Youtube allows users to create playlists to organize and save videos for easy access. However, there is a limit to how many videos can be added to a single playlist. The maximum number of videos that can be included in a Youtube playlist is 5,000.
Why the 5,000 video limit?
Youtube has imposed the 5,000 video limit on playlists for a few key reasons:
- Performance – Very large playlists with tens of thousands of videos can slow down loading times and impact performance.
- Usability – Playlists with an excessive number of videos become impractical to browse and navigate.
- Discourage playlist misuse – The cap prevents bad actors from using playlists to store and spread prohibited or illegal content.
The 5,000 video cap provides a balance, allowing users to create robust playlists for their video collections while maintaining optimal performance and usability.
What happens when you hit the limit?
When you try to add a new video to a playlist that already contains 5,000 videos, you will get an error message that states “Playlist limit reached”.
At this point, you will not be able to add any more videos to that playlist. Your options are:
- Remove existing videos from the playlist to make room for new ones.
- Create a new playlist and start adding videos to the new playlist.
- Upgrade to YouTube Premium to get unlimited playlist length (up to 10,000 videos per playlist).
Removing videos to make room
If you want to continue adding new videos to an existing playlist, you’ll need to delete some of the existing videos in that playlist.
To remove videos:
- Go to the playlist and click the “Edit” button.
- Find the videos you want to remove, click the checkbox next to each one.
- Click the “Remove” button to delete the selected videos from the playlist.
- Save the changes to the playlist.
By clearing out existing videos in this manner, you can continue using the same playlist instead of having to create new ones.
Creating multiple playlists
Once a playlist hits the 5,000 video limit, you can simply start adding new videos to a brand new playlist.
This allows you to segregate your content into different playlists based on themes, topics or any other system that makes sense.
For example, you can have playlists like:
- My Favorites (5,000 videos)
- Comedy (5,000 videos)
- News & Politics (5,000 videos)
- Tech Reviews (5,000 videos)
With multiple playlists, you get the flexibility to organize a large video collection while working within the 5,000 cap for each list.
Upgrade to YouTube Premium
YouTube Premium subscribers can create longer playlists beyond the standard limit.
Premium users get the following playlist benefits:
- Up to 10,000 videos per playlist (double the normal limit).
- Unlimited playlists – No cap on total number of playlists.
- Mix-and-match – Add up to 10,000 videos from different channels to a single playlist.
So if you want more videos in an individual playlist, upgrading to Premium is an option.
Other Premium perks like ad-free viewing, background/offline playback, and YouTube Music access may also be appealing.
Tips for managing large playlists
Here are some tips for managing playlists effectively if you have maxed out the 5,000 video limit:
- Name playlists clearly – Use descriptive names so you can easily identify what’s in each playlist.
- Organize playlists into folders – Folders allow you to group multiple related playlists to stay organized.
- Review old playlists – Delete unused playlists or remove outdated videos to clean things up.
- Use collaborator feature – Collaborators can help add videos to team playlists.
- Embed playlist on websites – Share playlists on blogs/sites using YouTube’s embed code.
Playlist alternatives
If the standard YouTube playlist function doesn’t meet your needs, here are a couple alternative options:
YouTube Collections
Collections allow you to group together videos, playlists, and channels into one entity.
Benefits of Collections:
- No limits – Add as many videos, playlists, and channels as you want.
- Flexible – Mix different types of content in one collection.
- Organized – Arrange content in sections within the collection.
The main drawback is that Collections are private and not shareable.
Third-party apps and tools
If you want public video collections that exceed YouTube’s limits, third-party apps are an option.
Apps like Playlum and Fablist allow you to create collections with unlimited videos that can be shared via links.
The collections integrate seamlessly with YouTube using YouTube APIs.
Downsides are possible lack of support, changes if YouTube APIs change, and no native mobile app integration.
FAQ
Why do some playlists have more than 5,000 videos?
Playlists created before the 5,000 limit was imposed can exceed the cap. But new videos can no longer be added to legacy oversized playlists.
Can I get more than 5,000 videos on standard YouTube?
No, 5,000 is the hard cap per playlist for regular YouTube accounts. Upgrading to YouTube Premium is the only way to go beyond that on standard YouTube.
What is the total playlist limit?
There is no published absolute limit on the total number of playlists a single account can have. You can create as many 5,000 video playlists as you want.
Can I download a 5,000 video playlist?
Most third-party YouTube downloading tools hit limitations trying to download 5,000 video playlists. The best option is to break the playlist into smaller playlists of 50-100 videos for smooth downloading.
