Video Specs for Every Social Platform in 2026

Why Specs Matter

Every platform has recommended video dimensions, file sizes, and formats. Upload the right specs and your video displays perfectly. Upload the wrong specs and the platform might add black bars, auto-crop awkwardly, compress aggressively, or reject your file entirely.

These specs change occasionally as platforms update their apps. This guide reflects current recommendations as of 2026.

YouTube

Standard Videos

• Dimensions: 1920×1080 (Full HD) or 3840×2160 (4K)
• Aspect ratio: 16:9
• Frame rate: 24, 25, 30, 48, 50, or 60 fps
• Format: MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio
• Max file size: 256GB
• Max length: 12 hours (or 128GB, whichever comes first)

YouTube accepts nearly any resolution from 240p up to 8K. Widescreen 16:9 fills the player. Other ratios get letterboxed with black bars.

YouTube Shorts

• Dimensions: 1080×1920
• Aspect ratio: 9:16 (vertical)
• Max length: 3 minutes (since October 2024)

Any square or vertical upload under 3 minutes is treated as a Short. Horizontal uploads go to the regular feed instead.

TikTok

• Dimensions: 1080×1920 (minimum 720×1280)
• Aspect ratio: 9:16 (vertical)
• Frame rate: 24-60 fps (30 fps recommended)
• Format: MP4 or MOV
• Max file size: roughly 287MB (mobile), up to 10GB (desktop upload)
• Max length: 10 minutes in the app, up to 60 minutes from the web uploader

TikTok is entirely vertical. Horizontal videos technically upload but display tiny with massive black bars and look completely out of place in the feed.

Instagram

Reels

• Dimensions: 1080×1920
• Aspect ratio: 9:16 (vertical)
• Frame rate: 30 fps
• Format: MP4
• Max file size: 4GB
• Max length: 3 minutes in the app (since January 2025)

Stories

• Dimensions: 1080×1920
• Aspect ratio: 9:16 (vertical)
• Max length: 60 seconds per story (auto-splits longer videos)

Feed Posts

• Feed video: publishes as a Reel, so use the Reels specs above
• Photo and carousel dimensions: 1080×1080 (square) or 1080×1350 (portrait 4:5)
• Landscape: up to 1.91:1 (1080×566)
• Carousels: up to 20 slides

For photo posts, 4:5 takes up more screen space than square while scrolling. The profile grid shows 3:4 tiles, so anything taller or wider is clipped in the grid preview.

LinkedIn

• Dimensions: 1920×1080 (landscape) or 1080×1080 (square)
• Aspect ratio: 16:9 or 1:1
• Frame rate: 30 fps
• Format: MP4
• Max file size: 5GB
• Max length: 10 minutes

LinkedIn supports both landscape and square. Square takes up more feed space on mobile. Landscape works well for presentation-style content.

Twitter/X

• Dimensions: 1920×1080 (landscape), 1080×1080 (square), or up to 1200×1900 (vertical)
• Aspect ratio: 16:9, 1:1, or 9:16
• Frame rate: 30-60 fps
• Format: MP4
• Max file size: 512MB without Premium
• Max length: 2 minutes 20 seconds without Premium. Premium accounts can upload much longer, multi-gigabyte videos.

X plays video back at up to 1080p and shows vertical video at full height in the feed, so 9:16 clips are no longer letterboxed.

Facebook

Feed Videos

• Dimensions: 1920×1080 (landscape) or 1080×1080 (square). Meta recommends at least 1080p.
• Aspect ratio: 16:9 or 1:1
• Frame rate: 30 fps
• Format: MP4 or MOV
• Max file size: 10GB
• Max length: 240 minutes

Reels and Stories

• Dimensions: 1080×1920
• Aspect ratio: 9:16 (vertical)

Facebook is flexible with formats. The feed accepts most ratios, but square and landscape perform best.

Quick Reference Table

Format and Codec Tips

MP4 with H.264 is the universal standard. Every platform accepts it, every device plays it, and it offers good compression. When in doubt, export to H.264 MP4.

H.265 (HEVC) offers better compression but isn't universally supported. Some platforms accept it, but H.264 is safer.

AAC audio is the standard for web video. Use 128kbps or higher for clean sound.

30 fps is fine for most content. Use 60 fps for gaming, sports, or anything with fast motion.

File Size Considerations

Even when platforms accept large files, smaller uploads are faster and more reliable. If your video is within specs but still huge, consider compressing it before uploading.

Target sizes for smooth uploads:

• Under 100MB for TikTok (mobile upload)
• Under 512MB for X without Premium
• Under 1GB for most other platforms

Creating for Multiple Platforms

If you're posting the same content everywhere, you'll need different versions. A few strategies:

Record in 4K with centered framing. Start with high resolution and keep your subject in the middle. This gives you room to crop for different aspect ratios while maintaining quality.

Create a master version first. Edit your full video in its original ratio, then export crops for each platform.

Use presets. VidStudio's resize tool has presets for every major platform. Pick your target and the dimensions are set automatically.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if my video is slightly off from the recommended specs?

Small differences usually don't matter. 1920×1080 and 1920×1088 look identical. But getting the aspect ratio right (16:9, 9:16, etc.) matters. Wrong ratios cause letterboxing or weird cropping.

Does higher resolution always mean better quality?

Not necessarily. A well-compressed 1080p video can look better than a poorly-compressed 4K video. Resolution matters, but bitrate and encoding quality matter more.

Why do platforms compress my video after upload?

Platforms re-encode everything to their own specs for consistent streaming. Upload higher quality than you need to account for this compression. Your 1080p upload might display at lower bitrate than you exported.

Can I use the same video everywhere?

You can, but it won't look native anywhere. A 16:9 video on TikTok shows tiny. A 9:16 video on YouTube gets side bars unless it is under 3 minutes and becomes a Short. Creating platform-specific versions takes more time but performs better.