Social Media Video Sizes and Aspect Ratios

Updated 3 November 2026

The same video can look polished on YouTube and awkward on Instagram if it is delivered in the wrong shape. Aspect ratio, not file size, is the thing to get right first. Here is how the main formats work and how to plan a shoot so one piece of filming covers every platform.

Aspect ratio in plain terms

Aspect ratio is the relationship between a video's width and height. A 16:9 video is 16 units wide for every 9 units high: the familiar landscape shape of a television. A 9:16 video is the same shape turned on its side: a full phone screen held upright. Resolution, such as 1920×1080, is the number of pixels inside that shape.

The four shapes that matter for most businesses are:

Instagram

Reels and Stories are built for 9:16 vertical video at 1080×1920. Anything else will either be cropped or shown with bars.

Feed posts can be square (1:1) or portrait (4:5). Portrait takes up more of the screen as people scroll, which is why many brands favour it. Be aware that Instagram's profile grid shows thumbnails in a cropped shape, so keep important detail and text near the centre of the frame.

YouTube and YouTube Shorts

Standard YouTube videos are 16:9. That is still the best format for longer pieces such as brand films, interviews, tutorials and event highlights, and it is the format most people expect when a video is embedded on a website. Shorts use the 9:16 vertical format.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn accepts landscape, square and vertical video. Square and vertical take up more space in the mobile feed, while 16:9 suits longer content that people may watch on a desktop at work. For B2B companies that post a mix of short clips and longer explainers, keeping both a 16:9 master and a square or vertical cut covers most situations.

TikTok and Facebook

TikTok is a vertical platform: deliver 9:16. Facebook supports most shapes; 4:5 or 1:1 works well in the feed, 9:16 for Reels and Stories, and 16:9 for longer videos.

Platforms change their specifications from time to time, including maximum lengths and file sizes, so check each platform's current help pages before a big campaign. The aspect ratios above have been stable for some time.

Safe zones: where not to put text

Vertical platforms lay buttons, captions and profile names over the video. On Reels, TikTok and Shorts, the bottom portion of the screen and the right-hand edge are usually covered by the interface, and the top is used for account names and menus. Keep logos, subtitles and key text inside the central area. A simple approach is to design text and graphics inside a box that leaves generous margins at the top and bottom, then test the export on a phone before posting.

Shooting once for every format

Most businesses do not have the budget to film a separate version for every platform, and they do not need to. With planning, one shoot can produce a landscape master and vertical, square and portrait cut-downs.

• Frame for the centre. If the main subject stays near the middle of a 16:9 frame, a 9:16 crop will still contain them.
• Shoot at a higher resolution. Filming in 4K and delivering in 1080p leaves room to crop and reframe without losing quality.
• Capture some vertical footage natively. For key moments, such as a presenter speaking to camera, it can be worth filming a dedicated vertical take.
• Keep graphics separate. Titles and subtitles should be added in the edit per format, not burnt into a master that will later be cropped.
• Agree deliverables in the brief. List every format you need up front. Our guide on how to write a video brief includes a deliverables checklist.

Subtitles are not optional

A large share of social video is watched with the sound off, on buses, in offices and late at night. Burnt-in subtitles, or captions uploaded as a separate file where the platform supports it, make the video understandable without audio and more accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Keep subtitles inside the safe zone and use your brand font if it is readable at small sizes.

Length by format

Shape and length go together. Vertical social clips tend to work best when they get to the point in the first couple of seconds, while a 16:9 brand film on a website can take its time. For a fuller discussion, see how long a corporate video should be.

To see how landscape brand and promotional films look in practice, visit the video page.