TikTok, Reels and Shorts Video Sizes in 2026

For full-screen vertical video in 2026, TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts all standardise on a 9:16 aspect ratio at 1080 × 1920 pixels. While all three platforms accept this identical frame format, their duration limits, maximum file sizes, and acceptable resolution ranges vary considerably across services.

If you produce short-form vertical video, creating your master files at 1080 × 1920 ensures that your content fills the screen cleanly on all major mobile devices without black bars or accidental letterboxing.

Platform limits at a glance

Here is how the three main vertical platforms compare based on their published technical documentation:

Specification	TikTok	Instagram Reels	YouTube Shorts
Recommended resolution	1080 × 1920 (9:16)	1080 × 1920 (9:16)	1080 × 1920 (9:16)
Accepted aspect ratios	360–4096 px per side	1.91:1 to 9:16	Square (1:1) or Vertical (9:16)
Max video length	3 min (some accounts 5–10 min)	Up to 20 min	Up to 3 min
Max file size	4 GB	Depends on account	Standard YouTube upload cap
Supported frame rates	23 to 60 FPS	30 FPS or higher	Standard video frame rates
Recommended codec	H.264 / MP4	H.264 / MP4	H.264 / MP4

TikTok video specifications

TikTok documents support for MP4, WebM, and MOV containers up to 4 GB in size. Width and height must both fall between 360 and 4096 pixels, with frame rates between 23 and 60 FPS.

While three minutes is the maximum baseline duration available to every creator on TikTok, certain accounts have access to five or ten minutes. Keep your critical text and visual focus away from the right edge and bottom of the frame, where the profile link, like button, sound icon, and captions overlay the video.

Instagram Reels specifications

Meta specifies that Reels can run up to 20 minutes as a single clip or a series of merged clips. Supported shapes range from horizontal 1.91:1 up to vertical 9:16, but vertical 9:16 remains the only format that occupies the entire mobile screen.

Reels require a minimum resolution of 720 pixels wide and a minimum frame rate of 30 FPS. Keep in mind that Reels longer than 3 minutes are not recommended to new audiences in discovery feeds.

YouTube Shorts specifications

Unlike TikTok or Reels, YouTube Shorts is not a separate upload type. YouTube classifies any uploaded video as a Short if it meets two strict criteria:

1. The aspect ratio must be square (1:1) or vertical (9:16).
2. The duration must be 3 minutes or less.

If a video is horizontal (16:9), YouTube files it as a traditional long-form video regardless of how short it is. To repurpose existing widescreen content into Shorts, you must reframe or crop the clip to vertical.