vidIQ - Invidious

vidIQ

We help YouTubers get more views, more subscribers, and get monetized. Let's grow together!

This is YOUR YouTube education!

Here you will find tips, tricks, and guides on how to grow your YouTube channel. We will show you what you need to know and what actions you need to take. We'll also show you how our tools can help you make the right data-driven decisions for your YouTube channel!

If this sounds like something that could help grow your channel then make sure to download vidIQ and subscribe to the channel now!

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We analyzed 331 MILLION YouTube Shorts published in the last 90 days and...

15-29 seconds is the most crowded length on YouTube.
121M Shorts, roughly 37% of everything published.

It also has the LOWEST average views of any length bucket. Most competition, most mediocre results.

Under 15 seconds looks great on the surface: highest median views of any bucket.

But it has the lowest like rate by far (1.05%).

The sweet spot: 45-90 seconds.

• 45-59s Shorts pull the highest average views of any length
• Odds of hitting 1M+ views: 0.91% vs 0.53% for 15-29s

That's about 70% better odds of a breakout, just from length.

Engagement climbs the longer you go. Median like rate by length:

Under 15s: 1.05%
15-29s: 1.66%
30-44s: 1.9%
45-59s: 2.06%
60-89s: 2.29%
2-3 min: 2.79%

Longer Shorts filter for viewers who actually chose to watch.

What about 2-3 minute Shorts?

Highest rate of 100K+ videos (5.84%) and the best engagement of any bucket.

But retention is unforgiving at that length. Only go there if your story truly needs it.

TL;DR

• The most popular length, 15 to 29 seconds, is also the most competitive.
• 45 to 90 seconds consistently stands out.
• Longer Shorts can earn stronger engagement, but only if you hold attention.

Data: 331 million YouTube Shorts published in the last 90 days from the vidIQ database.

How long are your Shorts?