Best Time to Post on YouTube Shorts in 2025

Introduction

YouTube Shorts has become one of the fastest-growing content formats, averaging 200 billion views daily. But with millions of creators uploading Shorts every day, relying on creating great content is not enough. Knowing when the best time to post on YouTube Shorts, having a good understanding of the platform’s algorithm, and staying consistent in posting are key.

The right YouTube posting timing can greatly impact the performance of your videos. If you are able to identify that, you get engagement right after posting, which influences how the algorithm recommends your videos. When you publish during the time your audience is most active, you have a better chance of reaching more viewers, gaining traction, and views faster.

Here, we guide you through the best time to post YouTube Shorts and how using an efficient tool to stay consistent in your YouTube Shorts strategy can help set you up for success. Let’s get to it!

Why YouTube Posting Timing Matters

YouTube Shorts operates on a swipe-based discovery like TikTok and Instagram Reels, unlike traditional YouTube videos, where viewers actively search for content. This is particularly why timing becomes more essential.

When you post at optimal times:

• Your video reaches active viewers who are more likely to watch completely
• Higher engagement signals quality content to the algorithm
• The algorithm expands your reach to similar audiences
• Your chances of appearing on more feeds increase dramatically

YouTube Shorts Algorithm 2025

How do YouTube Shorts get views? YouTube Shorts algorithm prioritizes Shorts that get rapid engagement (likes/comments, watch time, click-through rate) shortly after posting. The way it works is that it tests the videos with a small audience first. Then, if it performs well, it gets recommended to a wider audience.

This is basically when timing becomes critical. If you post Shorts when your target audience is inactive, then the algorithm will end up being seen by the wrong people. This can doom your video from the start, creating a domino effect that can limit its reach.

So, even though YouTube Shorts can be posted any time, posting during peak viewer activity makes all the difference.

Best Time To Post YouTube Shorts

According to research, the best times to post YouTube Shorts are usually between 12:30 PM to 3:30 PM and 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM. To be more specific, between 3 PM and 4 PM on weekdays. Also, Wednesday at 4 pm has been identified as the top-performing time slot. It’s during these times that YouTube engagement time is at its peak. They align with lunch breaks and after-work hours - the times when people are most likely to browse short-form content.

The worst times, on the other hand, are generally between 3 AM and 5 AM. Here’s a breakdown of the best time to post by day of the week.

Best times by Day of the week

• Monday: 12:30 PM–3:30 PM; 7:30 PM–9:30 PM (after lunch and after work)
• Tuesday: 2:30 PM–5:30 PM; 9:30 PM–10:30 PM
• Wednesday & Thursday: 3 PM–6 PM and some evening slots.
• Friday: 3:30 PM–6:30 PM performs very well as users begin winding down for the weekend.
• Saturday: 10 AM–1 PM offers high engagement but slightly lower than peak weekday slots.
• Sunday: 9 AM–11 AM shows strong early-morning engagement, but overall Sundays are less consistent.

Best Time to Post YouTube Shorts For Your Channel

While there’s a benchmark for the best times to post YouTube Shorts, how do you find your best time?

The key here is to look at your own YouTube audience insights to see when your viewers are most active. You can use YouTube’s built-in data and tailor your posting schedule based on real audience behavior, as compared to relying on general data.

Here’s how you do it:

Open YouTube Studio → Analytics → Audience Tab → “When your viewers are on YouTube.”

Scroll down until you see a heatmap showing days of the week and hours of the day. This visual representation displays when your specific audience is most active on YouTube.

Interpret the Data

• Darker colors indicate higher viewer activity
• Look for patterns across multiple days
• Note the time zone displayed (usually your account's default)
• Identify 2-3 consistent peak windows

Analyze Individual Video PerformanceGo to the "Content" tab and review your previously posted Shorts. Note which upload times correlated with better performance. Look for patterns in:

• Videos posted at similar times
• Day-of-week trends
• Seasonal variations

Testing and Refining Your Schedule

From here, you can experiment with different posting times. This is the key to finding the best posting time for your channel. Post consistently for 2-3 weeks at the same times. That way, you collect enough data, then you can analyze the results.

Follow this testing framework:

1. Baseline Period: Post at general best times for 2 weeks to establish baseline performance
2. Variation Testing: Try different time slots (morning, afternoon, evening) for 2 weeks each
3. Data Analysis: Compare views, watch time, engagement, and swipe rates across different posting times
4. Refinement: Identify your top 2-3 performing time slots
5. Consistency: Stick to your optimal times for at least a month to build algorithmic momentum

✅ Pro Tip: Review your analytics quarterly. Your optimal posting time may shift as your audience grows or changes.

Posting consistently shows the YouTube Shorts algorithm that your channel is reliable. The more active you are on the channel, the more data YouTube has to recommend your videos. That’s why it’s important to develop a sustainable posting schedule:

• Aim for 3-7 Shorts per week minimum
• Maintain consistent quality over quantity
• Use a content calendar to plan ahead
• Batch-create content to maintain consistency

How Ordinal Helps You Stay Consistent

Even when you know the best time to post, staying consistent can be a challenge, most especially if you manage multiple platforms and campaigns. This is where the right YouTube scheduling tool comes in. Try Ordinal - a powerful end-to-end platform to draft, plan, and schedule social media content!

Ordinal makes it easier for you to plan ahead, hit the right posting windows, and automate YouTube posts.

With Ordinal, you can:

• Schedule and publish content across multiple channels, including YouTube Shorts, Facebook, LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Instagram, Threads, and TikTok.
• Collaborate and approve posts with your team before they go live - no more messy handoffs or lost drafts.
• Track analytics for Facebook, LinkedIn, X, and Instagram to measure engagement, reach, and growth — with YouTube Shorts analytics coming soon.
• Organize campaigns using labels, filters, and custom calendars that make complex schedules easy to manage.

Ordinal helps creators and teams move from guesswork to data-driven execution - keeping your YouTube Shorts and social content consistent, timely, and scalable.

Conclusion

The fact is, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the best time to post YouTube Shorts. While data for YouTube Shorts posting schedule 2025 shows that Monday and Tuesday between 12-3 PM and 7-10 PM generally perform best, your optimal posting schedule depends on your unique audience, content niche, and geographic location.

Remember, YouTube Shorts algorithm prioritizes viewer satisfaction and over raw views. It rewards creators who understand their audience and deliver value when viewers are most receptive.

The key here is to use analytics to know when your specific audience is active and to stay consistent in your YouTube Shorts strategy using the right tools.

Ready to amp up your YouTube Shorts strategy? Choose the best time to post, stick to it, and make timing part of your content flow. Do it with Ordinal!