A test to find your own best time

Open your report first. Note the busiest blocks in "When your viewers are on YouTube" and use them to choose your slots.
Pick three slots. Use your own time zone and 4-hour blocks: for example midday, evening and late night. Include one slot from the report and one outside it.
Post similar Shorts. Rotate your better and weaker clips across the slots, and shuffle the order each week.
Wait for the same age. Record each Short's views at 24 hours. Because Shorts keep resurfacing, also record views at 7 days for the clips from weeks one and two.
Compare the middle value. Use the median per slot, with at least three Shorts in each over two weeks.
Narrow it down in weeks three and four. Keep the top two slots and add one challenger. If two are close, call it a tie and choose the one you can keep.
Check the 7-day view. If a late slot looks weak at 24 hours but catches up by day 7, the 24-hour number was misleading you.

How to do it in RipClip

RipClip's tracking view builds best times from your own posts: average views after 24 hours, by day and 4-hour block, in your time zone. It appears after 5 posts that have had a day of views, and it uses the counts each platform sends for posts RipClip published. It also keeps checkpoints at 1 hour, 24 hours and 7 days per post, which is what you need to see whether a Short catches up later. Posting switches on platform by platform as each platform approves RipClip; until then, download your clips and post them yourself. Scheduling a Short in YouTube Studio itself works too, and its Audience report is the right place to start if you only post to YouTube.

Sources

Buffer: best time to post on YouTube, data from 1.8M videos. A study by a social media scheduling company; Shorts are analysed separately. Used for the date (24 July 2026), the sample, the Friday and day-by-day Shorts slots, and the statement that Shorts are resurfaced over days or weeks. Read 18 October 2026.
SocialPilot: best time to post on YouTube (301K videos analysed). A study by a social media scheduling company. Shows no date or data window. Used for the sample, the best days and the times. Read 18 October 2026.
YouTube Help: understand your YouTube audience. YouTube's own help article. Used for the "When your viewers are on YouTube" report and its 28-day range. Read 18 October 2026.
YouTube Help: YouTube's recommendation system. YouTube's own help article. Used for the statement that publish time is not known to affect long-term performance. Read 18 October 2026.