YouTube End Screens Explained: How to Use Them Effectively (2026)
What is YouTube end screens?
YouTube end screens are interactive overlays that appear in the final 5–20 seconds of a video. They can promote other videos, playlists, your channel, websites, or merchandise. End screens help increase watch time by guiding viewers to more content and can boost subscriber growth by featuring a subscribe button.
What is YouTube end screens?
End screens are clickable interactive elements that appear during the final 5 to 20 seconds of a YouTube video. They allow creators to promote additional content, encourage subscriptions, and drive traffic to external links directly within the video player. End screens are one of YouTube's most effective tools for increasing session watch time.
YouTube offers several end screen element types: video or playlist recommendations (which can be set to auto-select based on what is best for each viewer, or manually chosen), a subscribe button featuring your channel icon, a channel link (for collaborations or featured channels), and link elements that can point to approved external websites, merchandise, or crowdfunding campaigns.
The strategic placement of end screens significantly impacts their effectiveness. The final 20 seconds of a video is prime real estate because viewers who reach this point are highly engaged — they watched the entire video and are most likely to click on related content. Pairing end screens with verbal calls-to-action dramatically increases click-through rates.
End screens work best when the promoted content is genuinely relevant to the video being watched. YouTube's auto-select feature is often effective because it uses viewer data to recommend the most relevant content from your channel. However, manually selecting specific videos or playlists can be more effective when you have a clear content series.
To add end screens, go to YouTube Studio, select a video, and click End Screens in the editor. You can choose from pre-made templates or build custom layouts. The end screen editor shows a preview of how elements will appear over your video's final seconds. Test different layouts and promoted content to find what generates the most clicks and watch time for your channel. Use TubeAnalytics to track which end screen strategies drive the most additional views and subscriber growth.
Key YouTube end screens metrics
End Screen Element Clicks
Number of clicks on your end screen video, playlist, and subscribe elements
Benchmark: Higher is better; compare across videos
End Screen CTR
Percentage of viewers who click an end screen element
Benchmark: 2–5% is typical, 8%+ is strong
Subscriber Conversion Rate
How many end screen subscribe clicks convert to actual subscribers
Benchmark: Varies; track growth correlated with end screen usage
YouTube end screens examples
Series Playlist End Screen Strategy
A history education channel creates 5-part series on each topic. Each video's end screen promotes the next video in the series. This generates 35% of their total watch time from end screen clicks, as viewers binge through entire series in a single session.
Subscribe Button Placement Test
A vlog channel tested end screens with and without the subscribe element. Adding the subscribe button increased new subscribers by 22% per video compared to only promoting other videos. The visual reminder prompted engaged viewers to subscribe before leaving.
Published by TubeAnalytics, founded by Mike Holp. Data sources and limitations · Corrections and support.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I add end screens to my YouTube videos?
- Go to YouTube Studio, click Content, and select the video you want to edit. Click End Screens in the left sidebar. You can choose from pre-made templates or manually add elements by clicking + Element. Available elements include video/playlist, subscribe button, channel link, and link (for approved external sites). Drag elements to position them and adjust the timing within the final 5–20 seconds. Preview your layout, then click Save. You can also add end screens during the upload process or edit them on existing videos at any time.
- What is the best end screen layout?
- The most effective end screen layout depends on your goals. For maximum watch time, use two video elements promoting related content and one subscribe button. For subscriber growth, make the subscribe button prominent and pair it with one highly engaging video. For content series, promote the next video in the sequence. Generally, a clean layout with 2–4 elements performs better than cramming in as many as possible. Place the subscribe button where it is easily visible and ensure video thumbnails are large enough to read. Test different layouts to find what works best for your specific audience.
- Do end screens increase watch time?
- Yes, end screens can significantly increase total watch time when used strategically. By guiding viewers to related content, end screens create viewing sessions where one video leads to another. This is especially effective when promoting videos in a series or on related topics. Channels that consistently use relevant end screens often see 20–40% of their total watch time come from end screen-initiated views. The key is promoting genuinely relevant content — viewers who just watched a cooking tutorial are more likely to click on another recipe video than a gaming video.
- Can I use end screens on YouTube Shorts?
- No, end screens are not available on YouTube Shorts. Shorts are a vertical, short-form format that does not support the end screen editor or interactive elements. End screens only work on standard horizontal YouTube videos. For Shorts, focus on strong hooks, clear calls-to-action in your narration, and on-screen text directing viewers to your channel or related content. You can mention your long-form videos in Shorts to drive traffic to content where end screens are available.
- How many end screen elements can I add?
- YouTube allows up to 4 end screen elements per video, which can include any combination of video/playlist elements, subscribe buttons, channel links, and approved external links. The elements must fit within the final 5–20 seconds of your video and cannot overlap each other or YouTube's interface elements. Most creators find that 2–3 elements provide the best balance between visibility and clutter. More elements can reduce individual click-through rates because viewers have too many choices. Focus on the elements most aligned with your current goals.
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