Social media video sizes: aspect ratios, pixels and safe zones by platform

What video size does each social media platform want?

Each platform publishes its own video specs, and they change. The table lists the aspect ratio (the frame’s width to its height, such as 9:16), the recommended size in pixels, the length limit and the safe zone for the main placements. Every figure comes from the platform’s own help page or ads guide, checked on 1 October 2026.

Placement (source)	Aspect ratio	Recommended size (pixels)	Length	Safe zone
YouTube video	16:9	1920 × 1080	Up to 15 minutes by default, longer for verified accounts	Not stated
YouTube Shorts	9:16 or 1:1	1080 × 1920 for vertical video ads	Up to 3 minutes	Image templates only
Instagram Reels ads	9:16	1440 × 2560	Up to 15 minutes	14% top, 35% bottom, 6% sides
Instagram Stories ads	9:16	1440 × 2560	1 second to 60 minutes	14% top, 35% bottom, 6% sides
Instagram Feed ads	9:16	1080 × 1920	1 second to 60 minutes	As Reels for 9:16; bottom and sides for 1:1 and 4:5
Facebook Feed ads	4:5	1440 × 1800	1 second to 241 minutes	Not stated for 4:5
Facebook Reels ads	9:16	1440 × 2560	No maximum	14% top, 35% bottom, 6% sides
LinkedIn video ads	16:9, 1:1, 4:5 or 9:16	1920 × 1080 (16:9), 720 × 900 (4:5), 720 × 1280 (9:16)	3 seconds to 30 minutes	Not stated
X video ads	9:16 for vertical ads; also 1:1, 4:5, 16:9	Up to 1080 × 1920 (9:16), 1200 × 1200 (1:1), 1920 × 1080 (16:9)	Up to 2 minutes 20 seconds	Not stated

Bottom line: three versions cover the recommended shape of every placement in the table. Make 9:16 at 1080 × 1920, 16:9 at 1920 × 1080, and 4:5 if you run Facebook Feed ads.

TikTok is missing on purpose. This table lists only figures read on a platform’s own pages, and TikTok’s help centre could not be opened for this check, so look up the current In-Feed ad specs in TikTok Ads Manager before you upload there.

9:16, 4:5, 1:1 or 16:9: which aspect ratio should you use?

Use 9:16 for anything that plays full screen on a phone, 16:9 for YouTube, websites and presentations, and 4:5 or 1:1 for posts that sit in a feed. If you can make only one social version, make it 9:16: it is the recommended shape for Reels, Stories, Shorts and Instagram Feed ads.

Shape	Size platforms name	Where it fits
9:16 vertical	1080 × 1920	Reels, Stories, Shorts, vertical ads on LinkedIn and X
4:5 portrait	1440 × 1800 (Meta), 720 × 900 (LinkedIn)	Facebook Feed, LinkedIn feed
1:1 square	1080 × 1080 (Google Ads, X)	Feed posts on LinkedIn and X, square Shorts
16:9 landscape	1920 × 1080	YouTube, websites, LinkedIn and X

Google Ads recommends 1920 × 1080 for horizontal, 1080 × 1920 for vertical and 1080 × 1080 for square video, and accepts 720 × 1280 as the smallest vertical size (Google Ads Help).

9:16 vs 4:5 for feed ads

Meta’s ads guide recommends 9:16 at 1080 × 1920 for Instagram Feed video ads, and 4:5 at 1440 × 1800 for Facebook Feed. Meta also says that 9:16 video ads in Instagram Feed follow the same safe zone as Reels and Stories, while 1:1 and 4:5 feed ads only need the bottom and side edges kept clear (Meta Business Help Centre).

The trade-off is height. At 1,080 pixels wide, a 4:5 frame is 1,350 pixels tall and a 9:16 frame is 1,920, so 4:5 shows 70% of the height of a vertical video. Choose 9:16 when one file must serve Reels, Stories and Instagram Feed. Add a 4:5 version when Facebook Feed is a main placement.

Where are the safe zones in a vertical video?

A safe zone is the part of the frame that the app’s buttons, captions and profile icon do not cover. For 9:16 ads in Reels and Stories, Meta advises leaving roughly 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% at each side free of text, logos and key visuals (Meta).

In pixels, Meta’s percentages work out like this (calculation, rounded to the nearest pixel):

Frame	Keep clear at the top	At the bottom	At each side	Safe area left
1080 × 1920	269 px	672 px	65 px	950 × 979 px
1440 × 2560	358 px	896 px	86 px	1267 × 1306 px

The safe area is nearly square and covers about 45% of the frame (88% of the width times 51% of the height). Plan a vertical film so its headline, product and captions fit in that middle square.

Meta adds two rules worth knowing. A Reels ad that carries a disclaimer should leave the bottom 40% clear. On screens taller than 9:16, Meta may zoom the video to fill the screen, which crops anything outside the safe zone.

Other platforms say less. Google Ads publishes its safe zones as image templates rather than percentages, LinkedIn’s video ad specs give none, and X recommends a persistent logo in the upper left corner of a video ad.

How long can a social media video be?

Length limits range from 2 minutes 20 seconds for X video ads to 12 hours on YouTube, and Facebook Reels ads have no maximum at all, so the limit rarely decides how long your video should be. The recommendations are much shorter: X suggests 15 seconds or less, and Google advises Shorts ads under 60 seconds because only the first 60 seconds play in the Shorts feed (Google Ads Help).

• YouTube: up to 15 minutes by default; verified accounts can upload longer videos, up to 12 hours or 256 GB, whichever is less (YouTube Help).
• YouTube Shorts: since 15 October 2024, square and vertical uploads of up to three minutes count as Shorts.
• Instagram: Reels ads up to 15 minutes; Stories and Feed ads from 1 second to 60 minutes.
• Facebook: Feed ads from 1 second to 241 minutes; Reels ads have no maximum.
• LinkedIn: video ads from 3 seconds to 30 minutes; ordinary video posts up to 15 minutes (LinkedIn Help).
• X: video ads up to 2 minutes 20 seconds, with 15 seconds or less recommended.

For ads and launch clips, 15 to 30 seconds fits inside every limit above. On Voom you set the length yourself or choose Auto, where the story sets it.

Why make one video per shape instead of cropping?

Cropping throws away most of the frame. A 16:9 film cropped to 9:16 keeps only 32% of its width, so titles, product screens and logos near the edges disappear. The table shows what survives each crop when the other side keeps its full size.

Crop	What is kept	In pixels
16:9 to 9:16	32% of the width	608 of 1,920
16:9 to 4:5	45% of the width	864 of 1,920
16:9 to 1:1	56% of the width	1,080 of 1,920
9:16 to 1:1	56% of the height	1,080 of 1,920
9:16 to 4:5	70% of the height	1,350 of 1,920

Calculation: a 1920 × 1080 frame cropped to 9:16 keeps its 1,080 pixel height and 1,080 × 9 ÷ 16 = 608 pixels of width.

A film composed for its shape avoids the problem, because every shot is laid out for that frame from the start. On Voom you choose the size (16:9, 9:16, 1:1 or 4:5) before the film is made, and every frame is composed for that size. When you compare an explainer video generator, check that it renders each shape this way rather than cropping one master.

Common mistakes with social media video sizes

• Cropping a landscape film for Reels. The edges carry the titles and the product. Fix: make a separate 9:16 version.
• Text in the bottom third. Captions and offers vanish under the app’s buttons. Fix: keep them above the bottom 35% of a vertical frame, or 40% when a Reels ad has a disclaimer.
• One oversized file for every platform. LinkedIn and X list 1080 × 1920 as their largest 9:16 size. Fix: use 1080 × 1920 when one vertical file must play everywhere.
• Treating the maximum as a target. A 10-minute limit is not a reason to run long. Fix: X recommends 15 seconds or less, and only the first minute of a Shorts ad plays in the feed.
• No captions. Meta lists captions as recommended for Reels, Stories and Feed ads, and X strongly recommends captions or text overlays. Fix: turn captions on for every social version.
• An old spec sheet. Specs change between campaigns. Fix: check the platform’s page before you export; this guide was checked on 1 October 2026.

How to make a video in every size you need

Decide the shapes before you write anything, then make one film per shape from the same brief. The steps below work with any tool; the notes say how they work on Voom.

1. List the placements. Write down where the video will play, then group the placements by shape with the table above.
2. Pick the shapes. Most campaigns need 9:16 and 16:9. Add 4:5 if Facebook Feed is a main placement.
3. Write one brief. The message stays the same in every shape; only the layout changes. Our guide to AI motion graphics shows what a good brief contains.
4. Make one film per shape. On Voom, choose the size, the length or Auto, the voice and captions. Each shape is its own film, designed for that frame.
5. Check the safe zone. Pause on every frame with text and confirm nothing important sits in the top 14% or the bottom 35%.

A product launch video usually needs two of these shapes: 16:9 for the website and 9:16 for Reels and Shorts. If your product has a page, you can also make a video from a product link, and Voom takes the colours, fonts, copy and screenshots from it.

On Voom, a 9:16 film is 1080 × 1920 pixels and a 16:9 film 1920 × 1080, because every frame is composed for its shape at 1080 pixels on the short side. Captions are optional and burned into the picture, timed to the voice word by word, and the rest of the on-screen content keeps clear of the caption band at the bottom. To make a vertical ad of your own, with captions for people watching on mute, start with social media video ads.