Yes, you can easily create playlists on YouTube for free without needing a YouTube Premium subscription. Playlists allow you to organize and save videos to watch later or share with others.
Benefits of YouTube playlists
Playlists on YouTube offer many benefits:
- Save videos to watch later. Add videos to a playlist to create a collection of videos to watch at your convenience.
- Organize videos by topic or mood. Make themed playlists like “Cooking Videos,” “Music to Study to,” or “Funny Cat Videos.”
- Watch videos offline. If you pay for YouTube Premium, you can download playlist videos to watch offline when you don’t have an internet connection.
- Share videos with friends. Share playlists with others to recommend videos or create a group-watching experience.
- Re-watch favorites. Add favorite or funny videos to a playlist so you can easily find and watch them again.
- Queue up a music mix. Make a playlist of songs to serve as a customized music mix.
- Save watch later videos. Use playlists to collect interesting videos to watch at a later time.
How to create a playlist on YouTube
It only takes a few steps to create a playlist on YouTube:
- Log into your YouTube account. You’ll need to be logged in to create playlists.
- Find a video you want to add. Search for videos or browse YouTube to find content.
- Click the “Save” button below the video. This is the button that shows a plus (+) icon.
- Select “Create new playlist” or choose an existing playlist.
- Name your playlist. Give the playlist a descriptive name if creating a new one.
- Continue adding videos. Search for more videos to add to build your playlist.
- Arrange your playlist. Drag and drop to reorder videos in your customized playlist.
- Make your playlist public or private. You can keep playlists private if you don’t want to share them.
That’s all there is to it! You can create as many customized playlists as you want for free on YouTube.
Creating playlists on mobile
You can also easily create playlists right from the YouTube mobile app on your smartphone or tablet:
- Open the YouTube app and find a video to add.
- Tap the “Save” icon below the video thumbnail image.
- Choose “Create new playlist” or select an existing playlist.
- Name your playlist if creating a new one.
- Tap Done once you’ve added videos.
- Access your playlists from your YouTube library.
The process works the same whether you’re using an iPhone, Android, iPad, or other mobile device. Creating playlists on mobile is a great way to save videos while browsing on your phone or tablet.
Managing your YouTube playlists
Once you’ve created playlists, you can continue to add, rearrange, and remove videos:
- Add videos by tapping the “Save” icon under any video, then selecting your playlist.
- Reorder videos by dragging and dropping them into your preferred order.
- Delete videos by hovering over the video thumbnail and clicking the “X” icon.
- Rename playlists by clicking the 3 dots next to the playlist name and selecting “Rename.”
- Make playlists private/public using the toggle switch under playlist settings.
- Delete entire playlists by opening playlist settings and choosing “Delete playlist.”
Playlists are dynamic so you can continue to add new videos over time. YouTube allows up to 200 videos per playlist.
Sharing YouTube playlists
You can easily share playlist with friends, family, followers, or the public:
Get a shareable playlist link – Click the “Share” icon next to a playlist to copy the URL.
Share to social media – Use the social share buttons to share playlists on Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Share via YouTube messaging – Send playlists through YouTube messaging to friends.
Embed on websites – Embed public playlists on websites with the embed code.
Share via email/text – Copy the playlist URL and paste it in an email or text.
YouTube allows you to share both public and private playlists. Private playlists will require viewers to sign-in to see the videos.
Pro tips for YouTube playlists
Take your YouTube playlists to the next level with these tips:
Use descriptive names – Name playlists something recognizable so it’s easy to find later.
Organize your library – Create playlists around topics, activities, moods, genres etc. to stay organized.
Make playlists collaborative – Turn playlists into group projects by allowing friends to add videos.
Embed on your website – Embed playlists on websites, blogs, etc. to share your favorite videos.
Download for offline viewing – Use YouTube Premium to download playlists and watch offline when traveling.
Create folders – Organize playlists into folders to manage large libraries of playlists.
Make videos private – Mark individual videos as private in public playlists to hide those you don’t want to share.
Creating customized playlists is one of the best YouTube features for organizing your video collection. Playlists allow you to save videos for repeated viewing or create curated collections around topics you care about.
Best of all, playlist creation is completely free for all YouTube accounts. Take advantage of playlists to take control of your YouTube video library.
