If you want the honest answer to how often to post on YouTube, here it is: for most brands, one strong long form video a week plus two to four Shorts is the right place to start. Consistency you can keep for a year beats a burst of daily uploads you abandon in a month. YouTube itself says growth in views is not tied to how often you upload, yet channels that publish more often do grow faster overall. This guide explains why both things are true and gives you a schedule you can use from next week.
The short version
- Quality first. YouTube says it has found that growth in views across uploads is not correlated with time between uploads.
- More shots on goal still helps. Channels uploading 12 or more times a month grew views about four times faster than those posting less than monthly, though that is correlation, not causation.
- Brands post more than you think. Dash Social puts the brand average at around six videos a week, driven largely by Shorts.
- Publish time matters less than you think. YouTube has seen no evidence that publish time affects long term viewership, except for Premieres and live streams.
- Pick a rhythm you can sustain. Breaks do not get penalised, but a predictable slot helps your audience form a habit.
How often to post on YouTube: the answer by situation
There is no single number that suits every brand, because the real limit is how many genuinely good videos your team can make. Use the table below as a starting cadence, then let your own data move it. If you are still setting up, start with our guide on how to start a YouTube channel for business.
| Your situation | Long form | Shorts | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| New brand channel, small team | 1 every 1 to 2 weeks | 2 to 3 a week | Build the habit and a back catalogue without dropping quality |
| Established channel, in house team | 1 a week | 3 to 5 a week | A weekly slot your audience can expect, Shorts for reach |
| Channel with a production partner | 1 to 2 a week | Daily is possible | Shorts cut from long form keep volume high at low cost |
| Campaign or launch window | 2 to 4 a week for a set period | Daily | Short bursts around a moment, then back to your base rhythm |
Advertain guidance based on the research in this article. Treat it as a starting point and adjust to your own analytics.
What does YouTube say about upload frequency?
YouTube has been unusually direct on this. In its performance FAQ it answers the question "Do I need to upload daily or at least once a week?" with a clear no: "we’ve done analyses over the years and found that growth in views across uploads is not correlated with time between uploads. Many creators have established reliable connections with their audience through quality over quantity." (YouTube Help)
Its guide to the recommendation system says the same thing in different words: "Prioritize consistent quality content over a high frequency of uploads." It also adds the part brands tend to skip: "A sustained presence helps your audience embrace your channel as a routine they anticipate." (YouTube Help)
There is one nuance worth knowing. In the same FAQ, YouTube lists "Uploading less frequently than usual" as one possible reason a channel gets less traffic from Home and Suggested. Posting less does not punish any single video, but it does give the system fewer new videos to recommend.
YouTube does not reward volume. It rewards videos people choose to watch, and a rhythm your audience can rely on.
What the data says: 10 million channels compared
The largest public dataset we found comes from vidIQ, which tracked 10,210,278 channels with at least 1,000 subscribers between April 2025 and March 2026. The more often a channel uploaded, the faster its median views and subscribers grew. Channels uploading 12 or more times a month saw median monthly subscriber growth of 0.91%, against 0.00% for channels uploading less than once a month.
Median monthly view growth by uploads per month
Read this carefully. vidIQ itself says the study "shows correlation, not causation. Larger and healthier channels may have more resources to publish frequently." Put that next to YouTube’s own statement and the picture is consistent: each upload is a new chance to be found, but no video is held back because of a gap before it. Volume only helps if quality holds.
How often should brands post on YouTube?
Brand benchmarks are higher than most marketing teams expect. Dash Social’s 2026 YouTube benchmarks say "Brands post around six times per week on average, with larger accounts posting up to eight times weekly." That count includes Shorts, which is how most brands reach those numbers without a huge production budget.
Average YouTube videos per week by brand industry
Metricool’s 2026 study of 799,718 videos from 71,177 accounts lands in a similar place. It calls 2 to 4 long form videos a week "the sweet spot" and adds that "with Shorts, the ceiling is higher." (Metricool) For most brands we work with, two long form videos a week is ambitious. One excellent episode a week is a strong, realistic target.
How often to post on YouTube Shorts
Shorts are where volume belongs. YouTube says Shorts now average over 200 billion daily views (YouTube Blog), and Metricool found the Shorts feed generated 61% of YouTube views in its sample (Metricool press release). Engagement per Short is low, though: Socialinsider measured a 0.30% engagement rate for Shorts against 2.60% on TikTok (Socialinsider). Use Shorts for reach and discovery, cut most of them from your long form videos, and aim for at least two or three a week. Our TikTok vs Reels vs Shorts comparison covers how to split effort across platforms.
Should you post every day on YouTube?
For long form, almost never. Daily uploads only make sense for news, gaming or live formats with a team built for it. Metricool found long form views rose 76% year on year while engagement fell 45%, and that 83% of interactions happened within the first 10 days of a video going live. A video has a short window to win its audience, so each one deserves proper packaging: a strong title, thumbnail and search intent. See our guides to YouTube SEO and YouTube thumbnail best practices.
Daily Shorts are a different story. If you can cut them from existing footage without lowering standards, daily Shorts are a reasonable goal once your long form rhythm is stable.
What is the best time to post on YouTube?
Less important than you have been told. YouTube says publishing when your audience is most active "might lead to more immediate views", but it has not observed any evidence that publish time affects long term viewership. The exceptions are Premieres and live streams, where timing matters (YouTube Help). YouTube’s Creator Liaison Rene Ritchie has also dismissed the old tip of waiting a day or two before making a video public: "Waiting 24 to 48 hours is no different than waiting 24 to 48 seconds or weeks or months." (Search Engine Journal)
If you want a starting point, Buffer’s analysis of 1.8 million videos found the best time for long form engagement was Sunday at 10am, with Sunday, Tuesday and Monday the strongest days. For Shorts, Friday at 4pm came top, with evenings between 6pm and 11pm performing best. Those times are in the viewer’s local time (Buffer).
How to find the best time to post in YouTube Studio
Your own data beats any benchmark. In YouTube Studio, open Analytics, then the Audience tab, and find the report called "When your viewers are on YouTube". It shows when your viewers were online across YouTube in the last 28 days (YouTube Help). Schedule uploads a little before that peak using scheduled publishing, which lets a private video go public at a set date, time and time zone (YouTube Help). For UK brands with a global audience, check the time zone carefully.
How to build a YouTube posting schedule in 6 steps
- Set a cadence you can keep for six months. Count how many videos your team can make to standard each month, then commit to a little less than that. Bank four to six finished videos before you launch the schedule.
- Choose one anchor series. A recurring format with a clear promise is easier to plan, produce and recognise than a stream of one off videos.
- Plan Shorts from your long form. Mark two or three moments in every script that can stand alone as a Short. Link each Short back to the full video.
- Pick your publish slot from data. Use the "When your viewers are on YouTube" report, then schedule every upload for the same day and hour so viewers learn when to expect you.
- Measure what each upload adds. Track views per video, returning viewers and subscribers gained per video each month, not just total uploads. If quality metrics drop as volume rises, slow down.
- Review every quarter and take breaks when needed. YouTube says it studied thousands of channels that took a break and "found no correlation between break length and changes in views", though your audience may take time to warm up again (YouTube Help). Plan breaks and tell viewers when you will be back.
YouTube posting schedule template for brands
Here is a simple weekly template for one long form video and three Shorts. It is the cadence we recommend most often to brands building a channel from scratch.
| Day | What goes out | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Plan and script next week's long form video | Check last week's analytics first |
| Tuesday | Short 1 (cut from last week's video) | Trailer for the back catalogue |
| Thursday | Short 2 (new idea or behind the scenes) | Test a hook you might use in long form |
| Saturday or Sunday | Main long form episode | Use your Studio audience report to pick the hour |
| Sunday | Short 3 pointing to the new episode | Link the Short to the full video |
| Monthly | Community post, playlist tidy, title or thumbnail test | Small wins that lift older videos |
Example template for one long form video and three Shorts a week. Swap days to match when your viewers are on YouTube.
Posting schedule checklist
- One fixed day and hour for long form, set from your Studio audience report
- Four to six videos banked before launch
- Two or three Shorts planned in every long form script
- Every upload scheduled, not published by hand at the last minute
- Monthly review of views per video and returning viewers
- Planned breaks announced to your audience in advance
If you would rather have a team run the schedule for you, see our work or get in touch.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I post on YouTube as a beginner?
Start with one long form video every week or every other week, plus two or three Shorts. That is enough to learn from your analytics without burning out. Increase only when you can keep quality steady.
How often is too often to post on YouTube?
It is too often when quality drops or your videos start competing with each other for the same viewers. If views per video and returning viewers fall as you post more, scale back.
Does taking a break hurt a YouTube channel?
Not according to YouTube. It found no correlation between break length and changes in views, but notes it can take time for your audience to settle back into watching.
How many times should I post on YouTube Shorts a day?
Most brands do well with two or three Shorts a week, rising to one a day if they can be cut from existing footage. Several a day rarely makes sense for a brand channel.
