If you have created multiple playlists on Youtube and tried to add more videos, only to find yourself hitting the platform’s limit, you’ve come to the right place. This comprehensive guide will explain everything you need to know about Youtube’s maximum playlist size, why you may be exceeding it, and most importantly, what you can do to work around it.
What is Youtube’s maximum playlist size?
Currently, Youtube allows each user account to create a maximum of 5000 playlists. In addition, each playlist can contain a maximum of 5000 videos. So in total, every Youtube account is limited to having 25 million video items across all created playlists.
This limit has been in place for a long time, ever since playlists were introduced years ago. While Youtube has increased limits on other features like longer videos, more storage space etc, the maximum playlist size has remained unchanged.
Why am I exceeding Youtube’s playlist limit?
There are a couple of reasons why you may be hitting the 5000 video per playlist or total 25 million video items limit:
- You create multiple long playlists for organizing videos – for example separate playlists for different topics, genres, artists etc
- You frequently add newly released or discovered videos into existing playlists
- You create playlists to save videos for viewing later
- You have been actively using Youtube for years and have not pruned old playlists
In essence, power users who actively engage with Youtube by creating numerous playlists and adding videos frequently are the most likely to exceed the limits.
What happens when you exceed the maximum playlist size?
If you try to add more videos to a playlist that already contains 5000 videos, you will see an error message saying “Playlist size limit exceeded”.
Similarly, if you try to create a new playlist after already having 5000 total playlists, Youtube will not allow you to create any more playlists and show an error message.
The playlist size limit is strictly enforced by Youtube, so you cannot actually add more videos or playlists beyond those amounts. Your only options are to delete existing playlists or remove videos within playlists to free up space.
How to deal with and work around playlist size limits
Here are some tips to deal with Youtube’s maximum playlist size restrictions:
- Audit your current playlists and remove unused or irrelevant ones
- Remove listened to or watched videos from playlists over time
- Limit playlist sizes to 100 or 200 videos instead of maxing out at 5000
- Divide long playlists into logical parts like volumes or chapters
- Create a few mega playlists instead of too many small specialized ones
- Make use of Youtube’s Watch Later feature instead of separate playlists
- Use third-party playlist manager sites and apps
- Download playlist videos to your device storage using a downloader
Let’s explore these workaround options in more detail:
1. Remove unused or irrelevant playlists
Go through all your current playlists and identify ones you no longer need or use. For example, an “Old Songs” playlist from 5 years ago or niche topic compilations you lost interest in. Deleting such unused playlists frees up space for new playlists.
Be ruthless and delete any playlist where you can’t remember why you created it or don’t foresee watching those videos again.
2. Remove already watched or heard videos
Many times playlists are created to save videos for viewing or listening later. Once you have already seen or heard them, there is no need to keep those videos in the playlist.
Periodically scan your playlists and remove videos you have already watched or listened to earlier. This will create free slots to add new videos.
3. Limit playlist sizes
Instead of creating playlists with the maximum 5000 videos, impose your own smaller limits like 100 or 200. This allows you to create more focused and relevant playlists centered around specific topics or genres.
For example create multiple playlists for Rock Songs from 60s, 70s, 80s etc instead of one giant 5000 song Rock Music playlist.
4. Split long playlists into volumes
If you have a playlist that has hit the 5000 video limit with still more potential videos to add, divide it into logical volumes or chapters.
For example Playlist Title – Vol. 1, Playlist Title – Vol. 2, instead of cramming everything into a single overloaded playlist.
5. Use fewer mega playlists
Instead of trying to create specialized niche playlists, compile videos into a few mega playlists based on broader categories.
For instance, have an Entertainment playlist for funny videos, movie trailers, talk show clips etc rather than separate smaller playlists.
6. Use Youtube’s Watch Later feature
Youtube allows you to easily save videos to Watch Later without needing to create separate playlists. Use this in-built feature instead of your own Watch Later playlist.
Periodically clear out videos you have seen from Watch Later to make space for newly added ones.
7. Third-party playlist managers
There are websites and apps that allow you to manage and organize Youtube playlists with more flexibility. They provide features like smart playlists based on criteria, adding notes to videos, unlimited playlists and videos etc.
Some popular third-party playlist managers are PlayTube, TubeQueue, Playlista and so on.
8. Download playlist videos
If you want to preserve playlists beyond the size limits, use a Youtube downloader tool or browser extension. Download full playlists or individual videos to store offline on your device storage.
Now you can delete those playlists on Youtube itself to free up space while still retaining the actual video files.
In Conclusion
Exceeding Youtube’s maximum playlist size can be annoying if you are an active user. But with smart playlist management and the workarounds suggested above, you can continue to enjoy creating and organizing playlists even with the restrictions.
The key takeaways are to periodically remove unused playlists, delete watched videos, split up long playlists, minimize niche playlists and leverage Youtube’s Watch Later feature. Using third-party tools also helps override the limits.
With some discipline and planning, the playlist size limits should not pose a major hindrance to getting the most out of Youtube.
