PlaylistTime / Creator tools / Video duration checker
YouTube video duration checker: the exact length of one video or 50
Paste one YouTube link or a whole list to see each video's exact length in seconds, the total and average, and how long they take at faster speeds.
More options
This YouTube video duration checker shows the exact length of a YouTube video without opening it. Paste a link and you get the length as hours, minutes and seconds and in total seconds, straight from YouTube's own data. Paste a list of up to 50 links and you also get the total duration, the average, the longest and the shortest, and the total time at 1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75x and 2x. Use it to check a video's length before you watch, to add up the lengths of several videos for a class or an edit, or to check the length of a Short. For a whole playlist, the playlist length calculator reads every video in it for you.
How does the duration checker work?
YouTube stores each video's length in the YouTube Data API as an ISO 8601 duration, for example PT3M34S for 3 minutes 34 seconds, or PT1H2M5S for 1 hour 2 minutes 5 seconds. The checker reads the video IDs from your links, asks the API for up to 50 videos in one request, and turns each duration into hours:minutes:seconds and seconds.
Worked example from our test on 26 October 2026, four well-known videos:
| Video | API duration | Length | Seconds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Me at the zoo (jawed) | PT19S | 0:19 | 19 |
| Never Gonna Give You Up (Rick Astley) | PT3M34S | 3:34 | 214 |
| Gangnam Style (officialpsy) | PT4M13S | 4:13 | 253 |
| Despacito (LuisFonsiVEVO) | PT4M42S | 4:42 | 282 |
Together: 768 seconds, so a total of 12:48 and an average of 3:12. At 1.5x the four take 8:32, at 2x 6:24.
How to check the length of a YouTube video, step by step
Step 1: Copy the links
Copy one video's link, or several. Watch, youtu.be, Shorts, live and embed links all work, and so do bare 11-character video IDs.
Step 2: Paste them and press Check length
Paste one link per line (or separated by spaces or commas), up to 50.
Step 3: Read the lengths
Each video shows its length as hours:minutes:seconds and in seconds. With several videos you also get the total, average, longest and shortest.
Step 4: Use the speeds and exports
See the total at 1.25x to 2x (or your own speed under More options), copy the list or download a CSV, and copy a link that brings the list back.
How to see a video's length without opening it
On YouTube the length is the small time label on the corner of a thumbnail, and the Shorts feed shows no length at all. Copy the link from Share, then Copy link, paste it here, and you get the exact length without playing the video. This page never plays anything.
How long is a YouTube Short?
Paste a Shorts link (youtube.com/shorts/...) like any other link: the checker reads the same duration field. Shorts uploaded from 15 October 2024 can be up to 3 minutes long. To check a file before you upload it, use the Shorts checker.
Total length of several YouTube videos
Paste up to 50 links, one per line. Repeated links are counted once. The total leaves out videos that cannot be timed (private, deleted, live now or not started yet), and the page says how many were left out. Sort the list by length under More options, copy it as text, or download a CSV for a spreadsheet. More than 50 videos, or a whole channel? Use the multiple playlist calculator or the channel length calculator.
How long does a video take at 1.5x or 2x?
Divide the length by the speed. A 10:00 video takes 6:40 at 1.5x and 5:00 at 2x. The checker shows the total at 1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75x and 2x for whatever you pasted; under More options you can add any speed from 0.25x to 16x. For more on speeds, see the watch time calculator.
Why does a live stream show no length?
While a stream is live, or before a premiere or scheduled stream starts, it has no final length, so the checker marks it as live now or not started yet. Once a stream ends and stays on the channel, it gets a normal length. In our test a 24/7 stream that has been running for years returned a length of more than 1,400 days, which is what the checker then shows.
Why is the length different from what YouTube shows?
YouTube's API documentation says the duration it returns might differ slightly, for example by 1 second, from the actual playback length. YouTube's player and thumbnails also round, and ads are not part of the length. Chapters, end screens and intros are part of the video, so they are counted.
How accurate is this checker?
It shows YouTube's own duration for each video, to the second, with the 1-second caveat above. Answers are cached for up to an hour, so a video replaced or trimmed in the last hour can still show its old length. Private and deleted videos cannot be read by anyone outside the channel and are marked as not found.
Sources
- YouTube Data API: videos resource (contentDetails.duration, liveBroadcastContent), Google for Developers, page updated 15 Oct 2026.
- YouTube Data API: videos.list (1 quota unit a call), Google for Developers, checked 27 Oct 2026.
- Understand three-minute YouTube Shorts, YouTube Help, checked 26 Oct 2026.
- ISO 8601 durations, Wikipedia, checked 26 Oct 2026.
Why we built this duration checker
Most duration checkers take one link at a time, round to the minute, or make you open the video. Nitin Raja, who builds PlaylistTime, tested a lot of these pages before building this one: after testing out a lot of websites, he found what people need and what they do not, and built around that. People need the exact length, many videos at once with a total, and the time at the speed they actually watch.
What this checker does
- Reads video IDs from watch, youtu.be, Shorts, live and embed links or bare IDs, up to 50 at a time, without repeats.
- Asks the official YouTube Data API for their durations in one request (1 unit of YouTube's daily allowance for all 50) and shows each to the second.
- Adds up the total, average, longest and shortest, and divides by playback speeds.
- What it does not do: it does not play videos, read playlists (the playlist calculator does that), or count ads. It stores nothing; the share link holds only the video IDs.
Why it is different
| This checker | A typical duration checker | |
|---|---|---|
| Precision | To the second, plus total seconds | Often rounded |
| How many | Up to 50 links at once, with a total | One link |
| Speeds | 1.25x to 2x and your own | Rarely |
| Live and missing videos | Marked and left out of the total | Errors or zero |
| Export | Copy, CSV and a share link | None |
Questions
How do I find out how long a YouTube video is?
Paste its link into the duration checker above. You get the exact length in hours, minutes and seconds and in seconds, from YouTube's own data, without playing it.
Can I check the length of several YouTube videos at once?
Yes. Paste up to 50 links, one per line. You get each length plus the total, average, longest and shortest.
How long is a video at 2x speed?
Half its length: a 10-minute video takes 5 minutes at 2x and 6 minutes 40 seconds at 1.5x. The checker shows the total at each speed.
Does this work for YouTube Shorts?
Yes. Paste the Shorts link and you get its length. Shorts uploaded since 15 October 2024 can be up to 3 minutes long.
Why does a live stream have no length?
A stream that is live now or has not started has no final length yet. After it ends and stays on the channel it gets a normal length.
Can I check the length of a whole playlist?
Use the playlist length calculator on PlaylistTime's home page: it reads every video in a playlist, any size.
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Built by Nitin Raja. Last updated 26 October 2026.