Quick answer: Social media video sizes are the aspect ratios, resolutions and length limits each platform accepts for uploads. One master file covers most feeds: 9:16 at 1080×1920 pixels, 30 fps, as an MP4. Add a 16:9 version for YouTube long-form and a 4:5 or 1:1 crop for feed posts.
Key facts
- Most social media video sizes can be built from one master: 9:16 at 1080×1920 pixels, which suits Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and TikTok.
- YouTube counts square or vertical uploads of up to three minutes as Shorts, if uploaded on or after 15 October 2024.
- LinkedIn video can run from 3 seconds to 15 minutes on desktop, with a 5 GB file cap and ratios from 1:2.4 to 2.4:1.
- X lets accounts without a subscription upload videos of up to 140 seconds and 512 MB.
- Pinterest video pins run 4 seconds to 5 minutes, and image pins work best at 2:3, such as 1000×1500 pixels.
- Instagram captions hold 2,200 characters (125 show before the "more" tap), X posts 280, Threads 500 and LinkedIn posts 3,000.
How to use this cheat sheet
Specs drift, and social media dimensions shift whenever a platform redesigns its feed. Social media video sizes and limits that were right in spring can be wrong by autumn, and platforms often leave old help pages online. This page uses a "last verified" column so you can see which rows we checked against an official help page on 22 October 2026 and which ones still need a recheck.
This page collects social media video sizes first, then images and text. Read the tables by job. If you export video, start with the video table. If you design graphics, jump to images. If you write captions, go to text limits. Save or print the page, or paste a table into a spreadsheet, where each row sorts cleanly by channel.
Where a platform publishes its own number, we link it in the sources. For the production side of video, our short form video playbook walks through scripting and editing. Where we label a cell "recheck", treat it as a pointer, not a promise.
What are the best video sizes for social media?
The best video sizes for social media are the ones your audience sees without cropping. For vertical feeds, that means 9:16 at 1080×1920. For YouTube's main player and many blog embeds, it means 16:9 at 1920×1080. For a feed post that sits among photos, 4:5 at 1080×1350 or 1:1 at 1080×1080 fills the space.
What is the best aspect ratio for social media video?
There is no single winner, but 9:16 is the closest. Social media aspect ratios are fewer than they look: 9:16, 4:5, 1:1 and 16:9 cover nearly every feed. It is the full-screen shape on phones, and the three biggest short video feeds use it. Make a 9:16 master, then derive other shapes from it. Our guide to the 9:16 aspect ratio explains the geometry and safe zones.
What resolution should social media videos be?
Export at 1080p, which means 1080×1920 for vertical and 1920×1080 for horizontal. Higher resolutions rarely help, since platforms re-encode what you upload. Lower resolutions, such as 720p, often look soft once compressed. Keep the frame rate at 30 fps unless your footage was shot at 24 or 60.
Do you need separate video sizes for each social media account?
Not for each account, but for each shape. One 9:16 master serves Reels, Shorts, TikTok and Pinterest video. A 16:9 version serves YouTube long-form and your blog. A 4:5 crop serves feed posts. Design the master so the important content sits in the middle, and the crops come free.
Social media video sizes by channel
All 12 channels in one table. "Verified" rows were checked against the platform's own help page on 22 October 2026; "recheck" rows were not.
| Channel | Best shape | Length limit (standard account) | File notes | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blog (embedded video) | 16:9, 1920×1080 | No platform limit; set by your host | Embed from a video host | Not applicable |
| 9:16, 1:1 or 16:9; allowed 1:2.4 to 2.4:1 | 3 seconds to 15 minutes on desktop, 10 on mobile | Up to 5 GB, 10 to 60 fps | 22 Oct 2026 | |
| X | Allowed 1:2.39 to 2.39:1 | 140 seconds without a subscription | Up to 512 MB without a subscription | 22 Oct 2026 |
| Instagram Reels | 9:16, 1080×1920 | Record and edit up to 20 minutes; over 3 minutes not recommended to new audiences | Use MP4 | 22 Oct 2026 |
| YouTube long-form | 16:9, 1920×1080 | 15 minutes by default; longer after account verification | Up to 256 GB or 12 hours | Recheck |
| YouTube Shorts | 9:16, square also counts | Up to 3 minutes (uploads from 15 Oct 2024) | Content ID claims on Shorts over 1 minute block the video | 22 Oct 2026 |
| TikTok | 9:16, 1080×1920 | In-app recording of 15 seconds, 60 seconds or 10 minutes | Check the upload screen for the cap | 22 Oct 2026 (recording only) |
| Follows the community's rules | Recheck | Recheck | Recheck | |
| Threads | Vertical or square | Recheck | Recheck | Recheck |
| 9:16, 1080×1920 for full screen | 4 seconds to 5 minutes | Also 1:2, 2:3, 3:4, 4:5 or 1:1 | 22 Oct 2026 | |
| 9:16, 1080×1920 for Reels | Recheck | Recheck | Recheck | |
| Telegram | Any; no feed crop | Not applicable | Up to 2 GB per file, 4 GB with Premium | Recheck |
Note that X's developer documentation lists higher limits than its consumer help page. If you publish through an API or a scheduler, check which set applies.
Image and carousel specs by channel
Social media image sizes follow the same rule as video: choose a shape for the space, then keep key content central. The table lists common choices.
| Channel | Common image or carousel size | Ratio | Notes | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instagram feed | 1080×1350 px | 4:5 | Up to 20 slides in a carousel | 22 Oct 2026 |
| LinkedIn document | 1080×1350 px or 1080×1080 px | 4:5 or 1:1 | PDF up to 100 MB and 300 pages | 22 Oct 2026 |
| 1000×1500 px | 2:3 | 20 MB on desktop, 32 MB in the app | 22 Oct 2026 | |
| X, Threads, Facebook | Recheck | Recheck | Pick one ratio for the whole set | Recheck |
For a deeper breakdown by format, see our Instagram post size guide, and the carousel post guide for slide design. Social media post sizes for feed images and carousels come down to the same few ratios.
What are the character limits for social media posts?
Text limits are the most stable numbers on this page, but a few still change when a platform adds a paid tier. These are the limits that apply to text, not pixels.
| Channel | Limit | Last verified |
|---|---|---|
| X | 280 characters per post (standard accounts) | 22 Oct 2026 (Publiqa reference) |
| 3,000 characters per post | 22 Oct 2026 (Publiqa reference) | |
| 2,200 characters; first 125 visible | 22 Oct 2026 (Publiqa reference) | |
| Threads | 500 characters | 22 Oct 2026 (Publiqa reference) |
| Title 100, description 500 | 22 Oct 2026 | |
| Blog meta description | About 155 characters | 22 Oct 2026 (Publiqa reference) |
| YouTube | Title 100, description 5,000 | Recheck |
| 63,206 characters | Recheck | |
| Title 300, text post 40,000 | Recheck | |
| Telegram | 4,096 per message | Recheck |
Hashtag caps differ by network and have been changing, so look at the composer in each app instead of trusting a fixed number. For two detailed references, read our posts on the X character limit and the Instagram caption limit.
One master file to export
Here is the practical answer to all the social media video sizes in the tables. Make one 9:16 file at 1080×1920, MP4, 30 fps, and build from it.
The arithmetic is simple. A 4:5 crop from a 1080×1920 frame keeps 1080×1350 pixels, so you lose 285 pixels at the top and 285 at the bottom. A 1:1 crop keeps 1080×1080, which loses 420 at each end. If you keep the important content inside the central 1080×1080 area, every crop works.
| Output | Crop from the master | What survives |
|---|---|---|
| 9:16 (Reels, Shorts, TikTok) | None | Full frame |
| 4:5 (feed posts) | Remove 285 px from top and bottom | Central 1080×1350 |
| 1:1 (feed posts) | Remove 420 px from top and bottom | Central 1080×1080 |
Captions need extra care. Keep them out of the bottom fifth and away from the right edge, where app buttons sit. These are rules of thumb. Preview on a real phone.
Common export mistakes
- Letterboxing. A 16:9 video placed inside a 9:16 frame shows black bars and tiny text. Re-edit instead of shrinking.
- Over-compression. Uploading a file that was already compressed twice gives muddy results. Export from your editor, not from a screen recording of a preview.
- Cropped captions. Text placed at the very bottom is hidden by captions, buttons and handles.
- Wrong frame rate. Mixed frame rates cause stutter. Pick one, usually 30 fps, and stick with it.
- Another app's watermark. Re-uploading a clip with a watermark from a different app looks careless. Export a clean file.
How Publiqa helps with social media video sizes
Publiqa's AI video studio renders vertical video as 1080p MP4 on a 1080×1920 canvas at 30 fps. The Publiqa home page also lists 16:9 for YouTube long-form and 4:5 for Instagram carousels. Simple mode gives you three lengths: 30, 45 or 60 seconds.
| Publiqa reference | Value |
|---|---|
| Video resolution | 1080p |
| Canvas | 1080×1920 (9:16) |
| Frame rate | 30 fps |
| Simple mode lengths | 30, 45 or 60 seconds |
| LinkedIn carousels | 5 to 10 slides, 4:5 |
| Character references | X 280, LinkedIn 3,000, Instagram 2,200, Threads 500, Pinterest 100 and 500 |
A sample workflow: write one idea into Campaign Studio, choose a 45-second video, review the storyboard, and render. The text versions for the 12 channels follow the character limits in the reference table above. A 1080p render costs about 15 credits and a campaign about 10 on Publiqa's published list, and the free trial starts with 200.
On delivery, only the webhook and headless CMS routes are live today. Direct posting to each network is rolling out, and the supported channels page lists where things stand.
Your pre-publish spec check
Before you post, run this short check. Open the file on your phone. Confirm the shape is right for the feed. Read the first caption line and the last. Check that no text sits in the bottom fifth. Compare the length to the platform's limit, using the table above, and look at the platform's help page if the row says recheck.
Want the 12 channel versions built for you? Turn one idea into content for 12 channels on the free trial, which includes 200 credits and needs no credit card.
FAQ
What are the best video sizes for social media?
Among social media video sizes, 9:16 at 1080×1920 pixels is the best choice for vertical feeds. Use 16:9 at 1920×1080 for YouTube long-form and blog embeds, and 4:5 at 1080×1350 or 1:1 at 1080×1080 for feed posts. Export MP4 at 30 fps.
Do we need separate video sizes for each social media account?
No. You need a separate file for each shape, not each account. One 9:16 master covers Reels, Shorts, TikTok and Pinterest video. Add a 16:9 export for YouTube long-form and a 4:5 or 1:1 crop for feed posts.
What is the best aspect ratio for social media video?
9:16 is the best default for mobile feeds, since it fills the screen on Reels, Shorts and TikTok. Choose 16:9 for horizontal players such as YouTube long-form and websites, and 4:5 or 1:1 where a video sits among photos.
What resolution should social media videos be?
Export at 1080p: 1080×1920 for vertical video and 1920×1080 for horizontal video. Platforms re-encode uploads, so higher resolutions seldom help, while 720p can look soft after compression. Keep frame rates consistent, usually 30 fps.
What are the character limits for social media posts?
As of October 2026, X allows 280 characters per post for standard accounts, Threads 500, Instagram captions 2,200 and LinkedIn posts 3,000. Pinterest titles hold 100 characters and descriptions 500. Check each platform's help page before publishing, because limits can change.
Sources
- LinkedIn Help: Video specifications and troubleshooting
- LinkedIn Help: Sharing documents on LinkedIn (100 MB and 300 page limits)
- X Help Center: How to share and watch videos on X
- Pinterest Help: Review Pin specs
- YouTube Help: Understand three-minute YouTube Shorts
- Instagram Help Center: Record a reel on Instagram