Social Media Video Specs by Platform
Aspect Ratios, Resolutions, Length Limits and Export Settings, With Sources
Short answer
Shoot vertical 9:16 at 1080 by 1920 pixels and export MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio. That one master fits Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts. Cut shorter versions for the tightest limits you publish to, such as 140 seconds on X without Premium and 30 seconds on Google Business Profile.
1. Which video size works on the most platforms?
Vertical 9:16 at 1080 by 1920 pixels. Meta recommends it for Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts are built around vertical video, and LinkedIn, Pinterest and Threads accept it. Horizontal 16:9 is still the standard for long-form YouTube.
- Aspect ratio
- The proportion between a video frame's width and height, written as width to height, so 9:16 is a vertical frame and 16:9 a horizontal one.
The practical question is not what each platform allows but what one master file can cover. Meta's Reels documentation recommends 9:16 at 1080 by 1920 [s3], YouTube classifies square and vertical videos up to three minutes as Shorts [s5], and LinkedIn accepts anything from 1:2.4 to 2.4:1 [s7], which includes 9:16. A single vertical master therefore covers most short-form placements.
The exception is long-form YouTube, where 16:9 is the standard on computers and YouTube lists 1920 by 1080 for 1080p [s6]. If your content is a tutorial or a talk meant to be watched on a desktop, shoot horizontal and cut vertical clips from it, rather than the other way round.
2. What are the video specs for each platform?
The table lists what each platform documents: shape, pixel guidance, length and file size. Where only developer documentation gives a number, the source column says so, because limits in the app can differ from limits for scheduled or API uploads.
| Platform and placement | Shape | Pixels | Length | File size and other limits | Documented in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instagram Reels | 9:16 recommended | Up to 1920 wide | 3 seconds to 15 minutes | 300 MB; 23 to 60 fps; MP4 or MOV | Instagram Platform API [s1] |
| Instagram Stories | 9:16 recommended | Up to 1920 wide | 3 to 60 seconds | 100 MB; 23 to 60 fps | Instagram Platform API [s1] |
| Facebook Reels | 9:16 | 1080 x 1920 recommended, 540 x 960 minimum | 3 to 90 seconds | 24 to 60 fps; MP4 recommended | Facebook Reels publishing docs [s3] |
| Threads | Any from 0.01:1 to 10:1 | Up to 1920 wide | Up to 5 minutes | 1 GB; 23 to 60 fps | Threads API [s2] |
| TikTok | 9:16 is the native frame | 360 to 4096 px per side | Up to 10 minutes via upload, depending on account | 4 GB; 23 to 60 fps; MP4, WebM or MOV | TikTok Content Posting API [s4] |
| YouTube Shorts | Square or vertical | Not specified for Shorts | Up to 3 minutes | Longer or horizontal uploads are treated as regular videos | YouTube Help [s5] |
| YouTube (long-form) | 16:9 | 1920 x 1080 for 1080p, 3840 x 2160 for 4K | Long-form | Do not add your own black bars | YouTube Help [s6] |
| LinkedIn (Pages) | 1:2.4 to 2.4:1 | 256 x 144 to 4096 x 2304 | 3 seconds to 10 minutes | 75 KB to 5 GB; 10 to 60 fps; MOV not supported | LinkedIn Help [s7] |
| X | Vertical or horizontal | Not a fixed requirement | Up to 140 seconds without Premium | 512 MB without Premium; longer uploads with Premium | X Help Center [s8] |
| Pinterest (standard video Pin) | Square or vertical (2:3, 4:5, 9:16) | No minimum stated | 4 seconds to 15 minutes | Up to 2 GB; MP4, MOV or M4V | Pinterest product specs [s9] |
| Google Business Profile | Not specified | 720p or higher | Up to 30 seconds | Up to 75 MB | Google Business Profile Help [s10] |
3. Which limits are hard, and which are only recommendations?
Length, file size and accepted formats are hard: break them and the upload fails. Aspect ratio and resolution are mostly soft: the platform accepts the file but crops, pads or reclassifies it.
How each kind of limit fails:
- Length over the limit: the upload is refused, or on YouTube a vertical video over three minutes becomes a regular video rather than a Short.
- File size over the limit: the upload fails, often only at the end of a slow transfer.
- Unsupported container: LinkedIn, for example, states it no longer supports MOV files [s7], so a straight export from a phone editor can fail there while working everywhere else.
- Aspect ratio outside the range: the video is cropped or padded, which is how captions end up cut off.
- Resolution below the recommendation: accepted, but visibly soft on large phones.
That order is also the order to check in. A file that passes length, size and format will upload; everything after that is about how good it looks.
4. How do I shoot once and publish to every platform?
Shoot one vertical master with the important content in the center, then export per platform only where a limit forces it. Most teams need a full-length vertical cut, a short cut, and sometimes a horizontal cut.
- Shoot vertical at 1080 x 1920 or higher. Record in 9:16. If you also need a horizontal version, frame the subject so it survives a crop to 16:9, or record a separate horizontal take, which is usually cleaner than cropping.
- Keep text and faces away from the edges. Every vertical feed overlays the username, caption and buttons on the top and bottom of the frame. Put on-screen text and the subject in the middle of the frame so no platform covers them.
- Cut to the tightest length you publish to. List your channels and find the shortest limit among them. With X on a non-Premium account at 140 seconds, Facebook Reels at 90 and Google Business Profile at 30, a 30-second cut and a full cut cover most plans.
- Export MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio. That combination is accepted by every platform in the table that lists formats, and is the safest default for the rest. Use a constant frame rate between 24 and 60 fps, which sits inside every documented range.Meta's specs also ask for the file index at the front of the file, often called "fast start" in export settings. Turning it on is harmless everywhere.
- Check file size before uploading. A 4K master can be several gigabytes. Export a 1080p version for anything with a smaller cap, such as Instagram through a scheduler or Google Business Profile.
5. Do videos need captions and sound designed for silence?
Plan for both. Some surfaces autoplay without sound, such as Telegram channels, so the first seconds should make sense muted. Burned-in or uploaded captions carry the message when sound is off.
Telegram, for example, notes that channel videos start playing automatically with no sound [s11]. Feeds on other networks behave in similar ways depending on the viewer's settings. The safe assumption is that a meaningful share of viewers will see the first seconds muted, so open on something visual that states the point.
Burned-in captions are the most portable, because they survive every upload path. Platform caption files are better for accessibility and search where they are supported, and they do not collide with on-screen text. Either is better than neither.
Oppira Studio publishes to X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Pinterest and the other connected channels from one calendar, with the formats for each channel decided in your Playbook, so the per-platform cut list is set once rather than remembered every week.
Key Takeaways
One vertical master covers most placements
9:16 at 1080 by 1920 fits Reels, TikTok and Shorts, and sits inside LinkedIn, Pinterest and Threads ranges.
Long-form YouTube is still horizontal
YouTube lists 16:9 as standard on computers, with 1920 by 1080 for 1080p. Shoot horizontal for desktop-first content.
Length and file size are the hard limits
They make uploads fail. Aspect ratio and resolution mostly change how the video is cropped or displayed.
Cut to your tightest limit
X without Premium allows 140 seconds, Facebook Reels 90 and Google Business Profile 30. Plan a short cut from the start.
MP4, H.264 and AAC travel everywhere
LinkedIn no longer accepts MOV files, so a phone export can fail there while working on every other network.
Check the source on the day
Platforms change limits quietly, and API limits can differ from in-app limits. Treat any spec table, including this one, as dated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources
- IG User Media reference (Reels and Stories video specifications) Meta for Developers, September 2026.Limits for videos published through the official Instagram API.
- Threads API overview (video specifications) Meta for Developers, September 2026.
- Reels publishing Meta for Developers, September 2026.Facebook Reels aspect ratio, resolution, duration and encoding requirements.
- Content Posting API: Media Transfer Guide TikTok for Developers, September 2026.Video restrictions for uploads through the official API.
- Understand three-minute YouTube Shorts YouTube Help, September 2026.
- Video resolution and aspect ratios YouTube Help, September 2026.
- Video specifications for your LinkedIn Pages and Career Pages LinkedIn Help, September 2026.
- How to share and watch videos on X X Help Center, September 2026.
- Pinterest product specs Pinterest Help, September 2026.
- Business Profile photos and videos Google Business Profile Help, September 2026.
- Telegram Channels Telegram, September 2026.
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