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James Charles YouTube Channel Stats

@jamescharles US Upward trend (+21%) Updated

James Charles (@jamescharles) is a YouTube channel from United States created on December 1, 2015. As of October 2026, the channel has 23.7M subscribers, 4.81B total views and 735 videos. James Charles uploads about 1 video per week, and its videos average 7.31M views with a 4.17% engagement rate.

Blend, but don't blend in. ๐ŸŽจ๐Ÿค

James Charles Channel Stats & Performance Metrics

Subscribers
23.7M
23,700,000
Total views
4.81B
4,805,326,335
Videos
735
Uploaded in total
Avg views per video
7.31M
Across 475 long-form videos
Engagement rate
4.17%Likes and comments per view
Upload frequency
1 / weekLong-form, last 12 months
Channel age
10 yearsSince December 1, 2015
Views to subscribers
31%Avg video views / subscribers
Data from the YouTube Data API. Engagement and averages are calculated by YTGrowAI.

James Charles Views & Upload Growth

Views earned by videos, grouped by the time they were published. Based on 475 long-form videos published since Jun 2018.

Each bar counts the total views of every video uploaded in that period, so older bars keep growing as those videos keep earning views. Channels that upload many videos a day show a shorter history here.

Best Videos by James Charles

The most watched, most liked and newest long-form uploads. Shorts are not included.

Most Viewed Videos on James Charles

  1. 1
    No More Lies
    Published May 18, 2019
    58.7Mviews
  2. 2
    I Bought A FAKE James Charles Palette
    Published Dec 18, 2018
    54.84Mviews
  3. 3
    Playing Among Us In Real Life 2!
    Published Dec 18, 2020
    53.3Mviews
  4. 4
    Never Enough Cover ft. Cimorelli
    Published Jan 18, 2019
    50Mviews
  5. 5
    45.23Mviews
  6. 6
    42.71Mviews
  7. 7
    41.84Mviews
  8. 8
    Doing Charli D'Amelio's Makeup!
    Published Mar 20, 2020
    38.39Mviews
  9. 9
    Playing Among Us In Real Life!
    Published Nov 27, 2020
    35.88Mviews
  10. 10
    Giving JoJo Siwa A FULL MAKEOVER!
    Published Aug 21, 2020
    34.53Mviews

All James Charles Videos

Search and sort every long-form video we analysed for James Charles.

James Charles Upload Schedule & Content Insights

Uploads on Tuesday earn the highest average views. Videos in the 5 to 10 min range perform best. Times are in UTC.

Upload day of week

Number of uploads and average views per video. Most videos go live around 7 PM UTC.

Sunday
9 ยท 6.63M
Monday
0 ยท 0
Tuesday
94 ยท 13.85M
Wednesday
0 ยท 0
Thursday
0 ยท 0
Friday
361 ยท 5.57M
Saturday
11 ยท 9.18M

Video length

Average views by video length. Average runtime is 22:16.

Under 5 min
8 ยท 2.57M
5 to 10 min
6 ยท 11.86M
10 to 20 min
249 ยท 6.99M
20 to 40 min
188 ยท 7.76M
Over 40 min
24 ยท 7.57M

Title patterns

How James Charles writes video titles.

Average title length41 characters
Titles with a number18%
Titles with a dollar amount5%
Titles that ask a question3%

Performance by year

Uploads and views by publish year.

YearUploadsTotal viewsAvg views
20264039.36M984.1K
20254998.45M2.01M
202453109.74M2.07M
202348104.57M2.18M
202251125.73M2.47M
202148311.38M6.49M
2020741.15B15.48M
201958732.43M12.63M

Most used video tags

Tags James Charles uses most often across its videos.

james charles475james469tutorials461makeup artist458beauty458reviews455easy makeup450funny videos450beauty tips446hacks446cute438how-to434mua429tik tok makeup352tik tok hacks349

Channel keywords & topics

Keywords set in the channel settings and the topics YouTube assigns.

Lifestyle (sociology) jamesjames charlesmakeupcovergirlcoverboysingingbeautymakeup tutorialtutorialflashback maryhi sisterssisters appareljames charles x morpheinstant influencermakeup challengestik tok makeuptik tok challengecreative makeup lookshalloween makeupcreative makeupfunny videosvlogs

Popular playlists

Public playlists on the channel, by number of videos.

About James Charles YouTube Channel

  • James Charles Dickinson runs the channel publicly known as James Charles.
  • The channel centers on beauty, makeup tutorials, lifestyle vlogs, celebrity collaborations, challenges, and reaction-style videos.
  • James Charles is an American YouTuber, makeup artist, and internet personality born on May 23, 1999.
  • The channel launched in 2015 and has grown into one of the biggest beauty channels on YouTube.
  • Its content mixes polished makeup transformations with highly clickable stunts, collabs, and trend-driven concepts.
  • The channel is based in the US and is branded around bold, colorful, high-energy beauty content.

How James Charles Grew: Story and Strategy

  • James Charles started uploading makeup tutorials in 2015 and quickly stood out for being a young male creator in a female-dominated beauty space.
  • Early attention accelerated after he became the first male CoverGirl ambassador in 2016, turning him into a mainstream beauty figure.
  • His growth strategy has consistently relied on highly searchable beauty transformations, celebrity makeup, and eye-catching challenge concepts.
  • Collaborations with other creators and celebrities helped the channel reach audiences beyond core beauty fans.
  • Viral curiosity and controversy both boosted visibility, especially around public drama and headline-grabbing uploads.
  • The channel expanded beyond tutorials into vlogs, stunts, social experiments, and pop-culture formats to keep reach broad.
  • A steady weekly upload rhythm has helped maintain audience familiarity while still allowing for large-format videos with broad appeal.

Why James Charles's Top Videos Went Viral

  • No More Lies worked because it was a direct response video tied to major public controversy, which created intense curiosity and strong click-through potential.
  • I Bought A FAKE James Charles Palette performed well because counterfeit-product content combines beauty authority, consumer interest, and a clear hook that promises revelation.
  • Playing Among Us In Real Life 2! succeeded by moving beyond beauty into a familiar viral gaming format that appealed to a much broader audience.
  • These top videos share a strong premise, immediate stakes, and recognizable cultural reference points, which makes them highly clickable.
  • They also benefit from James Charles's large personality-driven audience, where viewers return for both spectacle and commentary.

James Charles's Content Strategy

  • The channel mixes core beauty content with lifestyle, challenge, reaction, and collaboration formats to avoid relying on one niche.
  • Titles are usually built around a clear novelty or tension point, often using all-caps emphasis and specific objects, people, or trends.
  • Thumbnails likely prioritize expressive facial reactions, bright color contrast, and a single obvious visual premise.
  • Series-style videos such as testing trends, buying products, and doing celebrity makeup make the channel easy to package into repeatable formats.
  • Posting about once per week suggests a planned cadence that balances production value with regular audience touchpoints.

Who Watches James Charles

  • The audience is mainly beauty and makeup viewers who want tutorials, product testing, and transformation content.
  • A large share also watches for personality-driven entertainment, celebrity interactions, and creator drama.
  • Younger viewers likely follow the channel for trend-based videos, familiar internet culture, and high-energy presentation.
  • Fans of lifestyle vlogs and challenge videos are also drawn in by the channelโ€™s broadening format mix.

James Charles Timeline: Key Milestones

The moments that shaped the channel.

  1. 2015James Charles launched the YouTube channel and began posting makeup-focused videos.
  2. 2016He became the first male ambassador for CoverGirl, raising his profile far beyond YouTube beauty circles.
  3. 2017The channel gained major traction as celebrity makeup videos and transformations drew wider audiences.
  4. 2018His celebrity makeup and friendship-based collaborations became a major growth engine for the channel.
  5. 2019The Tati Westbrook feud became a major public turning point and pushed the channel into mainstream conversation.
  6. 2020James Charles expanded into bigger-format entertainment and launched Instant Influencer.
  7. 2021The channel weathered another high-profile controversy period tied to allegations and public backlash.
  8. 2024The channel continued blending beauty, trend videos, and vlog-style content for a broad audience.
  9. 2026Recent uploads show a continued focus on beauty-store hauls, trend tests, and personal lifestyle vlogs.

James Charles Strengths & Growth Opportunities

Strengths

  • Strong brand recognition built around a distinctive personality and visual style.
  • Proven ability to generate viral interest across beauty, lifestyle, and trend content.
  • High audience familiarity with recurring formats like celebrity makeup, product tests, and hauls.
  • Broad content range helps the channel stay relevant beyond a single niche.

Opportunities

  • Expand more structured series that turn casual viewers into repeat viewers.
  • Increase educational beauty content to strengthen trust and long-term usefulness.
  • Build more creator and celebrity collaborations that introduce the channel to new audiences.
  • Create clearer content lanes so viewers can instantly identify whether a video is beauty, lifestyle, or challenge-driven.

Brand Collaboration Potential of James Charles

  • Beauty and cosmetic brands could use the channel for launch coverage, tutorials, and product reaction videos.
  • Retail and e-commerce brands could benefit from haul, testing, and comparison content.
  • Lifestyle and fashion companies could reach a young audience through outfit, travel, and makeover integrations.
  • Entertainment brands could partner on challenge videos, collabs, and pop-culture tie-ins.
  • The channel works best for campaigns that need high attention, bold visuals, and conversation-driving packaging.

YouTube Channels Similar to James Charles

Creators with comparable formats and audiences.

NikkieTutorialsLarge beauty-first channel with makeup tutorials, transformations, and strong personality-driven presentation.
Mikayla NogueiraHigh-engagement beauty creator focused on makeup reviews, tutorials, and expressive on-camera storytelling.
Patrick StarrrBeauty and lifestyle creator known for glamorous makeup content and collaboration-friendly branding.
Jeffree StarBeauty-centric creator with product-focused videos, strong opinions, and a history of viral attention.
Safiya NygaardLifestyle and experimentation channel with highly packaged, curiosity-driven videos that overlap with James Charlesโ€™s broader format style.

Frequently Asked Questions About James Charles

How many subscribers does James Charles have?

As of October 2026, James Charles has 23,700,000 subscribers on YouTube (23.7M). YouTube rounds public subscriber counts, so the exact number can differ slightly from what you see on the channel page.

How many views does James Charles have in total?

James Charles has received 4,805,326,335 total views (4.81B) across 735 public videos. That works out to roughly 6.54M lifetime views per upload, including Shorts.

How many videos has James Charles uploaded?

James Charles has uploaded 735 public videos. We analysed the latest 600 uploads: 475 were long-form videos and 125 were Shorts, which are excluded from the averages on this page.

When was James Charles created on YouTube?

The James Charles YouTube channel was created on December 1, 2015, so it is 10 years and 10 months old.

Where is James Charles based?

James Charles lists United States as its country on YouTube.

What is the average number of views per video for James Charles?

Videos on James Charles average 7,312,628 views (7.31M), with a median of 3.49M views per video. The average is 31% of the subscriber count, which shows how much of the audience watches each upload.

What is the engagement rate of James Charles?

James Charles has an engagement rate of 4.17%, calculated by YTGrowAI as (likes + comments) divided by views across 475 long-form videos. This is our own calculation from public data and not an official YouTube statistic.

How often does James Charles upload new videos?

Over the last 12 months James Charles has published 52 long-form videos, which is 1 video per week. Most uploads go live on Friday, and Tuesday uploads have earned the highest average views.

What is the most viewed video on James Charles?

The most viewed video on James Charles is "No More Lies" with 58,702,043 views, published on May 18, 2019.

What is the latest video from James Charles?

The most recent long-form upload we found is "TARGET Opened Up A NEW Beauty Store?!", published on Oct 2, 2026, which has 732,305 views so far.

Is James Charles growing or declining?

James Charles currently shows a "upward trend" pattern. Its 10 newest settled videos average +21% views compared with the 10 videos before them. Momentum can swing quickly, because one viral video changes the average.

What video length works best for James Charles?

James Charles videos in the 5 to 10 min range earn the highest average views. The channel's average long-form video runs about 22 minutes.

What is James Charles's real name?

James Charles is the public name of the creator, and his full legal name is James Charles Dickinson. He is widely known online as James Charles and built his career under that shorter professional name. The channel is associated with beauty, makeup, and lifestyle content, but the person behind it is James Charles Dickinson. Public biographies and reporting consistently use both names when identifying James Charles.

How old is James Charles?

James Charles was born on May 23, 1999, which makes him 27 in 2026. He became famous while still very young, first gaining attention as a teen makeup creator on YouTube and later as a major beauty influencer. James Charles is often discussed as part of the early generation of beauty-focused internet stars who built audiences before turning 25. His age is a big part of his public story because he rose quickly and very early.

When did James Charles start YouTube?

James Charles started the channel in 2015. The early videos focused on makeup tutorials and beauty content, which helped James Charles stand out in a crowded creator market. His channel began growing as he posted polished makeup transformations and built a recognizable on-camera style. The launch year matters because it marks the start of James Charles as a full-time online beauty brand.

How did James Charles get famous?

James Charles became famous through makeup tutorials and beauty videos on YouTube, then reached a much larger audience after becoming the first male CoverGirl ambassador. James Charles used eye-catching transformations, celebrity makeup, and a confident on-camera style to stand out early. Public attention grew quickly because he was unusual in the mainstream beauty space and because his videos were highly shareable. His fame also expanded through collaborations and viral internet moments.

What is James Charles's biggest video?

James Charles's biggest video by views among the listed uploads is No More Lies. That video stands out because James Charles tied it to a major public controversy, which created intense curiosity and strong viewing demand. James Charles also has other very large videos like I Bought A FAKE James Charles Palette and Playing Among Us In Real Life 2!, but No More Lies is the top one in the provided list. The title itself made the upload feel urgent and important.

Who runs the James Charles channel?

The James Charles channel is run by James Charles Dickinson, the creator known publicly as James Charles. He is the face, host, and main personality of the channel, and his personal brand is tightly linked to the uploads. James Charles appears to oversee the content direction, which includes beauty, lifestyle, and challenge videos. The channel is not a faceless brand account; it is a creator-led channel built around James Charles himself.

Where does James Charles live?

James Charles is publicly identified as American and is based in the United States. Public reporting has connected James Charles to New York in his early life, but exact current residence details are not something James Charles has consistently and publicly confirmed. For a public profile, it is safest to say that James Charles is based in the US rather than naming a specific home address or neighborhood. The channel itself is clearly aimed at a broad American and international audience.

What controversies has James Charles had?

James Charles has been involved in several public controversies, including a widely covered feud with Tati Westbrook in 2019 and later allegations involving inappropriate messages with minors. James Charles publicly responded to those episodes, and the disputes became a major part of his internet reputation. These controversies drew mainstream attention and affected how some viewers saw James Charles. Because the channel is highly visible, those stories often traveled beyond YouTube into broader pop-culture coverage.

What are similar channels to James Charles?

Similar channels to James Charles include NikkieTutorials, Mikayla Nogueira, Patrick Starrr, Jeffree Star, and Safiya Nygaard. James Charles fits alongside these creators because he combines beauty, personality, and highly packaged video ideas. The closest comparisons are creators who mix makeup authority with strong on-camera branding and viral-friendly titles. James Charles is especially similar to beauty creators who also use entertainment formats to keep audiences engaged.

What should I watch first on James Charles's channel?

A good starting point on James Charles is one of the biggest challenge or transformation videos, since those show what makes James Charles popular. Videos like I Bought A FAKE James Charles Palette, Doing Kylie Jenner's Halloween Makeup, and Playing Among Us In Real Life 2! highlight both beauty skill and entertainment value. James Charles also has reaction-style uploads that show his personality and broader internet appeal. Starting with a few of the most-viewed videos gives the clearest picture of James Charles's channel style.

Explore More YouTube Channel Stats

Compare James Charles with other channels we track.

Statistics come from the public YouTube Data API. Engagement rate, averages and trend labels are independent calculations calculated by YTGrowAI and are not official YouTube metrics. Shorts are excluded from averages. Background information is AI-assisted and based on public sources, so verify important facts before relying on them.

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