Every major video platform has its own preferred shape and recommended dimensions. Upload the wrong aspect ratio and you get black bars on the sides or top, or content cropped off the edges. Getting these right before uploading takes a few extra minutes and consistently makes videos look more intentional.
Platform Guide
| Format | Aspect ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Feed (landscape) | 16:9 | Classic horizontal video |
| Feed (square) | 1:1 | Fills more of the feed on mobile |
| Feed (portrait) | 4:5 | Most of the screen on mobile; recommended for feed posts |
| Reels | 9:16 | Full vertical screen; same as Stories |
| Stories | 9:16 | Full vertical; 15 second segments |
TikTok
| Format | Aspect ratio |
|---|---|
| Standard video | 9:16 (vertical, full screen) |
| Landscape option | 16:9 (less common, not full screen) |
TikTok is designed for 9:16. Anything else gets smaller on screen.
YouTube
| Format | Aspect ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard video | 16:9 | The YouTube default |
| Shorts | 9:16 | Vertical, under 60 seconds |
| Community post video | 16:9 | Standard |
Resizing and Cropping for Each Platform
The Video Compressor can reduce file size for any of these. For cropping to a specific aspect ratio before upload, use a video editor. If you have one master video and need both a 16:9 and a 9:16 version:
- Plan your shot so the important content stays centred vertically — this survives the crop to portrait.
- Text and logos should stay away from the very edges in any orientation.
File Size Limits
Platforms set their own limits, which change occasionally:
- Instagram: around 4 GB per video, 60 minutes.
- TikTok: around 1 GB, varies by account status.
- YouTube: 256 GB or 12 hours (increased limits for verified accounts).
For keeping file size reasonable before upload, see how to reduce video file size without losing much quality.
Quality vs Upload Speed
Platforms re-encode everything on their side. Uploading at a reasonable quality (1080p at a sensible bitrate) is better than uploading a heavily pre-compressed file — the platform's re-encoding step compounds any existing compression artefacts. See what is video bitrate and how does it affect quality for how to set this correctly.
When to Prepare Multiple Versions
For a regular posting schedule on multiple platforms, the most efficient approach is to shoot in 9:16 (vertical) for Reels and TikTok, then crop a 16:9 version for YouTube and a 4:5 version for Instagram feed. Plan the shot with important content centred and away from edges so the crop works cleanly in any ratio. This avoids shooting separate content for each platform.
Compress the video for upload with Video Compressor after cropping — reducing the file size before upload produces better results than letting the platform handle all the compression on a raw, large source file. For the relationship between resolution and file size, see video resolution explained: 480p, 720p, 1080p, 4K.
