In this quick guide, we’re going to give you all of the important information you need to post your videos across all of your social media channels.
This no-nonsense guide covers detailed video specs for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Pinterest, and Snapchat.
So, let’s jump right into it!
It’s a mobile-first platform so of course vertical videos are going to work best here. Let’s take a look at the different types of Instagram videos and their specifications…
Instagram reels
Reels are the main way of consuming video content on Instagram. You can upload a fully edited video to Instagram reels or you can use their in-platform editor to create a reel from scratch.
Aspect ratio: Between 1.91:1 and 9:16
Maximum file size: 4GB max
Recommended video formats: MP4 or MOV
Video length: 3 seconds to 15 minutes (however, in-app recording is limited to 90 seconds)
Frame rate: 30 fps minimum
Instagram stories
Instagram stories are short videos posted to a user’s profile that are erased after 24 hours. However, there’s the option to add them to a highlight reel if you want them to stay on your profile for longer.
Minimum width: 500 pixels
Aspect ratio: 9:16
Maximum file size: 4GB
Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV or GIF
Video length: 1 second to 60 seconds
Frame rate: 30 fps
Carousel videos
As the name suggests, carousel videos allow you to include multiple video clips in one post. Users simply swipe through to watch them.
Aspect ratio: 1:1
Maximum file size: 4GB
Recommended video formats: MP4 & MOV
Video length: 3 – 60 seconds (per card)
Frame rate: 23-60 fps
Number of carousel cards: 2 – 20
Video ads
There are a couple of different ways you can share ads to Instagram, and the specifications differ slightly to organic video posts.
Carousel video ads
Aspect ratio: 1:1
Maximum file size: 4GB
Recommended video formats: MP4 & MOV
Video length: 2 minutes (max.)
Frame rate: 23-60 fps
Number of carousel cards: 2 – 20
Instagram stories ads
Minimum width: 500 pixels
Aspect ratio: 9:16
Maximum file size: 4GB
Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV or GIF
Video length: 1 second to 60 seconds (ads exceeding 10 seconds will appear on separate cards with a ‘Keep Watching’ button)
Frame rate: 30 fps
TikTok
TikTok! Gen Z’s social media platform of choice (and boomers’ too!). TikTok is straight-forward in the way content is shared and consumed, so the video specifications are pretty straight-forward too. Let’s take a look at them.
In-feed videos
These videos make up the bulk of all content on TikTok. They are posted to your profile and show up on the ‘For You’ page for users who may be interested in your type of content – either because they follow you or based on the hashtags used.
Aspect ratio: 9:16
Maximum file size: 72MB (Android users) and 278.6MB (iOS users)
Recommended video formats: MP4 or MOV
Video length: Up to 10 minutes
Frame rate: 23 – 60fps
TikTok Stories
Like Instagram, TikTok Stories are short videos posted to a user’s profile that are erased after 24 hours. The video specifications are identical to in-feed videos, apart from the length.
Aspect ratio: 9:16
Maximum file size: 72MB (Android users) and 278.6MB (iOS users)
Recommended video formats: MP4 or MOV
Video length: Up to 15 seconds
Frame rate: 23 – 60fps
TikTok Ads
TikTok ads appear in the main feed for users and look just like organic videos (aside from a small label that flags them as an ad in the bottom left-hand corner).
Aspect ratio: 9:16, 1:1 or 16:9
Maximum file size: Up to 500MB
Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV, MPEG, 3PG or AVI
Video length: 5 seconds to 60 seconds (although TikTok recommends 15 seconds or less)
Bitrate: 516 kbps minimum
Frame rate: 23 – 60fps
Note: There are other types of TikTok videos that we have not covered here, such as Lives, Duets, and Stitch videos. The reason for that is these videos are best created on a case-by-case basis, especially for each format.
YouTube
And now we come to the top dog of all things video: YouTube. Despite being one of the older platforms on this list, YouTube is still a giant in the video marketing world.
Standard
When we say ‘standard’, we mean the typical landscape video you find on YouTube.
Aspect ratio: 16:9
Maximum file size: 256GB
Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV
Video length: up to 12 hours (for verified accounts)
Frame rate: 24, 25, 30, 48, 50 and 60 fps
YouTube Shorts
YouTube Shorts is YouTube’s vertical video offering. As the name suggests, the videos are short! These videos are best-suited to mobile viewing but can also be viewed on desktop.
Aspect ratio: 16:9 or 1:1
Maximum file size: 2GB
Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV
Video length: Up to 60 seconds
Frame rate: 24, 25, 30, 48, 50 and 60 fps
YouTube Ads
Pretty much everyone on earth has watched a YouTube ad at one point! But did you know there are many different types? There are skippable ads, non-skippables, mid-rolls, bumper ads, and mastheads. Let’s take a look at them in turn…
Skippable YouTube ads
Aspect ratio: 16:9
Maximum file size: up to 2GB
Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV
Video length: 12 seconds to 6 minutes
Non-skippable YouTube ads
Aspect ratio: 16:9
Maximum file size: up to 2GB
Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV
Video length: 15 – 20 seconds
Mid-roll YouTube ads
Mid-roll ads are exactly the same as either skippable or non-skippable. The only difference is that they appear during a video, rather than before or after.
Bumper ads
Aspect ratio: 16:9
Maximum file size: up to 1GB
Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV
Video length: up to 6 seconds
YouTube masthead ads
Aspect ratio: 16:9
Maximum file size: up to 2GB
Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV
Video length: up to 60 seconds
There are several different types of videos you can post to Facebook, each with their own specs. So, let’s get into that!
In-feed videos
These are videos that are posted directly on your business page and appear in the news feed of your fans and followers.
Minimum width: 1200 pixels
Aspect ratio: 16:9 (landscape) or 9:16 (portrait)
Maximum file size: 10 GB, but larger file sizes may take longer to upload and process
Recommended video formats: MP4 or MOV
Video length: 1 second to 240 minutes
Bitrate: 256 kbps
Frame rate: 30 fps
Facebook stories
Just like Instagram stories, Facebook stories are temporary, vertical videos that disappear after 24 hours.
Minimum width: 500 pixels
Aspect ratio: 9:16 to 1.91:1
Maximum file size: 4GB
Recommended video formats: MP4 or MOV
Video length: 1 second to 15 seconds (per slide), up to 120 seconds
Frame rate: 30 fps
Video ads
The reason so many marketers are fond of Facebook could be down to the variety in video ads available on the platform.
There are in-stream video ads, carousel ads, collections, instant experiences, Facebook stories ads (and more that are better suited for images rather than video). Let’s take a look at these in more detail:
In-stream video ads
Minimum width: 120 pixels
Minimum height: 120 pixels
Aspect ratio: 1:1 (for desktop or mobile) or 4:5 (for mobile only)
Maximum file size: 4GB
Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV or GIF
Video length: 5 – 120 seconds (15 seconds optimally)
Frame rate: 30fps
Carousel ads
Aspect ratio: 1:1 or 4:5
Maximum file size: 4GB
Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV or GIF
Video length: 1 seconds to 240 minutes
Frame rate: 30fps
Number of carousel cards: 2 – 10
Facebook stories ads
Minimum width: 500 pixels
Aspect ratio: 9:16
Maximum file size: 4GB
Recommended video formats: MP4, MPV and GIF
Video length: 1 second to 2 minutes
Frame rate: 30fps
Collections
Aspect ratio: 1:1
Maximum file size: 4GB
Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV or GIF
Video length: 1 seconds to 240 minutes
Frame rate: 30fps
Instant experiences
Maximum file size: 4GB
Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV
Video length: Up to 2 minutes
Frame rate: 30fps
Note: There are other types of Facebook videos that we have not covered here, such as Lives, Marketplace, and 360 videos. The reason for that is these videos are best created on a case-by-case basis, especially for each format.
Now let’s take a look at the only B2B platform on this list. According to our Video Marketing Statistics 2024, 59% of video marketers find LinkedIn effective, more so than TikTok (52%) and Snapchat (56%).
Luckily for B2B marketers, LinkedIn is pretty simple when it comes to video specs.
In-feed videos
These types of videos show up on the homepage for users. Who sees your video will depend on a number of factors including if they follow you and/or if the post includes hashtags or content that’s relevant to them.
Aspect ratio: 1:2.4 – 2.4:1
Maximum file size: 5GB
Recommended video formats: MP4, MPEG, MOV
Video length: 3 seconds to 10 minutes
Bitrate: Up to 30mbps
Frame rate: 10 – 60fps
LinkedIn Ads
These video ads appear for users in the same places as in-feed videos, and the specifications are similar. However, there are some differences to be aware of.
Aspect ratio: 9:16, 1:1, 4:5 or 16:9
Maximum file size: 500MB
Recommended video formats: MP4
Video length: 3 seconds to 30 minutes (although 15 – 30 seconds is recommended)
Frame rate: 30fps
X/Twitter
X (formerly Twitter) is very similar to LinkedIn in their video offering. You can post organic videos or paid ads, and that’s it. Simple!
In-feed videos
Although X is not video-first like other social media sites mentioned, videos do see a lot of engagement on the platform.
In-feed videos can be uploaded in portrait, landscape, or square format.
Aspect ratio: 16:9 (portrait/landscape), 1:1 (square)
Maximum file size: 512MB
Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV
Video length: 0.5 seconds – 140 seconds
Frame rate: 30 – 60fps
Twitter ads
To keep things simple, Twitter ads have the exact same specifications as organic videos. You don’t need to change a thing!
Pinterest might not be the first platform you think of as a video marketer, but it’s still loved and used by plenty!
So you might as well get your video content in front of them! And you can do that in a couple of ways…
Standard video pins
Aspect ratio: 1:1, 2:3, 4:5, 9:16
Maximum file size: 2GB
Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV, M4V
Video length: 4 seconds to 15 minutes
Pinterest Video Ads
Aspect ratio: 1:1 (square) or 4:5 (vertical)
Maximum file size: 2GB
Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV, M4V
Video length: 4 seconds to 15 minutes (15 seconds or less is recommended)
Note: There are other types of Pinterest videos that we have not covered here, such as live-streaming and shop-enabled videos. The reason for that is these videos are best created on a case-by-case basis, especially for each format.
Snapchat
Snapchat isn’t the first platform you usually think of for marketing your business! And, while it’s true that Snapchat is one of the least used platforms by marketers, with only 57% saying they use it in 2024, this is an increase from only 13% in 2023! So, perhaps it’s growing in popularity!
In any case, here are the video stats you need to know if you’re planning on posting to Snapchat.
Video stories
This is how users communicate on Snapchat. They post videos to their Story (much like other platforms on this list) and other users can view, comment, and react. You can also post stories as a business. But remember, these videos are removed after 24 hours on the site.
Aspect ratio: 9:16
Maximum file size: 1GB
Recommended video formats: MP4, MOV
Video length: 3 seconds to 180 seconds
Story ads
When browsing Snapchat, sometimes video ads will pop up between organic videos. As a business, this is the perfect way to grow your reach on the platform.
The specifications are identical to those for organic videos on Snapchat.
Final thoughts
Posting your video on social media is kind of a no-brainer. It helps you to increase your reach, boost brand awareness, and connect with people directly on their favourite platforms.
For more about video marketing on social media, check out this article: Video Marketing on Social Media in 2024 (DELETE this app!)
Or, if you’re a Wyzowl client and still have questions about social media specs then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your account manager!
