Ijharul Islam
To clip a YouTube video, open it, select Clip under the player (on a phone, swipe the buttons under the video to find it), drag the selector over 5 to 60 seconds, give the clip a title and share the link. That works for most public videos, including other people's. To make clips from your own videos that you can post as Shorts or on other platforms, use YouTube Studio or cut the original file in an editor.
The two are different things. A YouTube Clip is a shareable link to a section of someone's video; it plays on YouTube and stays tied to the original. Clipping your own video produces a new video file you own. This guide covers both.
The short answer
Use YouTube's Clip button: open the video, tap Clip, select 5 to 60 seconds, add a title and share the link. The clip stays on YouTube and links to the original. For your own videos, use YouTube Studio's Clips and Shorts tool or Edit into a Short, or cut the original file in an editor or AI clipping tool to post anywhere.
Key takeaways
- YouTube Clips are 5 to 60 seconds, public, and play from the original video.
- Creators can turn clipping off, so the button isn't on every video.
- Clips disappear if the original is deleted or made private.
- To post a clip as your own Short or on TikTok, it must come from your own video, or you need the rights holder's permission.
- For your own uploads, YouTube Studio can cut clips and Shorts; editors and AI tools give more control.
Disclosure: we make QuickVeed and show how to do this in it, along with other ways. Details about other products come from their public pages, checked in October 2026 and linked at the end.
Two ways to clip a YouTube video
Before you start, decide what you need. The table shows the difference.
| YouTube Clip button | Clipping your own video | |
|---|---|---|
| Whose video | Any eligible public video | Videos you own |
| Length | 5 to 60 seconds | Any length you choose |
| What you get | A link that plays the section on YouTube | A new video file or a new upload |
| Post to TikTok or Reels | No, it's a link | Yes |
| Edit, crop, add captions | No | Yes |
| Removed if the original goes | Yes | No, it's a separate video |
If you want to share a funny moment from a creator's video with a friend, the Clip button is all you need. If you want to turn your own webinar into Shorts and Reels, skip to the sections on YouTube Studio and editors.
How to clip a YouTube video with the Clip button
On a phone (Android or iPhone)
- Open the video in the YouTube app.
- Swipe the row of buttons under the video (next to Subscribe and Share) and tap Clip.
- Drag the selector to choose up to 60 seconds; the minimum is 5.
- Add a title for the clip.
- Tap Share clip, then copy the link or send it to an app.
On a computer
Open the video on youtube.com and look for Clip in the row under the player. On narrower windows it can be hidden under the three-dot More menu. The steps are the same: pick the section, add a title and share the link.
The rules YouTube applies
- Clips are public, and can be seen on some YouTube search, discovery and analytics surfaces.
- Clipping is on by default, but creators can turn it off for their videos.
- Live streams can be clipped only if they have DVR, and clips appear once the stream ends and is posted.
- Clips are removed if the original is deleted, made private or breaks the Community Guidelines. Clips from unlisted videos remain.
- You can delete your own clips from Your clips in the YouTube app.
Creators see who clipped their videos and how many views each clip got in YouTube Studio, and the owner of the source video can turn a whole clip into a Short.
Clip vs sharing at a timestamp
If you only want someone to start watching at a certain point, you don't need a clip. Click Share under the video on a computer, tick the Start at box and set the time, or add ?t=95 (seconds) to the end of the video link. The difference: a timestamp link plays the rest of the video, while a clip loops just the section you chose and carries your own title, which makes it better for pointing at one specific moment in a long stream or lecture.
Why there is no Clip button
If you can't find Clip, the most common reasons are that the creator has turned clipping off, the video isn't eligible, or it's a live stream without DVR. Updating the app and trying on a computer rules out the rest.
How to clip your own YouTube video
If the video is yours, you have three options inside YouTube, none of which need downloading.
YouTube Studio: Clips and Shorts
- In YouTube Studio, go to Content, then Videos, and open the video.
- Choose Clips and Shorts, then Create clip or Short.
- Pick Short (vertical) or Video clip (a regular video).
- Select the segment from the transcript, or type start and end times in the timeline. In some countries and languages, AI suggests segments for you.
- Preview, create the draft and finish the normal upload steps.
YouTube adds automatic captions to Shorts where available, and recommends linking the source video in the clip's description.
Edit into a Short
In the YouTube app, open your public long-form video, tap Remix, then Edit into a Short, and pick up to 60 seconds. The Short links back to the original. Details are in how to turn a long video into YouTube Shorts.
Download your original
For anything more, start from the full-quality file. If you don't have it any more, YouTube Studio lets you download your own uploads from the Content page. Then cut it in any editor or AI tool.
Clipping in an editor or AI tool
Editors such as CapCut, DaVinci Resolve or Premiere Pro give you full control. A clean routine:
- Find the moment. Use YouTube's transcript or your own to locate the start and end lines, and note the timecodes.
- Import the original file and trim to those points. Start on the strongest sentence, not the lead-in.
- For Shorts, Reels or TikTok, create a 1080 × 1920 project and scale the footage so the speaker fills the frame.
- Add captions. Large text in the middle third of the frame is easiest to read.
- Export as MP4 at the original frame rate and upload.
How to pick the moment worth clipping
Whichever tool you use, the moment matters more than the editing. Good clips usually do one of these: answer a single question, tell a short story with an outcome, state a surprising number, or make a strong claim. Read the transcript rather than scrubbing the timeline; you will find candidates in minutes. Then play each one as if you had never seen the video. If the first sentence makes sense and the clip ends on a payoff, keep it. If it relies on something said earlier, start later or put the missing context in an on-screen title. More on this in how to find viral moments in a podcast.
By hand, each clip takes about 15 to 30 minutes. AI clipping tools find the moments, reframe and caption them in one pass, which matters when you want five or ten clips a week.
Doing it in QuickVeed
- Open Podcast to Clips and upload the long video (up to 3 hours). The upload keeps going if you switch to another page.
- Optionally type what the clips should be about, for example “pricing tips”.
- The AI transcribes the video and returns 3 to 10 moments of 15 to 90 seconds, each with a hook title, a reason it was picked and a score from 0 to 100.
- For each clip, choose 9:16, 1:1 or the original shape, a crop that follows whoever is speaking or a fixed position, and one of 11 caption styles in any language.
- Click Make all clips. Each clip gets the hook title on screen for the first 4 seconds, shorter pauses, ums and uhs removed, and your brand kit's colour and logo.
- Download them as a ZIP, or use Post / Schedule to send them to TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn and more (social posting is on the Boost and Scale plans).
Cost: 1.5 credits a minute for the transcript, rounded up, and 3 credits per finished clip. A 20-minute video cut into 6 clips is 30 + 18 = 48 credits. Use your original file, not a video you don't own.
Is it legal to clip YouTube videos?
Using the Clip button is fine: YouTube built it, the clip plays from the original, and the creator can turn it off. Downloading other people's videos is a different matter. YouTube's Terms of Service don't allow you to download, reproduce or distribute content unless YouTube expressly allows it or you have permission from YouTube and, where applicable, the rights holders.
So if you want to post a clip of someone else's video on your own channel or on TikTok, ask the creator first. Commentary, criticism and news reporting may be allowed under fair use in some countries, but that is decided case by case, and a copyright claim can still hit your channel. When in doubt, clip your own content or get written permission.
| What you want to do | Best method |
|---|---|
| Share a moment from any video | Clip button |
| Make a Short from your own video, quickly | Edit into a Short or Studio's Clips and Shorts |
| Make several captioned vertical clips of your video | An editor or an AI clipping tool |
| Post someone else's moment on your channel | Ask the creator for permission first |
Frequently asked questions
How long can a YouTube clip be?
Between 5 and 60 seconds with the Clip button. Clips you cut from your own videos in YouTube Studio or an editor can be any length; to count as a Short they must be up to three minutes and square or vertical.
How do you clip a YouTube video on iPhone?
Open the video in the YouTube app, swipe the buttons under the video, tap Clip, choose 5 to 60 seconds, add a title and tap Share clip.
Why can't I clip a YouTube video?
The creator may have turned clipping off, the video may not be eligible, or it's a live stream without DVR. Try on a computer or update the app.
Do YouTube clips go away?
Yes, if the original video is deleted, made private, or removed for breaking the Community Guidelines. You can also delete your own clips.
Can I post a YouTube clip on TikTok?
Only if the video is yours or you have permission. YouTube's terms don't allow downloading other people's content without permission.
Try it with your own video
Upload your own long video and get several captioned clips from it at once. Upload a video you own, pick the clips you like, and judge them for yourself. QuickVeed plans start at $18/month, and new accounts get a 14-day trial with 75 credits, no card needed. Sign up or see pricing.
Sources
Competitor details in this post were checked against these public pages in October 2026. Products and prices change, so confirm with each vendor before you decide.
