How many videos can you upload through the YouTube API a day? Google's documentation has long described a default quota of 10,000 units and a cost of 1,600 units for videos.insert, which would allow about six uploads. In Preflight's own Google Cloud project, read on 16 September 2026, the console showed something different: a separate quota named *Video Uploads per day* with a value of 100, and one upload left the daily query quota almost untouched. This page gives both views and says which to plan with.
What the console showed
| Quota in the project | Value on 16 September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Video Uploads per day | 100, a separate quota |
| Queries per day | Used 12 after one upload, so an upload was not charged 1,600 |
| Search Queries per day | 100 |
| Adjustable | Yes, all of them are marked adjustable |
So the ceiling for the whole product was 100 uploads a day, shared by all users of that project, and not six. A different project can show different values, so read the quota page of yours before you plan around any figure.
Why one number matters
The quota belongs to the Google Cloud project, not to a YouTube channel. A scheduler that serves many channels shares one pool for all of them. Uploads of Shorts and long videos draw from the same pool, and a day of imports can empty it.
Asking for more
The route is the YouTube API Services audit and quota extension form. Preflight filed one on 5 October 2026 asking for 100,000 units a day and 500 uploads a day, and had no answer on 28 October. The wait is the practical constraint, so build a queue that spreads uploads and keep the cap in mind when you import.
Visibility
Videos uploaded through the API by a project that has not passed YouTube's compliance audit can be restricted to private. That is a separate rule from the quota and it is why a scheduled video can show as private. The Shorts side is in scheduling YouTube Shorts.
In Preflight
Each channel is a connection with its own token, a video is checked against YouTube's rules before it is sent (title, length, size), and a failure because of the quota is shown with its reason. The details are on scheduling to YouTube, the YouTube limits and the YouTube integration.
The quota values were read in Preflight's own Google Cloud console on 16 September 2026 and are not a general rule. Google's documented default is a different model; read your own project's quota page.
Questions people ask
- How many videos can I upload with the YouTube API per day?
- It depends on your project's quota. Google's documentation describes 10,000 units with 1,600 per upload, about six videos. Preflight's own project showed a separate Video Uploads per day quota of 100 on 16 September 2026.
- Does the YouTube API quota belong to the channel or the project?
- To the Google Cloud project. Every channel served by one project shares the same pool.
- How do I get a higher YouTube API quota?
- File the YouTube API Services audit and quota extension form with the units and uploads you need. The reply can take a long time, so plan around the current quota.
- Why are my API-uploaded YouTube videos private?
- Videos uploaded through the API by a project that has not passed YouTube's audit can be restricted to private. It is a separate rule from the upload quota.