35 YouTube Shorts Statistics For 2024 (Growth & Trends)

Looking for the latest YouTube Shorts statistics? You’re in the right place.

I’ve searched far and wide to find out everything there is to know about the short-form section of everyone’s favorite video-sharing website. In this post, I’ll share all the latest facts and figures you need to know.

We’ll cover how many people are using YouTube Shorts this year and how many videos they view each day. Plus, we’ll also reveal some industry benchmarks against which you can measure your performance, and much more.

How many people watch YouTube Shorts?

Let’s start with the big question: How many people watch YouTube Shorts? Here’s what the statistics say.

1. YouTube Shorts collectively average over 70 billion daily views

According to the latest Google earnings call (Q1 2024), the average number of views that go to YouTube Shorts videos daily has now reached over 70 billion.

Assuming that each video is 30 seconds long, that works out at 2.1 trillion minutes of YouTube watch time every day—that’s almost 4 million years.

Source: Alphabet Investor Relations

2. …That’s more than doubled over 2 years

In June 2021, the average number of daily YouTube Shorts views was around 30 billion. By February 2022, that had already increased to 50 billion. And as of October 2023, it had climbed up to 70 billion. 

Source: Statista³

3. YouTube Shorts have been viewed over 5 trillion times since launch

YouTube Shorts was first launched toward the end of 2020. Between then and May 2024, YouTube served up Shorts to viewers over 5 trillion times

Source: Variety

How many people use YouTube Shorts?

We’ve looked at how many people watch YouTube Shorts, now let’s look at how many people use the platform, according to the statistics.

4. Over 2 billion people use YouTube Shorts

That’s the number of signed-in YouTube Shorts users per month, as of 2023. Keep in mind that the global population currently stands at a little over 8.1 billion, meaning over a quarter of everyone on earth uses YouTube Shorts.

Source: Wikipedia²

5. Over 153 million people in the US use YouTube Shorts 

Again, that’s as of 2023. The population of the US is around 333 million, so that works out to a little under half of the country. It’s also worth noting that the US users are expected to grow to 164.5 million this year, and again to 175.1 million by 2025.

Source: Statista⁴

How many YouTube Shorts are there?

Ever wondered how many Shorts there are on YouTube? Let’s take a look at some more statistics to find out.

6. There are at least 910 million Shorts on YouTube

Unfortunately, YouTube hasn’t shared any official figures about the number of videos on the platform. 

However, what we do know is that there are 910 million videos tagged #Shorts on the platform. This is probably a good estimate for the minimum number of Shorts on YouTube.

Source: YouTube

7. …and 52 million channels that upload them

That’s the number of channels tagged #Shorts on YouTube. With 52 million other channels to compete with, it can be tough to stand out as a new creator and carve out your own space in the short-form video market.

Source: YouTube

8. The number of channels uploading Shorts grew by 50% last year

In their Q1 2024 earnings call, Google revealed that the number of channels that post Shorts has increased by 50% year-over-year. Again, this shows just how competitive YouTube Shorts is. Marketers and creators will need to be smart if they want to stand out.

Source: Alphabet Investor Relations

YouTube Shorts benchmarks

Next, let’s look at some statistics that tell us how the average YouTube Shorts video performs according to various metrics. You can use these to benchmark your performance against.

9. YouTube Shorts have an average engagement rate of 5.91% 

That’s the average engagement rate as of this year, according to an analysis of millions of videos across platforms, so it’s a good benchmark to aim for in your own Shorts.

To calculate your engagement rate, take the sum of your posts’ likes and comments and divide them by your follower count, then multiply by 100.

Notably, the average engagement rate of YouTube Shorts is higher than all of its rival platforms: TikTok (5.75%) Instagram Reels (5.53%), and Facebook Reels (2.07%)

Source: Statista²

10. YouTube Shorts have an average watch rate of 2.52%

This is according to data from a study by Social Insider. In the study, watch rate is defined as a post’s total view count within a given timeframe divided by the number of followers the profile has, then multiplied by 100.

Interestingly, the average watch rate on YouTube Shorts is significantly less than the average watch rate on both TikTok (9.06%) and Instagram Reels (13.08%). 

Source: Socialinsider

11. YouTube Shorts have an average comment rate of 0.05%

Comments on short-form videos are like gold dust. They’re one of the rarest forms of engagement, so don’t beat yourself up if you’re not getting many. 

0.05% might seem unusually low, but it’s in the same ballpark as both Instagram Reels (0.05%) and TikTok (0.09%).

Source: Socialinsider

12. Creators earn 16.9 subscribers per 10k Shorts views on average

If a Short you create were to get 100k views, you could expect to gain 169 new subscribers on average. 

Interestingly, the average number of subscribers earned from Shorts is less that of regular, full-length YouTube videos (22.7 subscribers per 10k views)

Importantly though, this changes depending on channel size. Amongst creators who already have over a million subscribers, Shorts performed dramatically better, earning them 29.2 new subs per 10k views compared to 11 new subs per 10k views on regular YouTube videos.

Source: Inflow Network

13. The most common video length for YouTube Shorts is 30-40 seconds

According to an analysis of 5,400 Shorts, the most common duration of Shorts is between 30 and 40 seconds, while the second most common duration is 20 and 30 seconds. However, as we’ll see next, this isn’t necessarily the sweet spot.

Source: Inflow Network

14. Shorts that are 50-60 seconds long get the most views

According to the same analysis, Shorts that last between 50 and 60 seconds get 1.7 million views, on average. That’s more than any other duration.

What’s more, views correlated strongly with video length in general. The longer the Short, the more views you can expect.

Source: Inflow Network

When to post YouTube Shorts

When should you post YouTube Shorts to get the best results? Let’s look at some statistics that shed light on that question.

15. The best time to post YouTube Shorts is 6-10 pm

According to a meta-analysis by Blogging Wizard, the optimal time to publish a YouTube Short is 6-10 PM on a weekday. However, this is only a very rough guideline—it’s important to note that the ‘best time’ varies depending on the day, niche, audience, and many other factors. On weekends, the best time to post is 12-6 PM

Source: Blogging Wizard

16. The best days to post YouTube Shorts are Mondays and Tuesdays

The same analysis also looked at the best days to post Shorts and found that Mondays and Tuesdays generally provided the best results. 

But again, it varies depending on lots of factors, so it’s best to experiment with a range of days and times and look at your own data to find the best time to post for your specific audience.

Source: Blogging Wizard

17. The average posting frequency on YouTube Shorts is 7 videos per month

That’s the number of videos the average brand that uses Shorts shares monthly, which works out at a little less than 2 a week. This is a good benchmark to aim for.

Interestingly, the number of videos posted on TikTok monthly is more than double that of YouTube Shorts at 16.

Source: Socialinsider

Most popular YouTube Shorts

What are the most popular Shorts on YouTube? Let’s look at some more statistics to find out.

18. The most viewed YouTube Short of all time has 1.5B views

The title of the most viewed Short of all time goes to @DanielLaBelle with his viral video ‘If Cleaning Was a Timed Sport. Part 2’. 

As of the time of writing, it’s racked up an incredible 1.5 billion views—that’s the equivalent of almost a fifth of all humans on Earth.

The runner-up spot goes to @Justinflom with their ‘Real life transforming Cinderella dress’ Short, which also has around 1.5 billion views.

And third place goes to @howridiculous with their Short ‘Power Tools Racing Is INTENSE!!’, which has around 1.34 billion views.

Source: Fandom

19. The most liked YouTube Short of all time has 49 million likes

@MrBeast holds the record for the most liked Short of all time, with his video ‘Would You Fly To Paris For A Baguette?’. At the time of writing, it’s received around 49 million likes.

Second place goes to ‘Our Most Intense Balloon Popping Race’ by @howridiculous with around 40 million likes.

And third place goes to @DanielLaBelle’s ‘If Cleaning was a Timed Sport’ with 38 million likes.

Source: Wikipedia

20. ‘Entertainment’ is the most popular YouTube Shorts niche (by views)

TubeBuddy analyzed 30 million videos with over 1.3 trillion views total and found that shorts in the ‘Entertainment’ niche accounted for 17% of all views, making it the most popular niche. 

Source: TubeBuddy

21. ‘Food & Drink’ is the most popular YouTube Shorts category (by views)

Tubular Labs also did their own study with different results. They found that Shorts in the ‘Food & Drink’ category were most popular, receiving 989k views per video, on average. That’s more than any other category in the study. Home, DIY & Crafts ranked in a close second place, with 921k views per video, on average. 

Source: Tubular Labs

22. ‘Video Games’ is the most popular YouTube Shorts category (by uploads)

469k Shorts in the ‘Video Games’ category were uploaded in the first half of 2023, according to a report by Tubular Labs. That’s more than any other category in the study. 

The second most-uploaded category of Shorts is ‘Movies & TV’, with around 439k uploads in the same period.

Source: Tubular Labs

YouTube Shorts for marketing statistics

Next, let’s look at a few statistics that tell us more about how useful YouTube Shorts are for marketing.

23. 43% of US ad buyers are advertising on YouTube Shorts

43% of surveyed ad buyers in the US said their largest clients were advertising on YouTube Shorts as of the end of 2022. That puts it behind TikTok (75%) and Instagram Reels (67%), but nonetheless shows it’s an important paid marketing channel for many brands.

Source: Statista⁵

24. YouTube Shorts is the #1 short-form video app for product discovery in EMEA

According to YouTube’s own research (so you should probably take it with a pinch of salt), Shorts is the #1 short-form platform that viewers go to to discover new brands and products in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, and Africa).

Often, internet users will watch Shorts to discover a new product/brand/topic, and then find a long-form YouTube video when they want to go deeper into researching that product/brand/topic. 

That’s why brands are frequently turning to the ‘short-long combo’ in their content strategy, in which they produce both short-form content and long-form video content to engage audiences at different stages of the customer journey.

Source: Think With Google

How much do YouTube Shorts pay?

Ever wondered how much you can earn from YouTube Shorts? Let’s look at some stats to find out.

25. Shorts creators earn 45% of the ad revenue they generate

Creators in the YouTube Partner Program typically receive 55% of the ad revenues earned on their videos while YouTube keeps the other 45%—but that’s only for regular, full-length YouTube videos.

For Shorts, the figures are reversed—creators take home 45% of the ad revenues while YouTube takes 55% as their cut.

Source: Wikipedia²

26. Creators earn between $0.05 and $0.07 per thousand Shorts impressions on average

Ad revenues vary from video to video on YouTube, and we typically talk about it in terms of RPM (revenue per mile). RPM is a metric that tells you how much creators earn in ad revenue per thousand views.

Under YouTube’s new revenue model for Shorts, the average Short between 40-50 seconds long now has an RPM of around $0.065, according to data published by Inflow Network. This drops to $0.055 per thousand impressions for videos that are 10-20 seconds long. 

So, you can probably expect to earn somewhere between $0.05 and $0.07 for every thousand views your videos get (but remember, this is just an estimate and figures will vary). This would mean you’d need to get 100k views to earn just $5-$7, and viral videos with a million views would still only earn $50-$70 each.

Source: Inflow Network

YouTube Shorts demographics

Unfortunately, there’s no reliable data out there about the demographics of Shorts users (that we could find). However, we were able to dig up some statistics about YouTube user demographics more generally. Here they are.

27. The most common age bracket of YouTube Shorts viewers is 25 to 34

21.3% of YouTube users fall between the ages of 25 and 34, which is more than any other age range. 

The table below shows the percentage of viewers in each age range.

Age	Percentage of YouTube viewers
18-24	15.5%
25-34	21.3%
35-44	17.5%
45-54	12.5%
55-64	9.2%
65+	9.2%

Source: Oberlo

28. 54.3% of YouTube users are male

YouTube’s gender split is relatively even compared to some other social networks, but still skews slightly towards male. 54.3% of users are male while 45.7% are female.

Source: Statista¹

29. 95% of YouTube Shorts come from individual creators

Despite being a popular marketing channel, the vast majority of Shorts are still posted by individual YouTube creators, as opposed to brands, marketers, or publishers. 

Source: Tubular Labs²

YouTube Shorts facts

Before we wrap up, let’s look at some final facts about YouTube Shorts.

30. YouTube Shorts was launched in September 2020

YouTube started working on the idea of Shorts in 2019 after TikTok exploded onto the social media scene. They wanted to compete with TikTok through their own short-form video app and in 2020, began experimenting with vertical videos up to 30 seconds in length.

The beta release of YouTube Shorts was rolled out in the US in March 2021, and globally in July of the same year.

31. YouTube launched the YouTue Shorts fund in August 2021

After launching Shorts, YouTube needed a way to incentivize creators to produce short-form videos. So in August 2021, they launched the $100 million YouTube Shorts Fund. 

It worked similarly to TikTok’s $1 billion Creator Fund in that it was ‘shared out’ amongst top creators on the platform based on their total views and engagements.

However, many creators were dissatisfied with how much the YouTube Shorts Fund paid, which is why…

32. Shorts became part of the YouTube Partner Program in February 2023

In February 2023, the YouTube Shorts Fund was replaced by the YouTube Partner Program. As of that date, eligible Shorts creators could join the regular YPP and earn a 45% share of ad revenue on their videos.

Anecdotally, creators report earning more through the YPP than they would through the Shorts Fund. 

Additionally, partnered channels can earn through other monetization methods, such as by utilizing the ‘members’ and ‘supers’ features to earn monthly subscription revenues and donations. 

33. The maximum length of a YouTube Short is 60 seconds

YouTube restricts YouTube Shorts to a maximum of 60 seconds. That’s less than TikTok, which restricts videos to a maximum of 3 minutes. 

34. Fewer than 10% of creators use YouTube’s Shorts editing tools

YouTube provides editing tools to help creators make Shorts. That includes editing tools to turn long-form videos into shorts.

However, as this statistic shows, only a small portion of creators use them. What’s more, many creators use TikTok’s editing tools instead.

35. YouTube Shorts views on connected TVs grew 75% last year

Given that Shorts are vertical videos designed to fit neatly onto a smartphone screen, you’d think they’d only be viewed on mobile. But as this stat shows, viewers are now frequently tuning in on their TVs too.

Source: Think With Google²

Final thoughts

I hope you found these YouTube Shorts statistics useful.

As these stats show, viewer appetite for short-form video content has grown incredibly quickly over the last few years, and it shows no signs of slowing down. 

And the same holds true for YouTube Shorts. The platform has taken its place alongside TikTok and Instagram Reels as one of the leading short-form video apps.

To find out more about where YouTube stands in relation to its competitors, check out our ranking of the 22 leading social media platforms.

Hungry for more facts and figures? Check out these Facebook Messenger statistics, influencer marketing statistics and live streaming statistics.

Finally, if you need help scheduling your YouTube Shorts in advance, be sure to check out my post on social media scheduling tools. That way, you can create Shorts in bulk and schedule them all in advance. You’ll also be able to cross post these to other platforms like TikTok and Instagram.