The most viewed video on YouTube is "Baby Shark Dance" by Pinkfong, with about 17.4 billion views as of late September 2026. It is the only video ever to pass 10 billion views, and it leads the runner-up, Cocomelon's "Wheels on the Bus", by roughly 8 billion. The most viewed video that is not made for kids is "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee, at just over 9.1 billion.
Below is the full top 10, the records behind it, and the patterns that explain why these videos keep growing years after they came out.
The top 10 most viewed YouTube videos (2026)
View counts move every day, so the numbers are rounded. They come from YouTube's public counters as tracked by Wikipedia's list of most-viewed videos (late August 2026) and ChartMasters (September 2026). Paid ads are left out (more on that below).
| # | Video | Channel | Views (approx.) | Uploaded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baby Shark Dance | Pinkfong | 17.4 billion | June 2016 |
| 2 | Wheels on the Bus | Cocomelon | 9.3 billion | May 2018 |
| 3 | Despacito ft. Daddy Yankee | Luis Fonsi | 9.1 billion | January 2017 |
| 4 | Bath Song | Cocomelon | 7.6 billion | May 2018 |
| 5 | Johny Johny Yes Papa | LooLoo Kids | 7.2 billion | October 2016 |
| 6 | See You Again ft. Charlie Puth | Wiz Khalifa | 7.1 billion | April 2015 |
| 7 | Phonics Song with Two Words | ChuChu TV | 7.1 billion | March 2014 |
| 8 | Shape of You | Ed Sheeran | 6.8 billion | January 2017 |
| 9 | Axel F | Crazy Frog | about 6 billion | June 2009 |
| 10 | Gangnam Style | PSY | 6 billion | July 2012 |
Just outside the top 10 sit "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars (about 5.9 billion) and "Shree Hanuman Chalisa" from T-Series Bhakti Sagar (about 5.7 billion), a devotional song that shows how big YouTube's audience in India has become.
What about ads?
Some lists include paid adverts. Temu's 2024 Big Game ad, for example, shows well over 4 billion views. Those numbers come mostly from ad placements, where a view counts when the ad plays in front of other videos. That is not the same as people choosing to watch, so most rankings, including this one, keep ads separate.
Record breakers worth knowing
- First video to 1 billion views: "Gangnam Style" by PSY, in December 2012. It was so big that YouTube had to upgrade its view counter, which was built on the assumption that no video would pass about 2.1 billion.
- First and only video to 10 billion: "Baby Shark Dance", on January 13, 2022.
- Longest time at number one: "Baby Shark Dance" took the crown from "Despacito" in November 2020 and has held it ever since, which makes it the longest-running leader in YouTube history.
- Most views in the first 24 hours (music video): BTS's "Butter" got about 108 million views on its first day in May 2021, a record that still stands. K-pop acts like BTS and BLACKPINK hold most of the top debut spots because fan communities organize to stream premieres together.
Why these videos have so many views
Look at the list and a few patterns jump out. None of them is luck.
1. Kids watch on repeat
Five of the top 10 are nursery rhymes and learning songs. Small children happily watch the same two-minute video dozens of times in a row, and parents often let autoplay run. Every loop counts as a new view. That's why Cocomelon and Pinkfong compete with the biggest pop stars on Earth.
2. No language barrier
"Baby Shark", "Gangnam Style" and "Axel F" barely need words. "Despacito" is in Spanish and still topped charts in countries that don't speak it. When a video works without translation, the whole world is its audience.
3. They are old and still recommended
Most of the top 10 were uploaded between 2014 and 2018. They've had close to a decade to collect views, and YouTube keeps recommending them because people still click and watch to the end. Views on a successful video don't stop after launch week; they compound.
4. Music is made to be replayed
The adult videos on the list are all songs. People put music on in the background, add it to playlists, and play it at parties. A good song is a video you watch 50 times, not once.
5. A strong start
Big videos get a big push on day one: a label campaign, a fan base, a premiere. That early surge tells YouTube's system the video is worth showing to more people. Without it, even great content can sit unseen.
How YouTube counts a view
YouTube doesn't publish the exact rule, but it has said a view is counted when a real person starts watching on purpose, and it filters out views that look automated. Replays count, as long as they look like normal viewing. Views can also be frozen or removed after YouTube reviews them, which is why counters sometimes pause or drop. Shorts views follow their own counting rules and are tracked separately.
For the charts above, that means one thing: these counts are YouTube's own numbers, after its filters.
What this means for your channel
You won't hit 17 billion views, and you don't need to. But the same forces work at any size:
- Make videos people replay or share. Tutorials, music, kids' content and "how-to" videos keep getting views for years.
- Think global. Clear visuals and simple language (or subtitles) widen your audience.
- Win the first 48 hours. Early watch time and likes tell YouTube to test your video with more viewers. Share every upload with your community, your email list and your other platforms on day one.
- Keep old videos alive. Update titles and thumbnails on videos that still get traffic, and link them from end screens and playlists.
- Look popular from the start. A new video with 12 views looks untested; one with a few thousand gets more clicks from the same thumbnail. Many creators use a service like LikeMan's YouTube views to give a new upload that first push, and add some YouTube likes so the ratio looks natural.
Be honest with yourself about what bought views do: they are social proof and a starting push. YouTube doesn't pay for them, and they don't replace a good video. If people click and leave in five seconds, no push will keep a video growing. Use them to get a strong video seen, not to prop up a weak one.
FAQ
What is the most viewed video on YouTube right now?
"Baby Shark Dance" by Pinkfong, with about 17.4 billion views as of September 2026. It has been number one since November 2020.
What is the most viewed music video on YouTube that isn't for kids?
"Despacito" by Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee, with just over 9.1 billion views. It was the most viewed video overall from 2017 until Baby Shark passed it in 2020.
What was the first YouTube video to reach 1 billion views?
"Gangnam Style" by PSY, in December 2012. Today it has about 6 billion views.
Which video got the most views in 24 hours?
Among music videos, BTS's "Butter" holds the record with about 108 million views in its first 24 hours (May 2021). Some ads and trailers have posted big first-day numbers too, but those rely on paid promotion.
Can buying views get a video onto these lists?
No. The top videos have billions of real, repeated views built over years. Bought views are useful as a first push so a new video looks tested and gets more clicks, but lasting growth only comes from people choosing to watch. See our guide on YouTube views for how a first push works.
The bottom line
The most viewed YouTube videos are kids' songs and global pop hits that people replay for years. Baby Shark leads with over 17 billion views, Despacito leads everything made for adults, and nothing else is close to 10 billion. The lesson for smaller channels is the same as for the giants: make something people want to watch again, give it a strong start, and let time do the rest.