Last Updated: November 21, 2023
Staying relevant and capturing your audience’s attention is a constant challenge for marketers. And now that brands rely on video content more than ever, it’s critical to use the correct social media video specs and advertising video sizes.
To simplify marketers’ efforts, we created a complete guide of every single social media video spec and advertising video dimension.
Before we start, here are some additional resources that keep the information in one place:
- Easily reference our social media video specs in our always up-to-date Google Doc.
- Looking for image sizes? Check out our social media image sizes guide for help.
- Want to get better results with video? Download our social media video content workbook.
Social Media Video Specs & Ad Sizes By Network
We’ve gathered data on each social network’s specific video sizes and specs. Simply click the links below to jump to your desired network:
Facebook Video Specs
Facebook video is consumed at higher rates each year, so it’s no wonder why so many marketers search for the correct Facebook video specs.
There are simply so many types of videos you can share on Facebook and the platform updates its design frequently. Each video format has different dimensions and specs, which can make it confusing to know whether or not you’re uploading the correct format for organic or paid posts. Follow the specs below to optimize your posts.
In-Feed Shared Post Video (Landscape & Portrait)
The most common type of video on Facebook comes from shared posts. This type of video lives in your Facebook Feed, and can be shared by brands or your friends. While it’s not as easy to get organic reach on Facebook, it’s still a viable way to share video.
You can choose between two video orientations: Landscape and Portrait. Here’s a look at the video specs for both.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution: 1280×720, 720×1280
- Minimum width: 1200 pixels
- Aspect ratio: 16:9, 9:16
- Max file size: 10GB (3GB max in Sprout)
- Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV
- Video length: 1 second to 240 minutes (45 minutes max, if uploading in Sprout)
- Bitrate: 256kbps
- Frame rate: 30fps
360 Video
Facebook’s 360 Video allows users to get a complete 360-degree view by scrolling with a cursor on the web, by touch or turning the device on mobile.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution depends on the type of content:
- Monoscopic: 5120×2560 maximum
- Stereoscopic: 5120×5120 maximum
- Aspect ratio depends on the type of content:
- Monoscopic: 2:1
- Stereoscopic: 1:1
- Max file size: 10GB
- Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV
- Video length: 1 second to 30 minutes
- Frame rate: 30fp
Facebook Reels
The convenience of cross-posting your Instagram Reels to Facebook expands the reach of your videos. This format appears organically in feeds but often gets priority on Facebook feeds.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution: 1080p
- Aspect ratio: 9:16
- Max file size: No file size limit
- Recommended video formats: MP4
- Video length: 3 seconds to 90 seconds
- Frame rate: 24fps – 60fps (30fp recommended in Sprout)
Facebook Stories
Similar to Instagram Stories, you can post Facebook Stories to extend the reach of your posts. Users who may not follow you on Instagram will be able to view and interact with your Stories.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution: 1080p
- Minimum width: 500 pixels
- Aspect ratio: 9:16 and 4:5 to 1.91:1
- Max file size: 4GB
- Recommended video formats: MP4 or MOV
- Video length: 1 second to 60 seconds
Facebook Video Ad Specs
There are more than 10 million advertisers now on Facebook and having the right specs for your ads can be tricky. Each type of Facebook video ad is different, so let’s break down the specs for each type of video you can produce.
In-Feed Video Ads
These Facebook video ads are the sponsored equivalent of in-feed posts, and they follow similar guidelines to in-feed video posts.
Video guidelines
- Resolution: 1080×1080 minimum
- Minimum width: 120 pixels
- Minimum height: 120 pixels
- Aspect ratio: 1:1 (for desktop or mobile) or 4:5 (for mobile only)
- Max file size: 4GB
- Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV or GIF
- Video length: 1 seconds to 240 minutes
- Frame rate: 30fps
Character limits
- Primary text: 125 characters
- Headline: 27 characters
- Description: 27 characters
Carousel Video Ads
Facebook Carousel Video ads allow brands to showcase multiple videos (or images) and a landing page link within a user’s Facebook feed. It has grown in popularity because its unique scrolling feature allows users to see more content before clicking. In fact, Digiday estimated Carousel Ads to be 10x more effective than standard social media ads.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution: 1080×1080 minimum
- Aspect ratio: 1:1
- Max file size: 4GB
- Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV or GIF
- Video length: 1 seconds to 240 minutes
- Frame rate: 30fps
Character limits
- Primary text: 125 characters
- Headline: 32 characters
- Description: 18 characters
- Landing Page URL: Required
Collection Video Ads (Mobile)
The Facebook Collection ads showcase multiple images and a main video above it. This is perfect for displaying multiple products (or various colors of a single product) plus a video. The ad type has been popular so far with retailers and clothing companies as an instant storefront or lookbook.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution: 1080×1080 minimum
- Aspect ratio: 1:1
- Max file size: 4GB
- Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV or GIF
- Video length: 1 seconds to 240 minutes
- Frame rate: 30fps
Character Limits
- Primary text: 125 characters
- Headline max: 40 characters
- Landing Page URL: Required
Instant Experience Video Ads
Facebook Instant Experience ads open up a full-screen experience after the first click, which can be further customized with a variety of interactive features. This can include multiple video experiences, including features to auto-play on loop.
Video Guidelines
- Minimum width: 720 pixels
- Max file size: 4GB
- Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV
- Video length: Up to 2 minutes
- Frame rate: 30fps
Slideshow Video Ad
Facebook’s Slideshow videos were built for advertisers wanting to reach audiences with slower internet connections. Instead of a regular video, slideshows are just that–a slideshow of images or video in an ad display.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution: 1080×1080
- Aspect ratio: 16:9 or 1:1
- Recommended video formats: MP4 or MPV
- Slideshow duration length: 15 seconds
Facebook Stories Ads
Facebook added the Stories feature – photo or short video posts that are only available for 24 hours. In addition to user-generated organic posts, Stories ads are available to run between sets of posted Stories. While most users will be sharing immediate and organic updates from their phone’s camera, the guidelines for this format are similar for both paid and organic ad posts.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution: 1080×1080
- Minimum width: 500 pixels
- Aspect ratio: 9:16
- Max file size: 4GB
- Recommended video formats: MP4, MPV and GIF
- Video length: 1 second to 2 minutes
- Frame rate: 30fps
Character Limits
- Primary text: 125 characters
- Headline: 40 characters
For more information on the video specs for Facebook, visit the Facebook Help Center.
Instagram Video Specs
Instagram launched video capabilities in 2013 and quickly saw enough success to start advertising on the platform in 2015. Since then, video only continues to grow as an engaging social format. Needless to say, Instagram videos are absolutely worth the investment.
Carousel Video (Landscape, Square & Vertical)
Since 2015, Instagram crafted its video formats to allow three different styles: landscape, square and vertical. However, like the app, Instagram and how video is presented has evolve. Gone are the days of IGTV and Instagram Video. Video can be natively included as a post or carousel post, or they can be uploaded as Reels, but more on Reels later.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution: 1080×1080, 1080×1350
- Aspect ratio: 9:16
- Max file size: 4GB
- Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV
- Video length: 3 seconds to 60 minutes
- Frame rate: 23-60 fps
Instagram Reels
Introduced in 2020, Instagram Reels are another option for your video strategy on Instagram. These short-form, easily digestible videos are becoming the preferred type of content in Instagram feeds.
Fortunately for social content creators looking to easily generate a lot of content for Instagram, most of the video specs for Instagram Reels are fairly similar to other formats on the platform.
As Instagram has started to add separate tabs for different content types, thumbnails will be cropped differently on each view. If the viewer is on the first tab that has all content types, the thumbnail will be cropped to the traditional square post size of 1:1–center your subjects and plan to avoid undesirable vertical cropping.
Video Guidelines:
- Resolution: 720p minimum
- Aspect ratio: 0.01:1 to 10:1; 9:16 recommended
- Max file size: 4GB max (1GB in Sprout)
- Recommended video formats: MP4 or MOV
- Video length: 3 seconds to 15 minutes
- Frame rate: 23-60 fps
Cover Photo Size:
- Size: 420p x 654p
- Aspect ratio: 1:1.55
Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are short-form videos that display for 24-hours on your profile. Followers and users can access your Stories directly from your profile; followers have the luxury of accessing your Stories directly from their feed, where Stories for accounts they follow display directly at the top of their screen.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution: 1080×1080
- Minimum width: 500 pixels
- Aspect ratio: 9:16
- Max file size: 4GB
- Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV or GIF
- Video length: 1 second to 60 minutes
- Frame rate: 23-60 fps
Character Limits
- Primary text: 125 characters
Consider leaving roughly 250 pixels of the top of the video free from text to avoid covering them with the profile icon.
Instagram Video Ad Specs
Instagram’s advertising revenue has significantly increased over the last year. In fact, Instagram reportedly earned $43.2 billion in ad revenue in 2022. The push for Instagram advertising is real and marketers have to be ready to take advantage with engaging videos.
Carousel Video Ad
Much like Facebook’s Carousel Ads, Instagram offers a similar feature. Carousel ads allow users to see more of a product or feature than a single image or video. With Instagram, your carousel video ads can have 2-10 cards with a full-width call to action below the ad.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution: 1080×1080
- Aspect ratio: 1:1
- Max file size: 4GB (video) 30MB (image)
- Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV or GIF
- Video length: 1 second to 2 minutes
- Number of Carousel cards: 2 (minimum) to 10 (maximum)
- Frame rate: 23-60 fps
Instagram Stories Ads
It didn’t take long for Instagram Stories to feature ads within users’ story feeds. Brands can seamlessly integrate their video content between other Instagram users’ Stories.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution: 1080×1080
- Minimum width: 500 pixels
- Aspect ratio: 9:16
- Max file size: 4GB
- Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV or GIF
- Video length: 1 second to 60 minutes
- Frame rate: 23-60 fps
Character Limits
- Primary text: 125 characters
Consider leaving roughly 250 pixels of the top of the video free from text to avoid covering them with the profile icon
If you’re looking for further information including images, check out our complete guide to all the Instagram ad sizes.
For more information on the video specs for Instagram, visit the Facebook Help Center.
TikTok Video Specs
TikTok has quickly gained attention in the social space. Fortunately, TikTok’s focus on easy to create and share videos means it’s not hard to start producing video content for the platform, and there are plenty of trends to inspire TikTok content creation.
TikTok In-Feed Videos
TikTok videos are all about the ease of creation, editing and sharing, so it makes sense that specs are more or less oriented around typical mobile phone dimensions. One key trait to keep in mind if you’re trying to repurpose video content across platforms is that videos uploaded from another file source, rather than recorded on the app, can be longer than 60 seconds.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution: 1080×1920
- Aspect ratio: 9:16
- Max file size: 72MB (Android users) and 278.6MB (iOS users) (1GB maximum in Sprout)
- Recommended video formats: MP4 or MOV
- Video length: Up to 3 minutes recorded in-app or 10 minutes when uploaded from another source
- Frame rate: 23-60fps
TikTok Feed Ads
TikTok ads are a rapidly evolving opportunity for brands. The in-feed option for paid TikTok content is fairly similar to the formatting for existing organic content. To fine-tune paid content for the best performance, be sure to consult TikTok’s business center for the latest tips.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution: 540×960, 640×640 or 960×540
- Aspect ratio: 9:16, 1:1 or 16:9
- Max file size: Up to 500MB
- Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV, MPEG, 3PG or AVI
- Video length: 5 seconds to 60 seconds
- Bitrate: 516 kbps minimum
- Frame rate: 23-60fps
Character Limits
- Ad description: 1-100 Latin alphabet letters and 1-50 Asian characters
Twitter Video Specs
X (formerly Twitter) is a popular space to share and interact with different social media videos. For marketers, it’s all about keeping a user’s attention with enthralling and click-worthy video content. In the sports and entertainment industry, Twitter is often the go-to for sharing video content, so it’s critical to learn the correct Twitter video specs.
Twitter Landscape & Portrait Videos
Twitter provides two formats of in-feed video content to share with your followers: landscape and portrait. These specific formats are only available for uploading video directly to Twitter, rather than sharing YouTube or other links.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution: 1280×720 (landscape), 720×1280 (portrait), 720×720 (square)
- Aspect ratio: 16:9 (landscape or portrait), 1:1 (square)
- Max file size: 512MB*
- Video length: 0.5 seconds to 140 seconds*
- Frame rate: 30fps or 60fps
*Twitter Pro Media users can upload files up to 1GB and videos up to 10 minutes.
Character Limits
- Maximum count: 280 characters.
Twitter Videos Ad Specs
Looking to promote your video through paid ads on Twitter? Luckily, you can use the same exact formats from Twitter organic videos. Stick to the same specs for both organic and paid video to ensure maximum visibility.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution: 1280×720 (landscape), 720×1280 (portrait), 720×720 (square)
- Aspect ratio: 16:9 (landscape or portrait), 1:1 (square)
- Max file size: 512MB
- Video length: 0.5 seconds to 140 seconds
- Frame rate: 30fps or 60fps
Character Limits
- Maximum count: 280 characters.
For more information on the video specs for Twitter, visit the Twitter Help Center.
YouTube Video Specs
As the second-largest search engine behind Google, YouTube is an essential network for video content. For marketers, YouTube is a great space to promote, educate and share video content around your brand.
As YouTube continues to grow as a destination for video content, it hosts everything from short-form promotional videos to full-length movies and TV. This means users are streaming content on all sorts of devices, which could have different levels of zoom or overscan.
While there’s no hard and fast rules from the platform on how to approach the video editing concept of “title safe” areas where text like titles and subtitles aren’t cut off, you do want to avoid placing these types of visual elements right at the edges of your video area. Read on for more specifics on each format available on YouTube.
Video Player (Standard YouTube Video)
While YouTube allows users to upload various types of media formats and use plenty of different dimensions, organically, there’s truly only one format for the video player. Organic videos should all follow a 16:9 ratio, but can be uploaded 4:3. However, the smaller ratio will automatically pillarbox the sides to still make it fit in the player.
YouTube has seven recommended dimensions and ratios for standard YouTube videos:
Video Guidelines
- Resolution:
- 4320p (8k): 7680×4320
- 2160p (4K): 3840×2160
- 1440p (2k): 2560×1440
- 1080p (HD): 1920×1080
- 720p (HD): 1280×720
- 480p (SD): 854×480
- 360p (SD): 640×360
- 240p (SD): 426×240
- Aspect ratio: 16:9 default
- Max file size: 256GB or 12 hours, whichever is less
- Recommended video formats: MOV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG4, MP4, MPG, AVI, WMV, MPEGPS, FLV, 3GPP, WebM, DNxHR, ProRes, CineForm, HEVC (h265)
- Video length: Up to 12 hours, dependent on file size
- Frame rate: 24, 25 or 30fps
YouTube Shorts
Introduced late 2020, YouTube Shorts have recently made its debut as another short-form video feature. These videos are a new way to watch, create and discover short-form content. Because people are watching more short-form videos globally, using Shorts is a new way to reach wider audiences to entertain or educate.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution:
- 4320p (8k): 4320×7680
- 2160p (4K): 2160×3840
- 1440p (2k): 1440×2560
- 1080p (HD): 1080×1920
- 720p (HD): 720×1280
- 480p (SD): 480×854
- 360p (SD): 360×640
- 240p (SD): 240×426
- Aspect ratio: 9:16 or 1:1
- Recommended video formats: MOV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG4, MP4, MPG, AVI, WMV, MPEGPS, FLV, 3GPP, WebM, DNxHR, ProRes, CineForm, HEVC (h265)
- Video length: Up to 60 seconds
For more information on the video specs for YouTube, visit the Google Help Center.
YouTube Video Ad Specs
Standard YouTube videos are pretty straightforward, but there are a few video ad formats to learn if you want to advertise on the network. According to data from Google, brands advertising on YouTube with Discovery ads see incremental conversions.
Skippable, Non-Skippable, Mid-Roll, Bumper Video, In-Feed Display Ads
We’ve put these five YouTube video ads specs together because in the end, they all play through the standard YouTube video player. That means all of these ad types follow the same dimensions as the non-ad videos, but only differ in video length. Let’s look at each ad type:
- Skippable Video Ad: This YouTube ad type is played before, during or after the content and becomes skippable after 5 seconds. This ad format is the only one allowing advertisers to monetize views from any viewing device.
- Non-Skippable Video Ad: This YouTube ad type is played before the content and users must watch the full 15 seconds maximum ad (can also be added during or after video).
- Mid-roll Video Ad: This YouTube ad type is played mid-view (like TV commercials) and is only available for videos 8 minutes or longer. Ads are added either manually or automatically. Mid-rolls can be skippable, but users must watch 30 seconds or the entire ad (whichever is shorter).
- Bumper Video Ads: This YouTube ad type is played before the content. This short 6-second max video cannot be skipped and is usually optimized for mobile views.
- Display Ads: These ads are shown in users’ search queries and sometimes appear in the right video column when watching a video. These ads are static, which means they don’t automatically play. However, once the video is clicked, the type of content displayed can simply follow the standard video player guidelines.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080 (horizontal), 1080 x 1920 (vertical), 1080 x 1080 (square)
- Aspect ratio: 16:9 (horizontal), 9:16 (vertical), 1:1 (square)
- Max file size: 256GB
- Recommended video formats: MPG
- Video length:
- Skippable Video Ad: No maximum, but recommended 15 – 20 seconds for awareness, 2 – 3 minutes for consideration, and 15 – 20 seconds for action.
- Non-Skippable Video Ad: 15 or 20 seconds, depending on marketing
- Mid-roll Video Ad: 30 seconds minimum
- Bumper Video Ad: 6 seconds maximum
- In-Feed (Display) Video Ad: 15-20 seconds for awareness, 2-3 minutes for consideration
For more information on the video specs for YouTube, visit the Google Help Center.
LinkedIn Video Specs
With 66% of consumers finding short-form video the most engaging type of in-feed social content, LinkedIn adopted the use of video on the platform. If you’re looking to incorporate video into your LinkedIn marketing strategy, then it’s important to do it with the right specs. While some technical requirements may match other networks, there are some specs that are specific to LinkedIn.
LinkedIn In-Feed Video
While before the only video format you were able to upload was a shared video, LinkedIn has expanded its capabilities to upload your own videos into the platform.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution: 256×144 (min) and 4096×2304 (max)
- Aspect ratio: 1:2.4, 2.4:1
- Max file size: 5GB
- Recommended video formats: AAC, ASF, FLV, MP3, MP4, MPEG-1, MPEG-4, MKV, WebM, H264/AVC, Vorbis, VP8, VP9, WMV2, WMV3
- Video length: Up to 10 minutes
- Frame rate: 60fps
- Bitrate: Up to 30mbps
For more information on the video specs for LinkedIn, visit the LinkedIn Help Center.
LinkedIn Video Ads
As of 2018, LinkedIn now offers video ads. The requirements are a little bit different than in-feed video, so be sure to consider them when developing ads for your paid campaign.
Video Guidelines
- Recommended dimensions and resolutions:
- Vertical (4:5): Min 360 x 450 pixels, Max 1536 x 1920 pixels
- Vertical (9:16): Min 360 x 640 pixels, Max 1080 x 1920 pixels
- Landscape (16:9): Min 640 x 360 pixels, Max 1920 x 1080 pixels
- Square (1:1): Min 360 x 360 pixels, Max 1920 x 1920 pixels
- Aspect ratio:
- Vertical: 4:5, 9:16
- Landscape: 16:9
- Square: 1:1
- Max file size: 200MB
- Recommended video formats: MP4
- Video length: 3 seconds to 30 minutes
- Frame rate: 30fps
Character Limits
- Ad name: 255 characters
- Headline: 70 characters recommended; 200 characters maximum
- Introductory text: 150 characters recommended; 600 characters maximum
For more information on the video specs for LinkedIn ads, visit LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Help.
Pinterest Promoted Video Specs
Pinterest allows video upload for business accounts only, so they have specs designed for brands to get the most out of the highly visual and inspirational lifestyle content frequently shared on the platform.
Shared Video Pins and Standard Width Video Ads
In addition to ads, Pinterest Business Accounts can upload organic video content. There are two formats: standard and max width video. Below are the dimensions for standard width video ads and standard Pins.
Video Guidelines
- Aspect ratio: 1:1, 2:3, 4:5, 9:16
- Max file size: 2GB
- Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV or M4V
- Video length: 4 seconds to 15 minutes
Character Limits
- Title: Up to 100 characters
- Description: Up to 500 characters
Max Width Video Ads
Pinterest allows you to publish standard width and maximum width video ads. Maximum width videos expand across mobile users’ entire screens. These specs apply only to maximum width video ads; standard video ad specs can be found above. Note that maximum width video ads are only paid ads.
Video Guidelines
- Aspect ratio: 1:1
- Max file size: 2GB
- Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV or M4V
- Video length: 4 seconds to 15 minutes
Character Limits
- Title: Up to 100 characters
- Description: Up to 500 characters
For more information on the video specs for Pinterest ads, visit Pinterest Business Help.
Snapchat Video Specs
Snapchat is still an active network for younger generations to share video content. Whether it’s through FOMO-inducing filters, Snapchat is a hotbed for video sharing.
Single Videos and Single Video Ad
This video format is the most common across the channel and is the main way users communicate back and forth through the app. However, your business can post videos to its story so others can see what your business is up to. Just follow these specs:
Video Guidelines
- Resolution: 1080×1920
- Aspect ratio: 9:16
- Max file size: 1GB
- Recommended video formats: MP4 or MOV
- Video length: 3 seconds to 180 seconds
Character Limits
- Brand: 25 characters
- Headline: 34 characters
Long-Form Story Video Ad
Snapchat currently offers one main video format for ads, which is known as the Story Ad. However, the Snapchat Story Video Ad is what users see in between viewing users’ Stories.
Video Guidelines
- Resolution: 1080×1920
- Aspect ratio: 9:16
- Max file size: 1GB
- Recommended video formats: MP4 or MOV
- Video length: 3 seconds to 180 seconds
Character Limits
- Brand: 25 characters
- Headline: 34 characters
For more information on the video specs for Snapchat, visit the Snapchat Ads Help Center.
The post Always Up-to-Date Guide to Social Media Video Specs appeared first on Sprout Social.
