Video sizes for TikTok, Reels and Shorts: the 2026 cheat sheet
The sizes, aspect ratios and lengths you need to export short videos for TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and Spotify Canvas — and where to keep captions so the app doesn’t cover them.
Platforms change their limits often, so treat the numbers below as a snapshot taken in October 2026 and check each platform’s help pages before a big campaign. The good news is that the core format has been stable for years: vertical, 9:16, 1080 × 1920.
The cheat sheet
| Format | Aspect ratio | Recommended size | Length (at the time of writing) |
|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 px | Short clips work best; long uploads are allowed |
| Instagram Reels | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 px | Up to 3 minutes to be recommended to non-followers |
| YouTube Shorts | 9:16 (or 1:1) | 1080 × 1920 px | Up to 3 minutes |
| Stories (Instagram, Facebook) | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 px | Short segments per story |
| Spotify Canvas | 9:16 | At least 720 px tall | 3 to 8 seconds, loops |
| Feed post (Instagram, Facebook) | 4:5 | 1080 × 1350 px | — |
| Square | 1:1 | 1080 × 1080 px | — |
| YouTube video | 16:9 | 1920 × 1080 px or more | — |
YouTube Shorts size, resolution and aspect ratio
- Size and resolution: 1080 × 1920 pixels.
- Aspect ratio: 9:16 vertical (1:1 square is also accepted, but leaves empty space on screen).
- Length: up to 3 minutes since October 2024; check YouTube’s help pages for the current limit.
If your source is a horizontal YouTube video, the YouTube Shorts maker reframes it to 9:16 for you, or use the vertical video converter.
One export for three platforms
TikTok, Reels and Shorts all play a 9:16, 1080 × 1920 file. Export one clean master without any platform watermark and upload that same file to each app. Downloading a video from one app to re-upload it to another lowers the quality and can carry the first app’s watermark.
If your source is horizontal, you need to choose which part of the frame to keep: a fixed crop, a blurred background, a crop that follows the subject, or a split screen. The guide to converting horizontal video to vertical compares the four options.
Safe zones for captions and text
Each app draws its own interface over your video: the account name and post text at the bottom, buttons on the right, and sometimes tabs at the top. The exact areas vary by app and device, so use a margin rather than exact pixels:
- Keep captions and key text roughly in the middle of the screen, or a little below the center.
- Leave the bottom fifth of the frame free of anything important.
- Leave a margin on the right side, where the like, comment and share buttons sit.
- Avoid the very top, where the app may show tabs or the status bar.
Tip: before posting, preview the clip in the app itself — or as a draft — to check that nothing important is hidden behind the interface.
Length: what the limit allows vs. what works
A higher limit doesn’t mean longer is better. Most clips that perform are built around one idea: a chorus, a story, a strong line. A good starting range is 15 to 60 seconds for music and 30 to 90 seconds for talk. If a moment needs more than a minute and a half to make sense, it probably belongs in the long video.
Feed and square versions
The 4:5 feed post takes up more of the screen than a square and less than a full vertical video, which makes it useful for the Instagram and Facebook feed. 1:1 still shows up in some ads and older layouts. In the TONTRIA editor you can export 9:16, 1:1, 4:5 and 16:9 from the same project, following faces in each version. And for the Canvas, release assets creates the vertical loop from your music video or cover.