Short-form video specs for YouTube Shorts, TikTok, Instagram Reels and Facebook Reels

The specs side by side

Where a platform publishes no number for organic posts, the table gives its ad spec and says so.

One export for all four

A 1080 x 1920 vertical MP4 at 30 frames a second fits every row above. It is inside YouTube's 1080p ceiling, it matches the 9:16 frame TikTok and Meta ask for, and a cut of 3 minutes or less counts as a Short on YouTube. Two things change by platform: where the buttons and post text sit over the video, and the post copy.

• Keep captions, titles and faces out of the parts the apps draw over. The safe zones guide has the numbers.
• Export clean: no borders, no letterboxing and no other app's watermark. Instagram says it makes low-resolution, watermarked, muted or bordered reels, and reels that are mostly text, less visible (Instagram).
• How ViewGum makes a short for each one: YouTube Shorts, TikTok, Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels.
• Write the post copy for each platform.

Length rules that change what you can post

• On YouTube, a Short over 1 minute with an active copyright claim of any type is blocked worldwide until the claim is resolved. Shorts of 1 minute or less keep the old rules (YouTube Help).
• Most songs from YouTube's library can run up to 90 seconds in a 3-minute Short; some are limited to 60 or 30 seconds (YouTube Help).
• TikTok publishes a length only for ads, up to 10 minutes for In-Feed ads (TikTok Business Help), and states no organic limit on an official page, so check the upload screen in the app.
• Instagram reels can run up to 20 minutes, but Instagram says reels over 3 minutes won't be recommended to new audiences (Instagram Help).
• Facebook counts any video, short or long, vertical or horizontal, as a reel. It must be at least 3 seconds long, with no maximum (Meta for Creators).