The most viewed YouTube video is Baby Shark Dance by Pinkfong, with 17.49 billion views on YouTube's own counter as of October 2026. That's almost twice as many as the video in second place, Cocomelon's Wheels on the Bus, at 9.65 billion.
YouTube doesn't publish an official chart of its biggest videos, so lists online go stale fast. I've done it the simple way: I opened each contender on YouTube itself and read the view counter on 27 October 2026. Every figure below comes straight from YouTube's own pages, rounded to two decimal places.
The 12 most viewed videos on YouTube right now
| Rank | Video | Channel | Views (Oct 2026) | Uploaded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baby Shark Dance | Pinkfong | 17.49 billion | 17 June 2016 |
| 2 | Wheels on the Bus | Cocomelon | 9.65 billion | 24 May 2018 |
| 3 | Despacito | Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee | 9.16 billion | 12 January 2017 |
| 4 | A 21-second Facebook ad | 8.60 billion | 8 September 2022 | |
| 5 | Bath Song | Cocomelon | 7.68 billion | 2 May 2018 |
| 6 | Johny Johny Yes Papa | LooLoo Kids | 7.26 billion | 8 October 2016 |
| 7 | Phonics Song with Two Words | ChuChu TV | 7.14 billion | 6 March 2014 |
| 8 | See You Again | Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth | 7.12 billion | 6 April 2015 |
| 9 | Shape of You | Ed Sheeran | 6.83 billion | 30 January 2017 |
| 10 | Axel F | Crazy Frog | 6.26 billion | 16 June 2009 |
| 11 | Gangnam Style | PSY | 6.11 billion | 15 July 2012 |
| 12 | Uptown Funk | Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars | 5.93 billion | 19 November 2014 |
Upload dates are the ones YouTube shows on each video's page. Counters keep moving every minute, so treat the last digit as a snapshot, not a fixed record.
The strange video at number 4
This is the one nobody expects. Sitting above Bath Song and Ed Sheeran is a 21-second clip uploaded by Facebook's own channel. Its title isn't a title a person would search for: it reads like an internal campaign code, starting 009 1225 GetInspiredOnGroups Crafts.
A name like that suggests the clip was made to run as an advert rather than to be found and watched by choice. Either way, it's on YouTube's counter at 8.60 billion views, and it's the reason so many top 10 lists you'll find online don't match what YouTube shows today.
Children's songs beat music videos
Five of the top 12 are songs for young children: Baby Shark Dance, Wheels on the Bus, Bath Song, Johny Johny Yes Papa and the ChuChu TV phonics song. Cocomelon alone has two of them.
It makes sense when you think about how they're watched. A toddler will happily watch the same two-minute song over and over, often on a family TV, and every replay counts. A pop hit has a peak and then fades. That's also why Wheels on the Bus has now passed Despacito, which many older lists still show in second place.
The most viewed music video on YouTube
If you only count music videos, the winner is Despacito by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee, at 9.16 billion views. Here's how the music videos in the top 12 line up:
- Despacito, Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee: 9.16 billion
- See You Again, Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth: 7.12 billion
- Shape of You, Ed Sheeran: 6.83 billion
- Axel F, Crazy Frog: 6.26 billion
- Gangnam Style, PSY: 6.11 billion
- Uptown Funk, Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars: 5.93 billion
Axel F, uploaded in 2009, is the oldest video in the whole top 12, and Gangnam Style dates from 2012. Neither has a children's audience pushing it, which makes their staying power more impressive than the raw number suggests.
How to check a video's views yourself
- Open the video on YouTube in a browser or the app.
- On a computer, look under the video title for the view count. On the phone app, tap the description to see the full figure.
- Check again later if you're comparing two close videos. The gap between See You Again and the phonics song at number 7 is only around 13 million views, so the order between them can change.
If you're a creator, the view count is only part of the story. YouTube's rules for earning from views are a separate thing, and my guide to the YouTube Partner Program explains how monetisation works.
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What the list tells creators
There's a useful lesson buried in this table. Nearly every video here is short, simple and made for repeat viewing. Wheels on the Bus and Bath Song run for under four minutes each, Baby Shark Dance is 2 minutes 16 seconds, and the Facebook clip is 21 seconds. None of them depends on a news moment or a trend that dies in a week.
You won't make the next Baby Shark, but you can make videos people want to watch more than once: tutorials they come back to, explainers they share, and songs or routines that become a habit. That's the content that keeps collecting views long after you post it. Big view counts also bring recognition, and YouTube's play button awards are tied to subscribers rather than views.
My verdict
Baby Shark Dance is the most viewed video on YouTube by a distance, and it isn't close: it has nearly twice the views of the number 2. If someone shows you a top 10 that still has Despacito in second place, it's out of date, because Wheels on the Bus has passed it. And if you want the most viewed music video, that's still Despacito. For anything you plan to quote, check the counter on YouTube itself on the day, because these numbers move every day.
If you want the full set, start at the YouTube Help: 30 Guides to Channels, Subscribers, Monetisation, Thumbnails and Fixes.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most viewed YouTube video of all time?
Baby Shark Dance by Pinkfong, with 17.49 billion views on YouTube's counter as of October 2026.
What is the second most viewed video on YouTube?
Wheels on the Bus by Cocomelon, with 9.65 billion views as of October 2026. It has passed Despacito, which is now third.
What is the most viewed music video on YouTube?
Despacito by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee, with 9.16 billion views as of October 2026.
How many views does the first YouTube video have?
Me at the zoo, the first video uploaded to YouTube in April 2005, shows 446.79 million views on its YouTube page as of October 2026.
