Original CommentShark research
The comment section changes with the subject
A single YouTube comment benchmark can hide the reason viewers wrote. A tech audience may be asking for a buying recommendation; a music audience may be identifying a source; a news audience may be debating the story. These eight profiles keep those contexts visible so creators can compare a channel with a more relevant peer group.
Use the category pages as descriptive context, then run the free channel audit to see which conversations actually need your attention.
Quick comparison
Three useful differences in the sample
These are comparisons within the eight sampled category profiles. They describe the study rows, not the distribution of all YouTube channels.
17.6%
Most questions
Tech & Science has the highest question share in this set
18%
Most hostile stance labels
News & Commentary has the highest hostile share in this set
16.2%
Highest creator reply rate
Education & How-To has the highest reply rate in this set
Choose a category
Eight YouTube comment benchmark profiles
Each page answers a category-specific creator question and includes the full function, question, and reply-style distributions behind the summary cards.
1,587 channels
Education & How-To
What do viewers ask after a tutorial, and how often does the creator answer? This profile uses the education and how-to group in CommentShark's 2026 YouTube comment study to show the shape of those conversations.
- Questions
- 13.5%
- Creator reply
- 16.2%
- Hostile
- 4.2%
1,296 channels
Tech & Science
Tech and science viewers often use comments as a second search box: they ask whether something works, what to buy, and how a setup differs from another one. This profile shows how those questions and conversations appear in the 2026 study.
- Questions
- 17.6%
- Creator reply
- 11.6%
- Hostile
- 4.4%
1,384 channels
Gaming
Gaming comment sections mix reactions, build or gear questions, corrections, and conversations between viewers. This category profile shows which signals stand out in a broad sample of gaming channels.
- Questions
- 12.1%
- Creator reply
- 10.2%
- Hostile
- 4.5%
1,546 channels
Lifestyle & Interests
Lifestyle and interest channels cover many formats, but their comments often mix practical advice, personal experience, and discussion. This profile uses the study's category aggregates to show what a creator may need to triage first.
- Questions
- 10.4%
- Creator reply
- 14%
- Hostile
- 5%
1,538 channels
People & Vlogs
Vlog comments can be brief while still being personal. This profile looks at what viewers write on People and Vlogs channels, including questions about the creator, reaction-heavy posts, and the large share of conversations that stay unanswered.
- Questions
- 9.4%
- Creator reply
- 7.7%
- Hostile
- 5.4%
1,862 channels
Entertainment & Comedy
Entertainment and comedy channels make up the largest category group in this study. Their comments are often reaction-led, but the quieter signals—questions, corrections, and hostility—still need a way through the backlog.
- Questions
- 8.3%
- Creator reply
- 8.1%
- Hostile
- 6.1%
1,116 channels
News & Commentary
News and commentary has a different comment environment from the other groups in the study: more debate, more hostility, and longer posts. This profile is a planning aid for moderation and response decisions, not a claim about every news audience.
- Questions
- 7.1%
- Creator reply
- 4.5%
- Hostile
- 18%
1,476 channels
Music
Music comments often arrive as applause, but listeners also ask what they heard, which instrument was used, and where to find a source. This profile separates those reactions from the questions a music creator can act on.
- Questions
- 6.9%
- Creator reply
- 9%
- Hostile
- 3.4%
The rows together
YouTube comment statistics by category
Read across a row to understand one category. Read down a column to see where the category profiles differ most.
| Content group | Channels | Sample comments | Questions | Hostile | Creator reply | Unanswered questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education & How-To | 1,587 | 100,235 | 13.5% | 4.2% | 16.2% | 77.3% |
| Tech & Science | 1,296 | 82,111 | 17.6% | 4.4% | 11.6% | 79.6% |
| Gaming | 1,384 | 88,107 | 12.1% | 4.5% | 10.2% | 82.5% |
| Lifestyle & Interests | 1,546 | 97,896 | 10.4% | 5% | 14% | 75.9% |
| People & Vlogs | 1,538 | 97,356 | 9.4% | 5.4% | 7.7% | 86.4% |
| Entertainment & Comedy | 1,862 | 118,003 | 8.3% | 6.1% | 8.1% | 83.3% |
| News & Commentary | 1,116 | 70,680 | 7.1% | 18% | 4.5% | 89.7% |
| Music | 1,476 | 93,422 | 6.9% | 3.4% | 9% | 83.8% |
Source: broad channel sample and recent comments. Unanswered question and creator reply rates use matured comments from eligible channels; all category rows stay separate from channel-size cross-tabs.
Methodology and limits
What these benchmarks can and cannot tell you
What they can tell you
They show how public comments in the broad study sample were distributed across functions, question types, language, stance, and observed creator replies. The category pages turn those aggregates into practical triage questions.
What they cannot tell you
They are not a census of YouTube, a comments-per-view benchmark, or proof that replying causes growth. Deleted, private, and held comments are not visible, and qualitative labels are model-coded estimates.
Read the parent report's methodology and limitations before citing a number.
Your channel is the useful comparison
See the benchmark next to your own comments
Run a free public channel audit to find unanswered questions, high-intent conversations, and audience tone before you choose a new reply or moderation workflow.
The source report
Explore the complete YouTube Comment Report
The full report includes the study sample, unanswered questions, reply timing, comment language, repeated text, video format, and citation details.
- Comments
- 9.88M
- Channels
- 15,403
- Videos
- 1.43M
- Comments analyzed by meaning
- 975K
9,877,019 public comments in the main count
Four channel-size groups
1,432,155 public videos included
975,222 comments; each had a known chance of being chosen