YouTube Shorts vs Long Videos: Which Should You Make?

YouTube has two main video formats: Shorts and long videos. Both can grow your channel, but they do different jobs. This guide explains the difference using YouTube's help pages, checked on 25 October 2026.

What counts as a Short?

• A Short is a square or vertical video up to three minutes long.
• The three-minute limit applies to videos uploaded on or after 15 October 2024.
• Wider videos, like 16:9, are treated as long videos, even if they are short.

So if you want a 2-minute video to be a normal long video, upload it in 16:9.

How each format earns

Shorts

Ads between Shorts in the Shorts feed go into a shared monthly pool. Money is shared out based on each creator's share of engaged views. YouTube says monetizing creators keep 45% of their allocated revenue. If you use music, part of your Short's share goes to music partners first.

Long videos

Long videos earn from ads that play before, during or after the video, and from YouTube Premium viewers. Longer videos can have more ad breaks. Earnings per view are often different from Shorts, but YouTube does not publish fixed rates, and rates change by topic and country.

Which counts toward monetization?

Route	What counts	What does not count
Long-form route	4,000 public watch hours on long videos in 12 months	Watch hours from the Shorts feed
Shorts route	10 million public Shorts views in the Shorts feed in 90 days	Long video views

Both routes also need 1,000 subscribers. See our YouTube Monetization Requirements guide.

When to make Shorts

• You want new people to find your channel.
• Your idea is one quick tip, joke, fact or moment.
• You are new and want fast feedback on what people like.
• You can make them often without lowering quality.

When to make long videos

• Your topic needs explaining, like tutorials, reviews or stories.
• You want viewers to trust you and come back.
• You want watch hours for the long-form route.
• Your audience watches on TV or computer.

How to combine them

1. Make the long video first. This is your main piece.
2. Cut two or three Shorts from it. Pick the best moment, the most useful tip or the funniest part. Our Video Trimmer & Cropper can cut and reframe to vertical.
3. Make each Short work alone. It should make sense to someone who never saw the long video.
4. Point to the full video. Say "the full guide is on my channel" and mention it in the Short's title or description.
5. Use Shorts to test ideas. If a Short does very well, make a full long video on that topic.

A simple weekly mix

• Beginner: 1 long video and 2 Shorts per week.
• More time: 1 to 2 long videos and 3 to 5 Shorts per week.
• Shorts-first creator: Shorts most days, plus 1 long video a month to give fans something deeper.

Pick one you can keep for three months. Plan it in our Content Calendar.

Watch out for music claims on Shorts

YouTube says any Short over one minute with an active copyright claim is blocked worldwide until the claim is resolved. If your Short is longer than a minute, only use music you have rights to, such as tracks from the YouTube Audio Library.

Tips for both formats

• Hook viewers in the first seconds. Show the result or ask the question straight away.
• Add captions. Many people watch with sound off. Try our Auto Captions tool.
• Keep text away from the edges in Shorts so buttons do not cover it. Use our Safe Zone Checker.
• Check analytics for both formats separately. They often have different audiences.

Questions

Sources

• Understand three-minute YouTube Shorts (YouTube Help)
• YouTube Shorts monetization policies and revenue sharing (YouTube Help)
• YouTube Partner Program overview and eligibility (YouTube Help)

Platform rules change often. Always check the official pages before you rely on them.