A YouTube Short can be up to 3 minutes long, as long as the video is square or vertical. YouTube raised the limit from 60 seconds for videos uploaded on or after 15 October 2024. YouTube publishes no ideal length, so test lengths against your own audience’s retention.
Key takeaways
- The maximum is 3 minutes for square or vertical videos uploaded on or after 15 October 2024, per YouTube Help. Older uploads keep their original classification.
- YouTube does not publish an ideal Shorts length. The specific “sweet spot” figures online come from third-party studies with different samples and dates.
- The one study with a stated sample of 5,400 Shorts found 50–60 second Shorts averaged the most views, but it was published in April 2023, before the 3-minute limit existed.
- The way to find your length is to compare your own Shorts on YouTube Studio’s “how many chose to view” figure, not to copy an average.
On this page
How long can a YouTube Short be?
Up to 3 minutes. YouTube’s help page says Shorts can now be up to three minutes long, and that a video with a square or vertical aspect ratio up to three minutes, uploaded on or after 15 October 2024, is categorised as a Short. Videos uploaded before that date keep their original classification as long-form videos. The page also states there are no changes in limitations for Shorts under one minute.
| Rule | What YouTube says |
|---|---|
| Maximum length | Up to 3 minutes (it was 60 seconds before) |
| Aspect ratio for the Short label | Square or vertical |
| Applies to | Uploads after 15 October 2024 on standard channels, after 8 December 2025 on Official Artist Channels; earlier uploads stay long-form |
| Music in a Short of up to 3 minutes | Most songs for up to 90 seconds; some tracks are limited to 60 or 30 seconds |
| Shorts under one minute | No change in limitations |
| Copyright claims on Shorts over 1 minute | A Short over one minute with an active copyright claim of any type is blocked globally |
What Shorts length works best?
There is no official answer, and be wary of anyone who gives you one number. YouTube states the maximum but does not publish an ideal length. The outside evidence is thin and dated, so the table shows each source with what it actually measured:
| Source | Date | What it reports | Caveat |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube Help | Read 6 November 2026 | Maximum 3 minutes; no ideal length published | A rule, not a performance finding |
| INFLOW Network | 26 April 2023 | Of 5,400 Shorts, most ran 20–40 seconds; those of 50–60 seconds averaged the most views (about 1.7 million) against roughly 461,000 for 20–30 seconds | Published before Shorts could run 3 minutes; the article does not state the time period or method |
| Dash Social, 2026 YouTube Benchmarks | 2026 | States there is no single ideal length and that performance depends on holding attention | Does not break results down by duration |
- Many blogs quote a “20–35 second sweet spot” or a “50–60 second” figure without naming a study and a sample. This guide does not repeat figures it could not trace to a named source.
- An average-views finding can reflect the size of the channels in the sample rather than the length of the videos, which is a limit of any single-average result.
How do you find the right length for your own Shorts?
YouTube gives you the measurement yourself. In YouTube Studio’s Shorts analytics the “how many chose to view” figure shows the share of times people viewed your Short rather than swiping away, and YouTube’s own analytics tips suggest looking for patterns in your best-performing content rather than comparing yourself to viral hits. A simple test:
- Publish comparable Shorts at two or three lengths (for example under 30 seconds, about 45 seconds, and 60 seconds or more) on the same topic mix.
- Compare the “how many chose to view” figure and retention, not raw views, so one lucky post does not decide it.
- Keep a length only if it holds attention to the end. Use the extra time up to 3 minutes only when the content needs it.
- Recheck every quarter, since the format and audience behaviour change.
How does SkedCast handle Shorts length?
YouTube has no separate Shorts upload: it decides whether a video is a Short from its shape and length. In SkedCast’s YouTube composer, the “Publish as a Short” option checks the video against YouTube’s Shorts rules before publishing: it rejects a clip longer than 3 min, and warns when a stated aspect ratio is landscape rather than square or vertical, because a landscape clip may not be treated as a Short. YouTube decides the final classification, so the check catches the common mistakes but cannot guarantee it.
A YouTube post through SkedCast needs exactly one video, a title of up to 100 characters, and a description of up to 5,000 characters. YouTube also ignores all hashtags on a video that has more than 60. See how to schedule YouTube Shorts, the YouTube video length limits reference, and the YouTube scheduler for every format.
Sources
FAQ
- How long can a YouTube Short be (how long do YouTube Shorts have to be)?
- Up to 3 minutes, if the video is square or vertical, for videos uploaded after 15 October 2024 (per YouTube Help, read 6 November 2026). The previous limit was 60 seconds.
- Is the best length for a YouTube Short 60 seconds?
- There is no official best length. One 2023 analysis of 5,400 Shorts found 50–60 second Shorts averaged the most views, but it predates the 3-minute limit and does not state its method, so treat it as a starting hypothesis and test on your own channel.
- Do I need a vertical video for it to count as a Short?
- Yes, YouTube categorises videos as Shorts when they are square or vertical and up to 3 minutes. A landscape video within the time limit may not be treated as a Short.
- Did the 3-minute limit change my old Shorts?
- No. YouTube’s help page says videos uploaded before 15 October 2024 keep their original classification as long-form videos.
- What happens to a Short over one minute with a copyright claim?
- YouTube’s help page says any Short over one minute with an active copyright claim of any type is blocked globally, so clear the music and clips in longer Shorts before you publish.
- How much music can I use in a 3-minute Short?
- YouTube’s help page says most songs can be used for up to 90 seconds in a Short of up to 3 minutes, and some tracks are limited to 60 or 30 seconds.
- Can I schedule a YouTube Short?
- Yes. YouTube supports a scheduled publish time for uploaded videos, and a scheduler such as SkedCast can set it for you and check the Short rules before publishing.