GUIDE · COMPETITORS
How to compare your YouTube channel with competitors
Compare your channel with up to three public channels on subscribers, total views, videos and views per video, from your own PC. What it can and cannot say.
Pick the right three
A comparison is only useful against channels doing your job: same topic, similar format, a similar stage. A channel ten times your size tells you about the niche, not about your last month.
What the numbers can say
Rivals shows subscribers, total views, video count and views per video for you and up to three public channels. Views per video is usually the fairest single figure between channels of different ages. Subscriber counts are rounded to three significant figures by YouTube for every channel, so look at weeks, not days.
What they cannot say
Public figures do not include watch time, retention, click-through rate or revenue, for anyone. A competitor’s higher views per video is a reason to study their titles, topics and openings, not proof that one change will work for you.
Step by step
- Open Rivals. Rivals is in the left menu. Following channels is part of Pro and Studio.
- Paste a channel. In Channel handle or URL paste an @handle, a youtube.com/@handle or youtube.com/channel/UC… address, or a UC channel ID, then press Follow.
- Repeat up to three times. Up to three channels can be followed. Unfollow one to make room for another.
- Read the table. Compare subscribers, views, videos and views per video. Each rival shows when it was last read, and the last reading is kept when you are offline.
Sources
Keep reading
Rivals · Weekly social media review checklist · Plans and pricing