Social Media Video Specs 2027: Every Platform
Short answer: export 1080 x 1920 (9:16), MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio, under 90 seconds and under 300 MB, and that one file publishes almost everywhere. The table below has the exact ceilings per platform, last checked October 18, 2026.
Social media video specs: the master table
| Platform | Aspect ratio | Max length | Max file size | Container and codec |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instagram Reels | 9:16 recommended (API accepts 0.01:1 to 10:1) | 15 min (API), 3 s minimum | 300 MB | MP4 or MOV, H.264 or HEVC, AAC up to 48 kHz |
| Facebook Reels | 9:16, 1080 x 1920 recommended | 90 s via API, 3 s minimum | Not stated | MP4, 24 to 60 fps, AAC-LC |
| TikTok | 9:16 recommended, 360 to 4096 px per side | 10 min via API, 3 min for every creator in app | 4 GB | MP4, WebM or MOV, H.264 recommended, 23 to 60 FPS |
| YouTube Shorts | Square or vertical | 3 min | Shared YouTube cap: 256 GB or 12 h | MP4, H.264, AAC-LC recommended |
| YouTube long-form | 16:9 | 12 h (15 min until verified) | 256 GB | MP4, H.264, AAC-LC recommended |
| X | 16:9 or 1:1 (1280 x 720, 720 x 720) | 140 s, longer on Premium | 512 MB (larger on Premium) | MP4, H.264, 60 FPS max |
| 1:2.4 to 2.4:1 | 15 min, 3 s minimum | 5 GB | MP4 and common formats, 10 to 60 fps | |
| 9:16 or 1080 x 1920 recommended | 4 s to 5 min | 2 GB | MP4 or M4V (web), MOV (mobile), H.264 or H.265 | |
| Threads | 9:16 recommended | 5 min | 1 GB | MP4 or MOV, moov atom first, 23 to 60 FPS |
| Bluesky | Set by the publisher | 3 min | 100 MB | MP4, MPEG, WebM or MOV, one video per post |
Sources, checked October 18, 2026: Meta Instagram API media reference, Meta Reels Publishing guide and Threads API guide; TikTok Content Posting API docs; YouTube Help (Shorts, upload limits, recommended upload encoding); X Help (video upload); LinkedIn Help (video specs); Pinterest Help (Pin specs) and Pinterest product specs (file size); Bluesky app 1.99 release notes (Shacknews, March 2025). Meta’s and X’s help pages could not be loaded directly on the check date, so those rows rest on the API references and archived help pages.
Two numbers I left out on purpose. Meta publishes no spec for organic feed video on Instagram or Facebook, so there is no feed row. And Bluesky’s reported raise to 10 minutes and 300 MB (August 2026) has no official page behind it yet, so the table keeps the documented 3 minutes and 100 MB.
For stills on the same accounts, the social media image sizes cheat sheet has the sizes and safe zones, and the free image sizes tool crops a cover frame or thumbnail to any of them.
9:16 is the default, LinkedIn is the exception
Instagram recommends 9:16 “to avoid cropping or blank space”. Facebook Reels publishes 9 x 16, Threads recommends 9:16, and Pinterest recommends 9:16 or 1080 x 1920 for full-bleed video.
LinkedIn breaks the pattern: its window of 1:2.4 to 2.4:1 contains 9:16, 4:5, 1:1 and 16:9 without favoring any. Shoot vertical and crop to 4:5 when the frame wastes the shot.
The binding ceilings: 90 seconds and 300 MB
Read the table for the tightest number in each column and you get the one-file spec:
- Length: Facebook Reels through the API stops at 90 seconds. X’s standard 140 seconds and Bluesky’s 3 minutes come next. A 90-second cut clears every row.
- Minimum length: Pinterest needs 4 seconds, so nothing shorter.
- File size: Bluesky’s 100 MB is the smallest cap. A 90-second 1080p H.264 file usually lands well under it at a sensible bitrate, but check before export if you shoot at high bitrates.
- Frame rate: 24 or 30 fps sits inside every published range (23 to 60 for TikTok, Instagram and Threads, 10 to 60 for LinkedIn).
YouTube Shorts: three minutes, and the platform decides
YouTube states that any video uploaded on or after its cut-off date with “a square or vertical aspect ratio up to three minutes in length will be categorized as Shorts”. The date is October 15, 2024 for standard channels and December 8, 2025 for Official Artist Channels.
You do not choose to publish a Short: square or vertical under three minutes gets filed as one, which is why a 16:9 clip never becomes a Short. Shorts uploads cap at 1080p, and any Short over one minute with an active copyright claim is blocked globally.
TikTok photo posts cover what video cannot
Photo posts take up to 35 images. Through the API, images must be WebP or JPEG, at most 1080p and 20 MB each. A carousel has no vertical frame to fill, so it is the fallback when landscape footage cannot be reframed without losing the point. TikTok also caps publishing at typically around 15 posts per 24 hours per creator, shared across API clients.
One master edit and a cutting map
Start from one master timeline, reframe once, lay one caption track, then export. YouTube’s guidance is the reason: upload in native aspect ratio and never include letterbox or pillarbox bars, because baked-in padding stops the player adapting the frame.
| Export | Canvas | Ceiling to respect |
|---|---|---|
| Vertical master | 1080 x 1920 | 90 s for Facebook Reels, 3 min for Shorts and Bluesky, 5 min for Pinterest and Threads |
| Feed cut | 1080 x 1350 or 1080 x 1080 | Inside the LinkedIn window and the Pinterest ratio list |
| Watch-page cut | 1920 x 1080 | Long-form rules, no bars |
| Series settings | 24 or 30 fps; AAC 48 kHz stereo at 128 kbps or higher; MP4, H.264, moov atom at the front | Inside every published frame-rate range |
Safe zones for video
Pinterest is the only platform that publishes pixel insets for organic video: 270 px top, 65 px left, 195 px right, 790 px bottom on 1080 x 1920. Meta’s ads guide gives margins for 9:16 Stories and Reels as percentages: 14% top, 35% bottom, 6% per side, which is 269, 672 and 65 px. LinkedIn asks you to keep the edges free of key elements, and TikTok says its zone depends on the caption length.
The practical box: keep titles and burned-in captions inside the center of the frame and treat the bottom third as reserved. The full table, with Instagram and Facebook numbers, is in the safe zones section of the image sizes post.
Captions are a spec item
Five destinations document caption support: X takes CEA 608/708 tracks and an .SRT sidecar, LinkedIn auto-generates captions or takes a caption file, YouTube accepts .srt and .vtt, TikTok auto-generates them for uploads, and Bluesky lets you attach subtitles. Pinterest, Threads and Meta feed video publish nothing, so a burn-in is the only guaranteed text there.
That makes the export list two items from one edit: a sidecar SRT and a styled burn-in. LinkedIn ad captions must be plain-text SRT with no custom formatting. Post text limits live on the character limits table.
What gets an upload rejected
X returns “Video too long”, and uploads fail on file size, resolution or encoding. Processing stuck at 5 percent can time out after up to 30 minutes, most often with .mov files; an .mp4 re-export fixes it. LinkedIn errors on unsupported file types, and ProRes may upload but will not process.
Elsewhere it is arithmetic. YouTube holds unverified accounts at 15 minutes. The TikTok API rejects files above 4 GB, frames outside 23 to 60 FPS and pictures outside 360 to 4096 px. Instagram rejects a ratio outside 0.01:1 to 10:1 and expires an unpublished container after 24 hours. Pinterest fails a video under 4 seconds or over 5 minutes, Threads rejects files above 1 GB or 5 minutes, and Bluesky rejects anything over its 3-minute, 100 MB cap.
Publishing the set
PostSider shows a per-platform preview in the composer, keeps video in the media library, and accepts uploads from a public URL through the API, so an export folder or an agent can hand files over without a manual upload step. It publishes to 30+ networks (the platforms page has the list); Instagram publishing needs a Business or Creator account. Plans run from $20 to $90 a month, each with a 7-day trial, on the pricing page.
I write this sheet from the platform documentation, date every figure, and recheck it each quarter. Next check: January 2027.
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum length for a YouTube Short?
Three minutes, for any video uploaded on or after October 15, 2024 with a square or vertical aspect ratio. For Official Artist Channels the cut-off is December 8, 2025. Videos uploaded before those dates keep their long-form classification (YouTube Help).
What is the TikTok video length limit?
Every creator can post 3-minute videos, some accounts have 5-minute or 10-minute access, and the Content Posting API accepts up to 10 minutes. The API caps files at 4 GB and frames between 23 and 60 FPS, with picture dimensions from 360 px to 4096 px (TikTok developer docs).
What size should an Instagram Reel be?
1080 x 1920 at 9:16, which Instagram recommends to avoid cropping. Through the publishing API a Reel can be up to 15 minutes and 300 MB, at least 3 seconds long, MP4 or MOV with H.264 or HEVC video.
What is the Bluesky video length limit?
Three minutes and 100 MB per video since Bluesky app version 1.99 (March 2025), one video per post. Reports in August 2026 describe a raise to 10 minutes, but no official Bluesky page confirming it could be found as of October 18, 2026.
Do I need to burn subtitles into the video?
Not on YouTube, TikTok, X, LinkedIn or Bluesky, which all accept caption or subtitle files. On Pinterest, Threads and Instagram or Facebook feed video there is no published subtitle support, so a burn-in is the only way to guarantee on-screen text there. Export one SRT and one styled burn-in from the same edit and both groups are covered.
