What is the difference between Manager and Editor on YouTube?

The difference that matters is deletion. A Manager can delete published videos and can manage permissions, inviting further people to the channel. An Editor can do neither — but an Editor can still upload, publish instantly, and edit everything about videos that are already live. Neither role can delete the channel itself; only the owner can.

Can a YouTube Editor delete my videos?

Not published ones. Google's permission table states an Editor cannot delete the channel or published content, though an Editor can delete drafts. A Manager can delete published content. This distinction is widely reported incorrectly, and it is the reason granting Manager when you meant Editor is a meaningful mistake.

Which YouTube role can upload but not publish?

None. Every role that can upload can also publish, immediately — there is no approval step anywhere in YouTube's native permission model, and no scope for it in the YouTube Data API either. VidGate exists to add that missing step: editors propose, the owner approves, and only then does anything reach YouTube.

What does Editor (Limited) hide?

Revenue data, and only revenue data. Google describes Editor (Limited) as having the same permissions and the same limitations as Editor, except that it cannot access revenue information including chat revenue and the viewer activity tab. Viewer (Limited) relates to Viewer the same way.

Can someone I invite use a third-party YouTube tool on my channel?

No. Google states that channel permissions do not cover YouTube APIs, alongside YouTube Music and the YouTube Kids app. Whatever role you grant in YouTube Studio, a delegated user cannot act on your channel through the API. Only the channel owner's own Google account can authorise API access, which is why tools that work this way ask the owner to connect rather than the editor.

YouTube Channel Permissions: What Each Role Can Actually Do

What are you actually worried about?

Here the roles genuinely differ, and almost every article online gets this wrong: an Editor cannot delete published content. A Manager can. If you granted Manager because it sounded administrative, that is the one that matters.

CAN DO THIS

Owner
Manager

CANNOT

Editor
Editor (Limited)
Subtitle Editor
Viewer
Viewer (Limited)

The whole table

ROLE	Publish a video without asking me	Change the title or thumbnail of a video that is already live	Delete my published videos	Delete drafts	Delete my channel	Add or remove other people	See how much the channel earns	Manage live streams	Use a third-party tool on my channel
OwnerYou. Everything, on every surface.	✓ can	✓ can	✓ can	✓ can	✓ can	✓ can	✓ can	✓ can	✓ can
ManagerEverything except deleting the channel — including deleting published videos.	✓ can	✓ can	✓ can	✓ can	✗ cannot	✓ can	✓ can	✓ can	✗ cannot
EditorFull editing and publishing, but cannot delete published content or manage people.	✓ can	✓ can	✗ cannot	✓ can	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✓ can	✓ can	✗ cannot
Editor (Limited)An Editor with revenue data hidden. Nothing else changes.	✓ can	✓ can	✗ cannot	✓ can	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✓ can	✗ cannot
Subtitle EditorSubtitles on eligible videos, and nothing else.	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✗ cannot
ViewerRead-only, including revenue.	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✓ can	✗ cannot	✗ cannot
Viewer (Limited)Read-only with revenue hidden.	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✗ cannot	✗ cannot

Colour follows the diff, not the usual convention: green is what your channel is protected from, red is what the role can reach.

Two things about this table itself

If you have a Brand Account, this may not be what you see. Brand Account permissions are the older mechanism, with different role names, and Google’s own instructions now begin by telling Brand Account holders to migrate to channel permissions before granting access. If the roles in your Studio do not match the ones here, that is almost certainly why — and it is one of the most common sources of confusion about what an “editor” can do, because two different systems are being described with overlapping words.

Google says five levels; the table lists seven rows. The page’s own introduction describes “five different levels of permissions” while the table beneath it details Owner, Manager, Editor, Editor (Limited), Subtitle Editor, Viewer and Viewer (Limited). We have followed the table, since that is the part that says what each role can actually do. Worth knowing if you are counting.

The row that is missing

Read down the first column and the gap is obvious: every role that can upload can also publish. There is no “upload, then wait for me” setting, and this is not an oversight you can configure around — it does not exist in the YouTube Data API either. Editing a video’s metadata requires a scope that also permits deleting it, which is why Google words the permission as see, edit, and permanently delete your YouTube videos.

The honest options are therefore: trust an Editor with instant publishing, use the private-upload convention and hope it is followed, or put an approval step in front of YouTube. VidGate is the third one — editors draft and upload, you review the diff against what is live, and nothing reaches your channel until you approve it.

Join the beta VidGate vs the Editor role

Common questions

What is the difference between Manager and Editor on YouTube?: The difference that matters is deletion. A Manager can delete published videos and can manage permissions, inviting further people to the channel. An Editor can do neither — but an Editor can still upload, publish instantly, and edit everything about videos that are already live. Neither role can delete the channel itself; only the owner can.
Can a YouTube Editor delete my videos?: Not published ones. Google's permission table states an Editor cannot delete the channel or published content, though an Editor can delete drafts. A Manager can delete published content. This distinction is widely reported incorrectly, and it is the reason granting Manager when you meant Editor is a meaningful mistake.
Which YouTube role can upload but not publish?: None. Every role that can upload can also publish, immediately — there is no approval step anywhere in YouTube's native permission model, and no scope for it in the YouTube Data API either. VidGate exists to add that missing step: editors propose, the owner approves, and only then does anything reach YouTube.
What does Editor (Limited) hide?: Revenue data, and only revenue data. Google describes Editor (Limited) as having the same permissions and the same limitations as Editor, except that it cannot access revenue information including chat revenue and the viewer activity tab. Viewer (Limited) relates to Viewer the same way.
Can someone I invite use a third-party YouTube tool on my channel?: No. Google states that channel permissions do not cover YouTube APIs, alongside YouTube Music and the YouTube Kids app. Whatever role you grant in YouTube Studio, a delegated user cannot act on your channel through the API. Only the channel owner's own Google account can authorise API access, which is why tools that work this way ask the owner to connect rather than the editor.