# Best time to post on YouTube Shorts in 2026, by day, from published studies

Ana Ibáñez Lario · Published 8 Oct 2026 · Research

_The best time to post on YouTube Shorts, from Buffer's 1.8 million video study and SocialPilot's 301,000 video study: evenings, with Friday the best day. Times by day, where studies disagree, and how to find your own time._

## The short answer

- Buffer's study of 1.8 million YouTube videos (24 July 2026) puts the best time to post Shorts at Friday 4pm, local time.
- Buffer and SocialPilot both rank Friday as the best day for Shorts, then Saturday, then Thursday.
- Buffer's top Shorts hours fall mostly between 5pm and 9pm. SocialPilot adds a midday window of 12pm to 2pm.
- Smaller sources disagree on the hour, so test two windows and trust your own YouTube Analytics.
- The When your viewers are on YouTube report shows when your viewers were online over the last 28 days.

The best time to post on YouTube Shorts is Friday at 4pm in your viewers' local time, according to Buffer's study of 1.8 million YouTube videos, published 24 July 2026. Buffer's top Shorts hours fall mostly between 5pm and 9pm. SocialPilot's study of 301,000 videos agrees that Friday is the best day, and it adds a midday window of 12pm to 2pm.

**Last checked: 8 October 2026.** We read Buffer's YouTube posting-times study (published 24 July 2026), SocialPilot's YouTube posting-times study (no date shown on the page; the page's own data says published 1 May 2026, updated 15 July 2026), Hopper HQ's Shorts guide (reviewed 2 July 2026) and YouTube's Help page on audience reports. We left out older guides from before 2026. Every time below is copied as each source states it. We have not added, averaged or adjusted any number.

These are published studies, not Postdom data. For long videos, see our guide to the [best time to post on YouTube](/blog/best-time-to-post-on-youtube), which covers Buffer, SocialPilot and HubSpot. This page is only about Shorts.

## Best time to post on YouTube Shorts, by day

Buffer is the largest study we found that reports Shorts on their own. It measured the median engagement of 1.8 million videos posted at different times, across every hour and day of the week. Buffer says the sample included both long videos and Shorts, but it does not say how many were Shorts. It says its times apply in your local time, so there is nothing to convert.

Buffer ranks three hours for each day. The first is the strongest.

_Best times to post YouTube Shorts by day, Buffer, local time_

| Day | Top three hours for Shorts | Source and date |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monday | 8pm, 5pm, 6pm | Buffer, published 24 Jul 2026 |
| Tuesday | 8pm, 9pm, 7pm | Buffer, published 24 Jul 2026 |
| Wednesday | 7pm, 8pm, 9pm | Buffer, published 24 Jul 2026 |
| Thursday | 7pm, 8pm, 9pm | Buffer, published 24 Jul 2026 |
| Friday | 4pm, 6pm, 7pm | Buffer, published 24 Jul 2026 |
| Saturday | 7pm, 11am, 6pm | Buffer, published 24 Jul 2026 |
| Sunday | 7pm, 8pm, 5pm | Buffer, published 24 Jul 2026 |

Buffer names Friday at 4pm as the single best time to post Shorts. Only one of its 21 ranked hours is before 4pm: Saturday at 11am.

Shorts and long videos peak at nearly opposite times in Buffer's data. Its best time for long videos is Sunday at 10am, and most of its long-video hours are in the morning or around midday.

## What the published studies say

Two studies with a stated sample report Shorts separately. A third source gives Shorts times without a sample size, so we list it apart.

_Published studies on Shorts posting times, read 8 October 2026_

| Study | Sample | Time basis | Best time for Shorts | Best days | Source and date |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Buffer | 1.8 million YouTube videos, long and Shorts, median engagement | Your local time | Friday 4pm | Friday, then Saturday, then Thursday. Tuesday and Monday worst | Buffer, published 24 Jul 2026 |
| SocialPilot | 301,000 videos from 27,000+ channels posted through SocialPilot, engagement per view | Your audience's local time | 12pm to 2pm or 6pm to 7pm. Strongest window Friday 4pm to 7pm | Friday, Saturday, Thursday | SocialPilot, updated 15 Jul 2026 (date not shown on page), read 8 Oct 2026 |
| Hopper HQ | A blend of Buffer's 2024 study, YouTube guidance, Google Trends and its own customers' accounts. No sample size | Your audience's local time | Tuesday 11am to 12pm | Tuesday | Hopper HQ, reviewed 2 Jul 2026 |

SocialPilot also lists worst times for Shorts: 3am to 7am, and Sunday evenings.

SocialPilot's page is not consistent with itself. Its summary table gives 12pm to 2pm or 6pm to 7pm, its Shorts section gives 12pm to 3pm and 7pm to 9pm, and its day-by-day table suggests 7am to 9am or 11am to 1pm for Friday, while its study text names Friday 4pm to 7pm as the strongest window. We use the summary table and the study text, and give Buffer's study more weight.

## Best day to post on YouTube Shorts

Friday is the best day to post Shorts in both large studies. Buffer and SocialPilot rank the days the same way at the top: Friday first, Saturday second, Thursday third.

_Best and worst days for YouTube Shorts_

| Rank | Buffer | SocialPilot | Source and date |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Best | Friday | Friday | Buffer, 24 Jul 2026. SocialPilot, 15 Jul 2026 |
| Second | Saturday | Saturday | Buffer, 24 Jul 2026. SocialPilot, 15 Jul 2026 |
| Third | Thursday | Thursday | Buffer, 24 Jul 2026. SocialPilot, 15 Jul 2026 |
| Worst | Tuesday and Monday | No worst day named. Worst times are 3am to 7am and Sunday evenings | Buffer, 24 Jul 2026. SocialPilot, 15 Jul 2026 |

If you post one Short a week, start with Friday. If you post daily, the day matters less than keeping the habit.

## Where the studies disagree

The two large studies agree on the day. They agree less on the hour.

- **Evening or midday.** Buffer's top hours are almost all between 4pm and 9pm. SocialPilot gives two windows, 12pm to 2pm and 6pm to 7pm. Buffer says the worst Shorts times are generally between 12pm and 5pm, except on Friday, so the midday window is where the two studies clash most. Both point to Friday late afternoon: Buffer says 4pm, SocialPilot says 4pm to 7pm.
- **Tuesday.** Hopper HQ calls Tuesday 11am to 12pm the single best window in the week. Buffer ranks Tuesday among the two worst days for Shorts. Hopper HQ's times are a blend of sources with no sample size, built partly on Buffer's 2024 study rather than its 2026 one, so we give Buffer's 2026 study more weight.

We have not averaged these into one number. An average of studies that measured different things would be a number nobody measured.

## What YouTube says about upload time

YouTube does not publish a best time to post Shorts. We searched YouTube Help and did not find a page that names one. What YouTube does give you is your own audience data.

YouTube Help's page on understanding your audience says the When your viewers are on YouTube report "shows you when your viewers are online across YouTube in the last 28 days" (YouTube Help, read 8 October 2026). YouTube suggests using it to build your community, plan a Premiere or plan a live stream. It is the closest thing YouTube offers to a posting-time answer, and it is about your viewers, not everyone's.

Shorts are also not tied to the hour you post. Buffer and SocialPilot both note that Shorts can resurface days or weeks after posting, and SocialPilot advises consistency over exact timing.

## How to find your own best time in YouTube Analytics

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
2. Select **Analytics** in the left menu.
3. Select **Audience** at the top.
4. Find the **When your viewers are on YouTube** report. It covers the last 28 days.
5. Note the two windows when most of your viewers are online. Post Shorts in the first window for three or four weeks, then in the second.
6. Compare views and engaged views per Short for each window, not total views. Keep the window that wins.

If the report shows no data for your channel yet, start with Buffer's Friday 4pm and its evening hours, then switch to your own data.

## Best time to upload YouTube Shorts

The best time to upload YouTube Shorts is shortly before your viewers are most active. Upload the Short so it is live at the start of the window your Analytics report shows, or at Buffer's time for that day if your channel is new.

You do not need to be at your desk when that time comes. YouTube lets you schedule uploads, and our guide on [how to schedule YouTube Shorts](/blog/how-to-schedule-youtube-shorts) has the steps.

A few practical points:

- **Use your viewers' time zone.** Buffer and SocialPilot both give times in the audience's local time. If most of your viewers are in another country, convert to their clock.
- **Pick a fixed time.** One time you keep is more useful than a perfect time you miss.
- **Test one change at a time.** Change the hour or the day, not both, so you can tell what made the difference.
- **Judge the video before the time.** Buffer and SocialPilot measure averages over hundreds of thousands of videos. A strong Short at an average time can still beat a weak one at the best time.

## How Postdom posts your Shorts

Finding the time is the easy part. Making a Short every few days is the hard part.

[Postdom](/youtube-shorts-maker) reads your website and makes short-form videos in your brand. You approve, edit or skip each one. By default nothing posts until you approve it. Approved videos are scheduled to YouTube Shorts, and the same video can go to TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

By default, Postdom posts approved videos at 9am and 7pm in your time zone, up to 2 a day per account. That is Postdom's default schedule, not a claim about the best time to post, and you can change the time of any scheduled post. The [Performance view](/product/performance) shows how each post did, and Postdom learns from what performs.

The Free plan is $0 with no card: 1 post a month on 2 accounts on any platform. Free posts carry a small Postdom watermark, which paid plans can turn off. Paid plans start at $39 a month for 30 posts on 3 accounts. See [pricing](/pricing).

> **Make Shorts without filming**
>
> Postdom reads your website and makes short-form videos in your brand, then schedules the ones you approve to YouTube Shorts. By default nothing goes out until you approve it.
>
> [Start free](https://app.postdom.com/signup)

## What to avoid

- **Treating one study as a rule.** Buffer and SocialPilot agree on Friday but not on every hour.
- **Using a long-video time for Shorts.** Buffer's data shows the two formats peak at nearly opposite times.
- **Posting in the small hours.** SocialPilot lists 3am to 7am as the worst time for Shorts.
- **Judging after one Short.** Shorts can pick up views days later, so compare a few weeks of posts.
- **Forgetting the time zone.** The studies give your viewers' local time, not yours.

## FAQ

**What is the best time to post YouTube Shorts?**

Buffer's study of 1.8 million YouTube videos (24 July 2026) names Friday at 4pm local time. Its top hours on other days are mostly between 5pm and 9pm. SocialPilot's study of 301,000 videos gives 12pm to 2pm or 6pm to 7pm.

**What is the best day to post YouTube Shorts?**

Friday, then Saturday, then Thursday, in both Buffer's and SocialPilot's studies. Buffer ranks Tuesday and Monday as the worst days.

**Is the best time for Shorts the same as for long videos?**

No. In Buffer's data, Shorts peak in the evening, while long videos peak in the morning, with Sunday at 10am the best time for long videos. See our \[best time to post on YouTube\](/blog/best-time-to-post-on-youtube) guide for long videos.

**Which time zone do these times use?**

Your viewers' local time. Buffer says its times apply in your local time, and SocialPilot says its times reflect your target audience's local time.

**Does YouTube say when to post Shorts?**

We did not find a YouTube Help page that names a best time. YouTube's When your viewers are on YouTube report in YouTube Studio shows when your own viewers were online over the last 28 days.

**How many Shorts should I post a week?**

SocialPilot's page gives two answers: 3 to 5 Shorts a week in one place and 5 to 7 in another. Pick a number you can keep up for a few months.

> **Post Shorts at your time, every week**
>
> Postdom reads your website, makes short-form videos in your brand and schedules the ones you approve to YouTube Shorts and your other accounts. By default nothing goes out until you approve it. The Free plan is $0, with 1 post a month on 2 accounts on any platform and no card. Free posts carry a small Postdom watermark, which paid plans can turn off.
>
> [Start free](https://app.postdom.com/signup)

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