Free tool · Outlier score
YouTube outlier score: views multiplier calculator
A video's outlier score is its views divided by the channel's median views on recent uploads. 1x is a normal video for that channel; 3x or more means it did something worth studying. Paste up to 20 recent view counts and the video's views to get the multiplier.
One number per line, or separated by commas. 12k and 1.2M work too.
Filled in with example numbers. Replace them with real ones.
Multiplier
4.8x
An outlier worth studying
- Channel median
- 10,900
- This video
- 52,000
12 uploads counted
How it works and how to read the result
The calculator takes the median of the view counts you paste, not the average. One viral upload pulls an average up so far that every other video looks like a flop; the median is the views of a typical video on that channel. Then it divides the video's views by that median.
Under 0.5x: well below the channel's usual. 0.5x to 1.5x: normal. 1.5x to 3x: above usual, a mild outlier. 3x and up: an outlier worth studying, because the same channel with the same audience got far more views than it usually does. 10x and up is rare. Read why outliers beat trends for what to do with one.
Compare like with like: Shorts against the channel's Shorts, long videos against long videos. A video posted yesterday is still collecting views, so check it again in a few days. Creativital does this for you with the last 20 uploads in the same format, straight from the YouTube Data API.
Questions
- What is an outlier on YouTube?
- A video that got far more views than its channel usually gets. Because it is measured against its own channel, a small channel's 4x video counts as much as a big channel's 4x video, which makes outliers a better signal of a strong idea or opening than raw view counts.
- What is a good outlier score?
- Around 1x is normal. From 1.5x the video is above its channel's usual, and from 3x it is worth studying closely. Scores of 10x and more happen, but rarely.
- Why use the median and not the average?
- One viral video can multiply a channel's average views and make every normal upload look weak. The median ignores those extremes and shows what a typical video on the channel gets.
- How many videos should I compare against?
- Up to 20 recent uploads in the same format. That is what Creativital uses. With fewer than 5 the median moves a lot from one video to the next, so treat the result as rough.
- Does it fetch view counts for me?
- No. This calculator only does the math on numbers you type, in your browser. If you want the real multiplier for a YouTube video without copying numbers, paste its link into the free check.
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