How-To

How to Make a Playlist on YouTube

Updated 10 min read
Illustration of an ordered vertical column of emerald video cards forming a playlist above a repeat-arrows symbol, with the title 'How to Make a Playlist on YouTube'

To make a playlist on YouTube, open a video you want in it, select Save, create a new playlist, name it, pick Public, Unlisted or Private, and confirm. You can start from a Short too, on a computer or in the YouTube app. Channel owners get a fuller form in YouTube Studio under Create, then New playlist. Checked against YouTube Help: Create & manage playlists (Computer)

Here’s how to make a playlist on YouTube on each surface, then how to fill it, share it and fix common errors. Playlists are one of the organising tools in growing a YouTube channel.

Your goalRouteWhat you set
Collect videos as you watchSave on a video or ShortName and privacy
Organise your channel’s videosYouTube Studio: Create, then New playlistTitle, description, visibility, sort order, videos
Build a list with friendsShare, then Invite collaboratorsWho can add videos, voting

Table of Contents

How to make a playlist on YouTube on a computer

Go to the watch page of a video or Short you want in the playlist, click More, then Save, then Create new playlist, and give it a name. YouTube’s steps for youtube.com:

On a computer: youtube.com:

  1. Go to the watch page of a video that you want in the playlist.
  2. Click More > Save > Create new playlist > Enter a name for the playlist.
  3. Use the box to select your playlist's privacy setting. If it's private, only you can view the playlist.
  4. Click Create.

Checked against YouTube Help: Create & manage playlists (Computer).

YouTube caps how many public playlists a channel can create each day, across the YouTube app, YouTube Music and the YouTube API; access to advanced features raises the cap.

How do I make a playlist on YouTube on my phone?

In the YouTube app, open the video and tap More, then Save, then Change on the pop-up, then New playlist. Don’t skip Change: Save on its own puts the video in the last playlist you saved to, or in Watch Later. YouTube gives one set of steps for Android and iPhone, plus two other starting points, a Short and your profile’s Playlists section:

On any device: From a video:

  1. Go to the watch page of a video that you want in your playlist.
  2. Below the video, tap More > Save to automatically save it to the last playlist you've saved to, or to your Watch Later playlist.
  3. To change where your video is saved, tap Change on the pop-up.
  4. Tap New playlist > Enter a name for the playlist.
  5. Use the box to select your playlist's privacy setting. If it's private, only you can view the playlist.
  6. Tap Create.

On any device: From a Short:

  1. Go to the watch page of a Short that you want in your playlist.
  2. Tap More > Save to playlist > New playlist > Enter a name for the playlist.
  3. Use the box to select your playlist's privacy setting.
  4. Tap Done.

On any device: From the You tab:

  1. Tap your profile picture.
  2. In the "Playlists" section, tap New playlist.
  3. To add to the playlist, select one or more videos from your watch history.
  4. Tap NEXT.
  5. Give your playlist a title and set its privacy.
  6. Tap CREATE.

Checked against YouTube Help: Create & manage playlists (Android phone & tablet; iPhone & iPad variant matches).

How do channel owners create a playlist in YouTube Studio?

Sign in to YouTube Studio on a computer and click Create, then New playlist. This is the route for organising a channel: on top of the name and visibility you get from Save, the form takes a description, a sort order and videos. Titles can be up to 150 characters and descriptions up to 5,000, and neither can include < or >.

On a computer: YouTube Studio:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. In the top-right corner, click CREATE > New playlist.
  3. Enter a playlist title and description.
  4. Use the drop-down box to select your playlist's visibility setting.
  5. Choose how videos are going to be arranged on the drop-down menu next to it.
  6. Click ADD VIDEOS.
  7. Click CREATE.

Checked against YouTube Help: Manage playlists in YouTube Studio (Computer).

Your existing playlists sit under Content, then Playlists; YouTube notes this may not be available with supervised accounts.

How do you add more videos to a playlist?

Use Save again, or work from Studio. In the YouTube app, Save drops a video into the last playlist you saved to, or into Watch Later, and Change on the pop-up lets you choose where it goes instead. Checked against YouTube Help: Create & manage playlists (Android phone & tablet; iPhone & iPad variant matches) In Studio, open Content, then Playlists: Edit on YouTube opens a playlist so you can add videos, reorder, share or add collaborators. Checked against YouTube Help: Manage playlists in YouTube Studio (Computer)

For a video you uploaded, the playlist is also one of the details you can change in YouTube Studio: select Content, click the video’s title or thumbnail, change the setting and select Save. Checked against YouTube Help: Edit video settings

Should a YouTube playlist be public, unlisted or private?

Choose by audience. Anyone can see a public playlist, anyone with the link can see an unlisted one, and a private playlist is visible only to you and whomever you choose: the same three settings YouTube uses for videos. Checked against YouTube Help: Change video privacy settings

Two knock-on effects: a collaborative playlist must be public or unlisted, and an unlisted video stays out of YouTube’s search results unless someone adds it to a public playlist.

Can other people add videos to my playlist?

Yes, once you invite them: open the playlist, select Share, then Invite collaborators, and choose who to invite. Collaborators can add videos but remove only the ones they added. Collaborative playlists switch voting on by default; votes are anonymous, one per video.

On any device: Add collaborators:

  1. Open your playlist.
  2. Select Share.
  3. Select Invite collaborators.
  4. Choose who you'd like to invite.

On any device: Turn off collaboration:

  1. At the top of your playlist, select the profile photos of your collaborators.
  2. Turn on or off Collaborate.

Checked against YouTube Help: Collaborate on playlists.

Turning Collaborate off removes every collaborator at once. Voting can be open to everyone, limited to collaborators or off, and YouTube may turn it off on some playlists for safety reasons.

How do you reorder or delete a playlist?

Open the playlist and drag a video up or down. That doesn’t work for playlists made up only of Shorts, and dragging inside the playlist panel on a watch page changes the order only temporarily. Checked against YouTube Help: Create & manage playlists

To delete a playlist, open its More menu:

On a computer:

  1. Go to one of your playlists.
  2. Click More.
  3. Select Delete playlist.
  4. Confirm that you want to delete your playlist by selecting Delete.

On any device: YouTube app:

  1. Tap your profile picture.
  2. Tap the playlist that you want to delete under the "Playlists" section.
  3. Tap More on the playlist.
  4. Tap Delete playlist.
  5. Tap DELETE.

Checked against YouTube Help: Create & manage playlists.

Once it’s gone, the playlist’s URL and title disappear from YouTube Analytics, its watch time stays in broader reports, and it may live on in viewers’ watch histories.

Why can’t I add a video to a playlist?

Start with the video’s audience setting. YouTube turns off Save to playlist and Save to Watch Later on the watch pages of videos set as made for kids. Checked against YouTube Help: Watching "made for kids" content Its playlist article adds that you can’t add a made-for-kids video or channel to a playlist from a homepage. Checked against YouTube Help: Create & manage playlists (Computer)

Can’t create a playlist at all? A Google Account lets you watch, like and subscribe, but making playlists takes a YouTube channel; see how to create a YouTube channel. Checked against YouTube Help: Create a YouTube channel If you have one, you may have reached the daily limit on new public playlists.

Can a YouTube playlist become a show or a podcast?

Yes, both, in YouTube Studio. For a show, open Content, then Playlists, hover over the playlist, click Options and choose Add show features. A show arranges the videos into seasons and episodes, and YouTube says it may become eligible for search, “Recommended shows” and “Continue watching”. The option was in YouTube Help by July 2026, with steps for Studio on a computer only:

On a computer: YouTube Studio: add show features to a playlist:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. From the left menu, select Content.
  3. Click Playlists.
  4. Hover over the playlist and click Options.
  5. Click Add show features.
  6. To remove show features for a playlist, click Remove show features.

On a computer: YouTube Studio: create a new show:

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. In the top-right corner, click Create > New show.
  3. Set your show's details.
  4. Click Done.

Checked against YouTube Help: Create shows from your videos.

Every video starts in Season 1. Episode numbers follow your manual playlist order if you’ve set one, otherwise oldest to newest by publish date. A Shorts series needs a playlist of only Shorts, portrait or square, each up to 180 seconds; YouTube Shorts best practices covers making them. Releasing a new episode? You can schedule the YouTube video for a set time or hold a YouTube Premiere for a shared first viewing.

A podcast on YouTube is a playlist too: in Studio, Content, Playlists, the playlist’s Menu, then Set as podcast, and it needs a square podcast thumbnail. Checked against YouTube Help: Manage playlists in YouTube Studio (Computer) Creating a podcast is an intermediate feature, unlocked by verifying a phone number. Checked against YouTube Help: Learn about feature access for YouTube Creators

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YouTube playlist FAQ

How do I make a playlist on YouTube on my phone?

In the YouTube app, open the video and tap More, then Save. Save alone files it in the last playlist you saved to, or in Watch Later, so tap Change on the pop-up, then New playlist. Enter a name, choose the privacy setting and tap Create. You can also start from a Short or from your profile’s Playlists section.

How many videos can a YouTube playlist have?

YouTube’s playlist help pages don’t state a maximum number of videos; its article on collaborative playlists mentions thousands of videos or songs. What YouTube does limit is creation: each channel can create only a limited number of public playlists a day.

Can other people add videos to my YouTube playlist?

Yes, if you invite them: open the playlist, select Share, then Invite collaborators. The playlist must be public or unlisted. Collaborators can add videos and can remove only the videos they added, and turning Collaborate off removes all collaborators.

Why can’t I add a video to a playlist on YouTube?

Check whether the video is set as made for kids: YouTube turns off Save to playlist on made-for-kids watch pages, and a made-for-kids video or channel can’t be added to a playlist from a homepage. Making playlists also requires a YouTube channel.

How do I turn a YouTube playlist into a show?

In YouTube Studio on a computer, select Content, click Playlists, hover over the playlist, click Options and choose Add show features. The videos go into Season 1 by default, and YouTube says a show may be eligible for search, Recommended shows and Continue watching. YouTube’s article gives no app steps.

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