Facebook video specs, placement by placement
Facebook feed videos can be up to 4 GB and 241 minutes, in any shape from 16:9 landscape to 9:16 portrait. But Facebook is not one video surface, and each has its own shape and running time: Stories want a tall frame, and in-stream is its own short format. Meta publishes these numbers mainly for advertisers, so the tables below come from its ad pages. Ordinary posts from a profile or Page generally follow the same shapes, but we only list what Meta states in writing, and each row links to the page we read.
Pick the right shape for Facebook
Meta suggests 4:5 for feed video. Stories run from 1.91:1 to 9:16, and search results use 1:1. Each placement has its own length limit too. Reshape a video for any placement or turn a wide clip into a square.
Feed video
| File types | MP4, MOV or GIFSource, checked Oct 2026 |
|---|---|
| Largest file | 4 GBThis is the feed ad limit. Meta does not give a separate figure on that page for organic posts.Source, checked Oct 2026 |
| Duration | 1 second to 241 minutesSource, checked Oct 2026 |
| Suggested ratio | 4:5Source, checked Oct 2026 |
| Suggested resolution | 1440 x 1800 pixelsSource, checked Oct 2026 |
Shapes Facebook allows
| Feed, Marketplace, in-stream | From 16:9 landscape to 9:16 portraitSource, checked Oct 2026 |
|---|---|
| Facebook Stories | From 1.91:1 to 9:16Source, checked Oct 2026 |
| Search results | Square, 1:1Source, checked Oct 2026 |
How long each placement runs
| Feed, Marketplace, search | Up to 240 minutesSource, checked Oct 2026 |
|---|---|
| In-stream | 5 to 120 secondsSource, checked Oct 2026 |
| Facebook Stories | 1 to 120 secondsSource, checked Oct 2026 |
Make one now
Choose by where the video will appear
Decide the placement before you export. A video made for Stories at 9:16 will sit inside a small window in the feed if you reuse it, and a 16:9 clip looks tiny on a phone in portrait.
If you want one file that works in most places, 4:5 is the compromise Meta suggests for the feed, and it still crops acceptably elsewhere.
Mind the Stories window
Stories run for up to two minutes on Facebook, but the top and bottom of a tall frame can be covered by the profile name and the reply bar. Keep faces and captions toward the middle.
Because Stories accept ratios between 1.91:1 and 9:16, a slightly wide clip will still fit without cropping, though it will have bars above and below.
Large files and slow uploads
A 4 GB ceiling is far above what most phone clips reach, so size is rarely the problem. A long upload on a weak connection is. Shrinking the video before you send it saves time and mobile data, and the quality difference on a phone screen is small.
Keep an original copy. Re-exporting an already compressed file more than once is the surest way to get blocky edges.
Captions and sound
Many people scroll with the sound off, so burn in short captions if the words matter. Keep them inside the middle of the frame so a Stories overlay or a cropped feed preview does not hide them.
Check the first second on a phone before you publish. It is the frame people see while the video is still loading, and a blurry or empty opening makes them scroll on.
Finally, watch the whole clip once on the phone you expect most viewers to use. Text that looks fine on a laptop is often too small to read there, and it is far easier to fix before you post than after.
Questions
What is the maximum Facebook video file size?
Meta lists 4 GB for feed video ads. It does not publish a different number on the pages we checked for ordinary posts, so treat 4 GB as the safe ceiling.
How long can a Facebook video be?
Feed video can run up to 240 minutes. Stories and in-stream placements are much shorter, at up to 120 seconds.
What aspect ratio should I use on Facebook?
Anything from 16:9 to 9:16 works in the feed. Meta suggests 4:5 for feed ads, and Stories are built around tall 9:16 video.
Why do these specs come from the ads pages?
Meta documents limits most clearly for advertisers. We cite only what Meta states, and we link every row so you can read the original.
More platform specs
Instagram video specs
Reels can run up to 20 minutes, as one clip or several, in any shape from 1.91:1 to 9:16, at 30 FPS or more and at least 720 pixels wide. Instagram spreads its rules across Reels, feed posts and Stories, and its help pages do not always agree, so this page gathers the numbers that Instagram and Meta state in writing, grouped by format, with the page and date next to every row. Rows that come from photo guidance or from advertising specs say so in their label, because they do not automatically apply to a normal Reel. Where we could not find an official figure, such as an organic Stories length, we left it out.
LinkedIn video specs
LinkedIn takes videos up to 5 GB and 15 minutes in a post, and is strict about almost nothing else. A normal phone recording will usually upload without any changes, which is why most people never look up the limits. The numbers below matter when an upload stalls, when a clip looks soft after processing, or when you are preparing a video for a company Page or an ad, where the rules differ from a personal post. Every row names the LinkedIn help page it came from and the day we last read it, so you can check it yourself.
WhatsApp video specs
WhatsApp lets you send files up to 2 GB, up from 100 MB, and that is the only size figure we found that WhatsApp itself states in writing. People searching for the WhatsApp video size limit find answers that vary from one site to the next, and many of them do not come from WhatsApp itself. WhatsApp does not publish a video-specific limit that we could read and verify, so this page does not invent one. What it offers instead is the confirmed number, an honest account of what is unknown, and practical ways to send a clip that is easy for the other person to receive.