Guides · 21 articles
Guides: measure it, plan it, finish it.
How to measure, plan and actually finish YouTube playlists — with numbers.
Looking for something to watch rather than how to watch it? See the best free courses on YouTube, ranked by total hours.
- 1.
How long is YKS preparation on YouTube? 15 free courses, measured
We timed 15 free TYT and AYT courses on YouTube. Sayısal AYT takes 244 to 334 hours; 90 Günde AYT Matematik is 119 hours, 79 minutes a day for 90 days.7 min read - 2.
How long does it take to learn Java on YouTube? 12 free courses, measured
We timed 12 free Java courses on YouTube. Beginner courses take 12 to 29 hours: Bro Code 12, Telusko 16, CodeWithHarry 29. Kunal Kushwaha's Java + DSA is 80.7 min read - 3.
How long is UPSC preparation on YouTube? 14 free courses, measured
We timed 14 free UPSC courses on YouTube. One course per GS subject is 430 hours, polity alone 111; CSAT adds 33. At 1.5× and 3 hours a day, about 3½ months.8 min read - 4.
How long does it take to learn Excel on YouTube? 10 free courses, measured
We timed 10 free Excel courses on YouTube. The beginner ones take 2 to 6 hours, excelisfun's job-ready basics 12, and the full Power BI class 30.7 min read - 5.
How long does it take to learn Python on YouTube? 9 free courses, measured
We timed 9 free Python courses on YouTube. Most take 9 to 19 hours: Bro Code 14, CS50P 16, Mosh 19. Corey Schafer's 87-hour playlist is a library, not a course.6 min read - 6.
How long is GATE CSE preparation on YouTube? 20 free courses, measured
We timed 20 free GATE CSE courses on YouTube. An in-depth course per subject is 670 hours; Gate Smashers covers it all in 143, an hour a day for 3 months.6 min read - 7.
How long is JEE preparation on YouTube? 13 free courses, measured
We timed 13 JEE courses on YouTube. The full Competishun course is 1,072 hours: physics 379, chemistry 380, maths 313. At 1.5×, an hour a day for two years.6 min read - 8.
How long is KPSS preparation on YouTube? 11 free courses, measured
We timed 11 free KPSS courses on YouTube. One konu anlatımı course per subject is 334 hours: Tarih 127, Matematik 71, Coğrafya 55, Vatandaşlık 46, Türkçe 35.7 min read - 9.
How long to study for CompTIA A+, Network+ and Security+ on YouTube? 10 courses measured
We timed 10 free CompTIA courses on YouTube. Professor Messer's A+ is 24 hours over both cores, Network+ 13, Security+ 15: all three in 52 hours.6 min read - 10.
How long does it take to learn DSA on YouTube? 10 free courses, measured
We timed 10 free DSA courses on YouTube. Striver's A2Z is 115 hours, Love Babbar's C++ course 96, Apna College's 70. At 1.5×, an hour a day, A2Z is 11 weeks.6 min read - 11.
How long is a free YouTube course? Hours by subject, from 267 courses
We measured 267 free YouTube courses on 24 lists. The typical one runs 24 hours: Excel and SQL about 10, university subjects 25 to 30, JEE near 100.6 min read - 12.
Why your playlist length calculator stops at 100 videos
Many playlist length tools add up only the first 100 videos and never say so. Why, how to spot a cut-off total, and a 455-hour course that came out as 91.5 min read - 13.
How to finish a YouTube course before your exam date
Work back from your exam date to the hours a day a playlist needs, with measured lengths of real UPSC, JEE and NEET series, and what to do if it's impossible.6 min read - 14.
Add a YouTube course to your calendar (Google, Apple, Outlook)
Turn a playlist into calendar sessions, one event per study day, and import the .ics file into Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook.5 min read - 15.
How long does it take to watch a YouTube playlist?
The quick answer, the maths behind it, what changes at 1.5× or 2×, and how many days a playlist really takes at an hour a day.4 min read - 16.
How to finish a long YouTube course (a schedule that survives week two)
A step-by-step way to turn a 30-, 50- or 100-hour playlist into daily sessions you'll finish, with a worked example and the mistakes that sink most plans.5 min read - 17.
How to see the total length of a YouTube playlist
Five ways to get a playlist's total duration — a calculator, by hand, an extension, a spreadsheet or the API — with exact steps on desktop and mobile.4 min read - 18.
Track your progress through a YouTube playlist (no account needed)
See how far through a YouTube playlist you are and how much time is left, with YouTube's progress bars, watched checkboxes or a spreadsheet.3 min read - 19.
Watch time at 1.25×, 1.5× and 2× — does speed-watching hurt learning?
How much time 1.5× and 2× playback really saves, what the research says about comprehension, and how to pick a speed for lectures and code-alongs.5 min read - 20.
Why the playlist duration looks wrong (and what "unavailable" means)
Private and deleted videos, region blocks, live streams, caching and duplicates: every reason a playlist total can differ from what you expected.4 min read - 21.
YouTube playlist duration API — get playlist length programmatically
Get a playlist's total duration in code, from our JSON endpoint or the YouTube Data API v3, with JavaScript and Python, ISO 8601 parsing and the quota maths.5 min read