A content calendar shows what you will publish, on which day, and what still needs doing for each video. This free content calendar template is a ready-made spreadsheet for YouTube creators: one row per video, a column for each production step, and a status dropdown so you can see at a glance what is stuck.

Download the free content calendar template (.xlsx) →

Content calendar example

Here is how a filled-in week looks:

Week	Topic	Target keyword	Script	Record	Edit	Metadata	Publish
Week 1	How long should a YouTube title be?	youtube title length	Done	Done	In progress	Not started	Mon
Week 1	5 free YouTube SEO tools	free youtube seo tools	Done	In progress	Not started	Not started	Thu
Week 2	YouTube tag examples for gaming	youtube tags for gaming	In progress	Not started	Not started	Not started	Mon

How to use it in Excel or Google Sheets

1. Download the .xlsx file above.
2. Excel: open it and start typing. Google Sheets: upload it to Google Drive, then right-click and choose Open with → Google Sheets.
3. Fill in one video per row and use the dropdowns in the Plan, Script, Record, Edit, Metadata and Publish columns.
4. Plan four weeks at a time and review it every Monday.

Social media content calendar template

The same sheet works as a social media content calendar template. Replace the YouTube steps with your own channels (Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, newsletter): add a column per platform, keep one row per post, and use the status dropdowns to track what is scheduled.

Fill the Metadata column in minutes

Metadata is the step most creators rush. These free tools run AI on your own computer and write it for you:

• TitleCraft – free AI YouTube title generator
• DescriptionCraft – free YouTube description generator
• TagCraft – free YouTube tag generator

Need topics to fill the calendar? See our list of YouTube content ideas, or read the full content production workflow.

No time to fill in a spreadsheet? Use the free content calendar generator to create a calendar from your niche in one click.