APA 7 YouTube Video Citation Format
The APA 7th edition format for citing a YouTube video follows a specific structure. The channel name serves as the author, followed by the upload date in parentheses, the video title in sentence case with a [Video] descriptor in brackets, "YouTube" as the platform, and the full URL.
Example
Techquickie. (2018, August 10). How does Spotify work? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9sbMVkdCcY
In-text citation: (Techquickie, 2018)
Note: APA 7 requires sentence case for the video title, meaning only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized. Our generator handles this conversion automatically, which most other citation tools fail to do correctly.
MLA 9 YouTube Video Citation Format
In MLA 9th edition, YouTube videos are cited with the channel name as author, the video title in quotation marks using title case, "YouTube" as the container, the upload date, URL, and access date.
Example
Techquickie. "How Does Spotify Work?" YouTube, 10 Aug. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9sbMVkdCcY. Accessed 30 May 2026.
In-text citation: (Techquickie)
Chicago YouTube Video Citation Format
For Chicago style, use a footnote for the first reference and a bibliography entry for the works cited list. Chicago style uniquely uses footnotes/endnotes rather than parenthetical in-text citations.
Footnote
Techquickie, "How Does Spotify Work?," YouTube video, Aug. 10, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9sbMVkdCcY.
Bibliography
Techquickie. "How Does Spotify Work?" YouTube video. August 10, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9sbMVkdCcY.
Harvard YouTube Video Citation Format
Harvard referencing uses the author-date system with single quotation marks for the title. The reference includes the channel name, year in parentheses, title in single quotes, "YouTube" as the source, and the URL with access date.
Example
Techquickie (2018) 'How Does Spotify Work?', YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9sbMVkdCcY (Accessed: 30 May 2026).
In-text citation: (Techquickie, 2018)
What to Do When the Author's Real Name Is Unknown
In most YouTube citations, the author is the channel name (handle), not a real person's name. All major citation styles accept using the channel name in place of the author's name. Simply use the full channel name as displayed on YouTube. If the channel has no visible name, use the username or handle instead. This is the standard practice recommended by the APA, MLA, and Chicago style guides for citing user-generated content.
APA 7 In-Text Citation for YouTube Video
For APA 7, an in-text citation for a YouTube video follows the standard author-date format: (Channel Name, Year). If you are quoting or referencing a specific moment in the video, add a timestamp: (Techquickie, 2018, 1:15). For narrative citations, write the channel name in the sentence: According to Techquickie (2018), the algorithm works by...