Schedchie is the best-value YouTube scheduler in 2026: €7.99/month flat for unlimited channels and unlimited scheduled videos and Shorts. YouTube just doubled its Partner Program thresholds, so consistent volume matters more than ever.
What YouTube announced on August 10
On August 10, 2026, YouTube announced new Partner Program terms. From February 1, 2027, a channel joining YPP needs 8,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days, or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. The current bar, per YouTube's own eligibility page, is 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 watch hours in 12 months, or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days. Both routes double.
Two more details matter. Creators already in YPP are not affected. And from the same date, ad and subscription revenue on Shorts specifically requires 10 million qualified Shorts views over the last 90 days — a channel below that stays in YPP for long-form and resumes Shorts earnings when it crosses the line again.
The next six months decide which bar you face
A channel that qualifies before February 1, 2027 enters under the 4,000-hour rule and is unaffected by the change. A channel that misses the window needs twice the watch time. That makes the rest of 2026 a volume game: more videos, published consistently, straight through the Q4 season.
Committed volume is exactly what per-post caps and per-channel pricing tax. A creator running a main channel, a clips channel and a client channel pays per channel on Buffer and per seat on Hootsuite, and hits monthly post caps on Later's entry plan. Schedchie charges €7.99/month total, with no cap on channels and no cap on scheduled posts.
YouTube schedulers compared — verified August 2026
Every price below was checked on the vendor's own pricing page on August 12, 2026, and every YouTube capability comes from the vendor's own product or help pages. Footprints follow the realistic 5-account and 10-account cases, not one-channel headline rates.
| Tool | 5 accounts | 10 accounts | YouTube publishing, as the vendor states it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schedchie | €7.99/mo flat | €7.99/mo flat | Long-form videos and Shorts, custom thumbnails, no post caps |
| Buffer | $25/mo* | $50/mo* | Shorts (1:1 or 9:16); its YouTube pages document a Shorts workflow |
| Metricool | €20/mo (Starter, 5 brands) | €37/mo (10 brands) | Shorts (≤3 min) and long videos |
| Later | $18.75/mo* (Starter, 1 social set) | $37.50/mo* (Growth, 16 profiles) | Shorts scheduling; 30 posts per profile per month on Starter |
| Publer | ~$21/mo (per-account pricing) | ~$37/mo | Long videos and Shorts; Shorts take a title only |
| SocialPilot | $20/mo (Essentials) | $40/mo (Standard) | Videos and Shorts, custom thumbnails |
| SocialBee | $29/mo (Bootstrap) | $49/mo (Accelerate) | Videos any length up to 5GB; Shorts under 60s |
| Sendible | $35/mo (Core is 6 profiles) | $99/mo (Plus) | Shorts and long-form videos |
| Hootsuite | $99/user/mo* | $99/user/mo* (Standard, 10 accounts) | Video scheduling; no format detail published |
*Buffer, Later and Hootsuite display annual-billing rates on their pricing pages; the figures above use those displayed rates. Publer's plan prices render client-side, so its figures use Publer's own help-centre rates. Buffer's paid "unlimited" scheduling carries a 5,000-posts-per-channel fair-use limit per its own pricing FAQ. Full market figures live in the scheduler pricing index.
What Schedchie ships for YouTube
Schedchie publishes long-form videos and Shorts to YouTube — a vertical video up to three minutes publishes as a Short, because YouTube classifies Shorts by format. You set the title, description, category, privacy status and a custom thumbnail per video. The made-for-kids declaration and YouTube's altered-or-synthetic-content disclosure are set per post, once for a whole CSV bulk import, or saved as a preset.
Volume workflows are the point. CSV bulk import schedules a month of videos in one upload, with filenames matched to a media pool. Team seats and approvals are included on the Team plan for channels run by more than one person. Per-video views, likes and comments plus channel subscriber counts are tracked in the built-in analytics. And the Schedchie MCP server lets you schedule YouTube posts straight from Claude or ChatGPT.
The same account also covers Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon and Telegram — see the YouTube platform page for the full capability list. If LinkedIn is your second platform, the LinkedIn scheduler comparison covers that side.
FAQ
What are the new YouTube Partner Program requirements for 2027?
From February 1, 2027: 8,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days, or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. Creators already in YPP keep their status. Source: YouTube's official blog, August 10, 2026.
Can I still qualify under the old 4,000-hour threshold?
Yes. The new thresholds take effect February 1, 2027. A channel that reaches 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours (or 10 million Shorts views) and is accepted before then enters under the current terms and is not affected by the change.
What is the cheapest way to schedule YouTube videos and Shorts?
Schedchie, at €7.99/month flat. It is the cheapest unlimited social media scheduler with YouTube support in the table above — no per-channel fee and no cap on scheduled posts, where Metricool starts at €20/month for five brands and Buffer's five-channel footprint is $25/month on annual billing.
Can I schedule YouTube Shorts in advance?
Yes. In Schedchie, upload a vertical video up to three minutes, set title and thumbnail, and pick the publish time — YouTube treats the vertical format as a Short. Weeks of Shorts can be queued in one sitting via CSV import.
Do scheduled uploads count toward YouTube watch hours?
Yes. Qualified watch hours measure public viewing of your videos; how a video was uploaded or scheduled does not change how its views and watch time are counted.
YouTube gave creators a six-month window before the bar doubles. Fill it with consistent output instead of per-channel invoices — start a free Schedchie trial and schedule your first month of videos today.