How long does it take to upload a video to YouTube

How long does it take to upload a video to YouTube

How long does it take to upload a video to YouTube? YouTube is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, hubs to watch videos. It’s a great platform to kickstart your career uploading videos.

If you’re not aiming as high as that, that’s okay! No matter the reason you want to upload a video, you may be wondering how long the entire process would take. Well, wonder no longer!

In this article, we’ll be focusing on how long it takes to upload a video to YouTube. If you’re experiencing some trouble with your upload and are trying to decide if you should wait it out, we’ve covered that too.

Table of Contents

  1. How long does it take to upload a video to YouTube
    1. Size of your upload
    2. Format of your video
    3. Internet connection speed
    4. Traffic already on the site
    5. The numbers
  2. Wrap Up

How long does it take to upload a video to YouTube

It’s probably worth mentioning that YouTube upload times continue to disappoint a lot of users. People have come to expect faster service in the great era of technology we live in.

Although Google, the parent company of YouTube, is trying to improve upload speeds, it’s probably safe to say that there’s a long way to go.

To start, we’re going to talk a little about the different factors that go into determining the time required for the upload.

If you’re more into the numbers and want just a quick answer, scroll down a bit towards the end right away.

Size of your upload

First, let’s focus on file sizes. It would make sense, as I am sure you would agree, that the larger the size of the video you are trying to upload, the more time it’ll take.

You may be thinking that it’s just about the length of the video that determines the file size. There are actually many key components.

The size of your video also depends upon the quality of the recording. Videos in higher resolution pack greater graphics, so they’re going to be larger.

A technical detail to mention here is that when you upload a video, the site is also converting your file into different resolution formats for viewing.

The first format to be available will be the one that can be done the fastest without compromising on quality.

You can view the different quality options through the gear button on your video.

Format of your video

The recommended format for uploading YouTube videos quickly is “.wmv” (Windows Media Video).

Different formats are processed differently by YouTube’s servers. There’s another explanation entirely for the differences between formats.

If you want to stick to a certain format, or if you’re having difficulties converting your video into a different format, it’s generally okay to disregard this point.

This is because YouTube supports a variety of formats, only the uploading times may slightly vary.

Internet connection speed

The speed of your Internet connection is just one of the many factors that go into determining the upload time for your video. It is generally recommended to use a LAN cable if you’re uploading longer videos or multiple videos.

You get a more stable connection this way and are likely to get faster speed as well. This prevents your uploads from being interrupted and taking longer.

Traffic already on the site

YouTube is being watched by millions of people every day. At the same time, there are also millions of people uploading videos.

All this digital traffic is handled by a limited number of servers at Google.

So your upload times would be affected if there are a large number of people online and already using YouTube when you’re trying to upload.

It would be recommended that you try and choose times with minimal YouTube traffic in your country to upload videos.

The numbers

On average, users have reported an upload time of 15 minutes. Do expect this number to be different for you if you’re uploading a long video or have lower bandwidth.

The average range is between 7 minutes and 20 minutes for most users.

You can track the progress of your YouTube upload after you finalize your video. Progress can also be tracked through the Video Manager.

As a final note: there’s a quicker, and possibly easier, way to upload videos to YouTube if you upload regularly or large content.

There are plenty of third-party applications to choose from. Although we would suggest that you install these at your own risk.

What these programs do is that they compress your video automatically to make it upload faster to YouTube. You may have noticed that some news channels have videos outright as some event takes place.

Well, most of them make use of compression software that sends the video to be uploaded as fast as possible.

You can adjust settings not only on the third-party programs but also on your YouTube account itself. Changing these could help upload your videos quicker.

Most of the time you won’t even need to worry about compromising on quality.

Wrap Up

As you’ve learned from this article, there are many factors that may influence the upload speed of your YouTube videos. From the size of the upload, the format of the video, to your internet connection speed, and the YouTube website traffic itself.

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