How long should a product video be? Lengths, word counts and platform limits

How long should a product video be for each purpose?

Long enough for one message and no longer. A teaser shows one reveal, a launch film two or three features and one proof point, and an explainer the steps of one idea, so the ideal product video length runs from 15 seconds for a teaser to a minute for an explainer.

	Teaser	Launch film	Explainer	Social ad	Website hero
Length	15 to 25 s	25 to 40 s	30 to 60 s	15 to 30 s	15 to 30 s
What fills it	One reveal, one action	Problem, features, proof, action	One idea in a few steps	One offer, one reason to care	The main promise, on mute
Spoken words, friendly read	27 at 15 s	56 at 30 s	83 at 45 s, 112 at 60 s	27 to 56	Shown as captions
Voom setting	15 s or Auto	30 s or Auto	45 or 60 s	15 or 30 s	15 or 30 s, captions on
Best for	Countdowns and pre-launch posts	Launch day on the site, in email and on social	Product pages, onboarding, help centres	Paid placements in feeds	Home and product pages

Bottom line: start from the job, not the platform’s maximum. A message that needs more than its range is usually two films.

On Auto, Voom’s studio sets the length the content deserves, up to 45 seconds (30 on Free): about 15 to 25 seconds for a tight product teaser, 25 to 40 for a feature launch and 30 to 45 for an explainer, and it never pads. Auto holds credits while the film is made and returns what the finished film does not use. When an explainer needs the full minute, choose 60 seconds yourself. Our guide to AI motion graphics explains the format itself.

How many words fit in a product video?

Fewer than most scripts hold. Voom’s studio sets a word budget before it writes: a 30-second film gets 48 to 63 spoken words and a 60-second film 97 to 128, depending on the pace the mood words set. The table runs from 15 to 90 seconds.

Length	Shots	Seconds of voice	Calm, 1.9 words a second	Friendly, 2.2	Energetic, 2.5
15 s	4	12.1	23	27	30
30 s	7	25.3	48	56	63
45 s	11	37.9	72	83	95
60 s	14	51.1	97	112	128
90 s	21	76.9	146	169	192

The arithmetic, once. The studio plans a shot about every 4.2 seconds, never fewer than four, and allows 0.6 seconds of breath per shot and 0.5 for the ending, then multiplies the seconds left by the pace. For a friendly 90-second film, 90 ÷ 4.2 rounds to 21 shots; 90 seconds less 12.6 of breaths and 0.5 for the ending leaves 76.9 seconds of voice; and 76.9 × 2.2 rounds to 169 words.

The product launch video script templates turn a budget into lines.

The last shot is an end card with the logo and one call-to-action line, held for 2.5 to 3.5 seconds. That is 17% to 23% of a 15-second film but 4% to 6% of a 60-second one (calculation: 2.5 and 3.5 divided by the length), which is why a short film has no room for a second message.

What do YouTube, LinkedIn, X and Meta say about video length?

Platforms accept far longer videos than they recommend. LinkedIn takes video ads of 3 seconds to 30 minutes but recommends 15 to 30 seconds, and X takes up to 2 minutes 20 seconds but recommends 15 seconds or less. Treat the limit as a ceiling and the recommendation as the target; every figure was checked on 4 October 2026.

Placement	Limit	Recommendation
YouTube Shorts	Square or vertical uploads of up to 3 minutes count as Shorts	None stated
YouTube Shorts ads	Up to 3 minutes, but only the first 60 seconds play in the Shorts feed	Under 60 seconds
YouTube bumper ads	Up to 6 seconds, not skippable	The format sets the length
YouTube non-skippable in-stream ads	7 to 15 seconds, or 16 to 30 on connected TVs	The format sets the length
LinkedIn video ads	3 seconds to 30 minutes	15 to 30 seconds, to qualify for every placement
X video ads	Up to 2 minutes 20 seconds	15 seconds or less

Bottom line: a 15-second version fits every paid placement in the table except the 6-second bumper.

Meta’s ads offer a different yardstick. Its ThruPlay metric counts a play to the end for videos of 15 seconds or less, and 15 seconds of play for longer ones (Meta Business Help Centre). In a 40-second ad, a ThruPlay can come before the viewer has seen the offer, so show the product and the offer early.

The table leaves out TikTok and Instagram Reels: check their current limits in TikTok Ads Manager or the Instagram app before you upload. For shapes, pixel sizes and safe zones, see our guide to social media video sizes.

How long should a website hero video be?

Short enough to make its point in one loop, about 15 to 30 seconds, with a way to stop it. Under WCAG 2.2, content that starts moving by itself, lasts more than five seconds and plays alongside other content needs a way to pause, stop or hide it, a Level A requirement (W3C).

The W3C chose five seconds as long enough to catch attention but short enough for a visitor to wait out. Sound has a tighter rule: audio that plays automatically for more than 3 seconds needs a way to pause or stop it, or a volume control separate from the system’s, and the W3C encourages starting sound only when the visitor asks (W3C).

In practice, a hero film plays muted with a visible pause button and starts its sound only when the visitor presses play. Captions then carry the voice-over for everyone watching silently; our guide to captions for social media videos compares burned-in and closed captions.

How do you choose the right length, step by step?

Choose the length before you write a word, because it sets the word budget, the number of shots and, on Voom, the price. Five steps take you from the message to the setting, whether you make the film with Voom, another tool or a designer.

1. Write the message in one sentence. If it needs two, plan two films.
2. Find the purpose in the first table. Each purpose comes with a length range.
3. Check where it will play. Stay at or under the platform’s recommendation.
4. Count the words. Read the budget for your length and pace, and cut the script until it fits.
5. Set the length. On Voom, choose 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120 or 180 seconds within your plan, or Auto.

On Voom, length is also the price: a film costs 8 credits plus 9 a minute of video, so a 30-second film uses 13 credits and a 60-second film 17. Voom pricing shows what each plan includes.

Common mistakes with video length

Most length mistakes come from treating a platform’s maximum as a target, timing the script after writing it, or cutting a long film down instead of writing a short one. Each one is easy to catch before the film is made, with the two tables above.

• Aiming for the limit. X allows 2 minutes 20 seconds and recommends 15 seconds or less. Fix: aim for the recommendation.
• Timing a script as one continuous read. 30 seconds at 2.2 words a second suggests 66 words, but breaths and the ending leave room for 56. Fix: write to the budget.
• Cutting a 60-second film to 15. The set-up survives and the point gets cut. Fix: write the short version on its own.
• A late payoff. Only the first 60 seconds of a Shorts ad play in the feed, and Meta counts a ThruPlay on longer videos at 15 seconds. Fix: show the product and the offer early.
• Forgetting the end card. Fix: fit the message into the time before the last 2.5 to 3.5 seconds.

When is Voom the wrong tool for the length you need?

Voom makes films of 15 seconds to 3 minutes, so it is the wrong tool for a 6-second bumper ad and for anything longer than 180 seconds, such as a tutorial, a webinar or a course module. Plan limits apply too: up to 30 seconds on Free, 90 on Pro and 180 on Business.

For a bumper, cut 6 seconds from a longer film in a video editor, or ask a designer. For a long tutorial, record your screen, and for interviews and testimonials, film the people themselves.