YouTube channel URLs can come in 5 different formats:

Before we explain the different formats let’s explain the basics:

What is a YouTube Channel ID?

Every channel on YouTube has a unique Channel ID. This is used by YouTube as a unique identifier for your channel. When you first get started on YouTube, you will see that the link to your YouTube channel includes your channel ID.

YouTube Channel ID example:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-lHJZR3Gqxm24_Vd_AJ5Yw

You may notice that many larger YouTube channels do not have a visible Channel ID in their YouTube URL. This is because when a YouTube channel gains it’s first 100 subscribers, YouTube will invite you to create a YouTube username, which will replace the channel ID in your URL and look something like this:

YouTube Username example:

https://www.youtube.com/c/Coffeezilla

There are certain tasks the require you to know a YouTube Channel ID. For example, you may need to know a YouTube Channel ID if you are making use of Google’s YouTube API. You may also need to know a Channel ID if you are trying to embed YouTube Video and Live Streams.

YouTube usernames come in two forms. Firstly, you will not gain a YouTube username in your YouTube URL until you gain 100 subscribers. When you do, you can choose a YouTube username and your link will change to something like this:

YouTube Username example:

https://www.youtube.com/c/Coffeezilla

There is one more type of YouTube username which you might see on YouTube. Certain users with very old channels may have a URL that includes the /user/ item. It is no longer possible to get a YouTube URL which includes the /user/ item, as they are now discontinued and considered legacy URLs by YouTube.

Legacy YouTube Username example:

https://www.youtube.com/user/Pewdiepie

The most interesting thhing about the legacy YouTube URLs is that they also work on very short URLs like this:

https://www.youtube.com/Pewdiepie

In 2022 YouTube has introduced a feature called YouTube handles. YouTube handles work in a similar way to other social media platform handles. A YouTube handle always begins with a @ sign, and you can now ‘tag’ other channels in any YouTube title, comment or YouTube short, simply by typing out there @ handle. The YouTube @ handle acts as a direct link to that channel, also providing notifications when a user is tagged with their @ handle.

YouTube handle example:

https://www.youtube.com/@streamweasels

You can convert a YouTube handle to a Channel ID using the tool above and selecting YouTube Handle.