YouTube Shorts video size and specs
A Short can be up to 3 minutes long and must be square or vertical. It is not a separate upload type: YouTube decides after the fact, looking at the shape and length of the file you sent. That makes the rules short but unforgiving: get the shape or the length wrong and your clip is filed as an ordinary video instead. The rows below are the numbers YouTube Help states, with the page we read and the day we checked. Anything YouTube does not write down, such as exact safe-zone margins, is left out rather than guessed.
Shorts are short and tall
A Short can run up to 3 minutes, in a square or vertical frame, at up to 1080p. Resize your video for YouTube Shorts and check the frame before you upload.
YouTube Shorts requirements
| Maximum length | Up to 3 minutesSource, checked Oct 2026 |
|---|---|
| Shape (aspect ratio) | Square or verticalWider formats such as 16:9 are treated as long-form videos.Source, checked Oct 2026 |
| Maximum resolution | 1080pSource, checked Oct 2026 |
| Batch upload on a computer | Up to 15 videos at a timeSource, checked Oct 2026 |
Make one now
Shape decides everything
If your source is a landscape recording, YouTube will not turn it into a Short no matter how brief it is. You need to reframe it first, either by cropping into the action or by rebuilding the frame as vertical.
Square works too, which is handy when you already have a clip made for another feed. A vertical frame fills more of the phone screen, though, and that is where most Shorts are watched.
Use the three minutes on purpose
Longer Shorts are allowed now, but a longer clip has to hold attention for longer. A tight 30 to 60 seconds is still a sound default for a first upload. Move up to the full three minutes when the story needs it, for example a tutorial with several steps.
When you upload a longer video from the mobile app, YouTube offers an edit option to trim it to three minutes or less. That is convenient, but trimming on your computer first gives you more control over the exact cut.
Check the result before you share it
After an upload, YouTube Studio shows whether the video was treated as a Short. If it was not, the shape or the length is nearly always the reason, and re-exporting a corrected file is quicker than hunting for a setting. Upload a private test first, open it on your phone, and look at how the top and bottom of the frame sit under the title and the buttons.
Keep important text well inside the picture. The title, the channel name and the buttons are drawn on top of your video, and YouTube does not publish exact margins that we could cite.
Do not chase more pixels
Since 1080p is the ceiling, exporting from a 4K camera at full size gains nothing. Scale to 1080 by 1920 and spend the saved file size on a steadier bitrate instead.
Resizing in your browser with ClipSizer keeps the file on your device, so you can try a few framings without waiting for any upload.
Questions
What is the YouTube Shorts length limit?
Shorts can be up to three minutes long. The video also has to be square or vertical, otherwise YouTube treats it as a regular video.
Is there a file size limit for Shorts?
YouTube Help does not give a separate size limit for Shorts on the pages we read. Normal YouTube upload limits apply, and a three-minute clip at 1080p sits far below them.
What resolution should I upload a Short in?
The maximum is 1080p. A vertical 1080 by 1920 frame is the natural fit, since it is already the highest quality YouTube will keep for a Short.
Can I upload several Shorts at once?
Yes, from a computer you can choose up to 15 videos at a time in YouTube Studio. Each one still needs to meet the length and shape rules.
More platform specs
YouTube video specs
YouTube accepts files up to 256 GB or 12 hours, whichever is less, and accounts that are not verified can post up to 15 minutes. Unlike most social apps, it also publishes a detailed encoding recipe, and it re-encodes everything you send anyway. So the useful question is not what will be accepted, since almost anything is, but what to send so the re-encode starts from a clean, sharp source. This page collects the limits and the recommended settings from YouTube Help, each with its own link and check date. For vertical clips under three minutes, see the YouTube Shorts page instead.
TikTok video specs
TikTok accepts MP4, WebM and MOV videos up to 4 GB, from 360 to 4096 pixels on each side, at 23 to 60 FPS. Every creator can post 3 minutes, and some accounts get 5 or 10. The table lists the limits TikTok documents itself, with the exact page each number came from and the date we last looked. If a number you expect is missing, that is deliberate. We only print values TikTok states in its own documentation, and the pages we could read do not give a fixed rule for things like the ideal aspect ratio.
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.