Video ad specs 2026: TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and Meta feeds

The short answer: export vertical 9:16 video at 1080×1920 as an H.264 MP4, keep every word and logo inside the central safe area, and add a 4:5 cut for feeds. That one master covers TikTok, Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels and YouTube Shorts. The tables below give the exact numbers each platform publishes, as checked on their official pages in October 2026.

Specs at a glance

TikTok ad specs

• Aspect ratio: 9:16 is recommended (at least 540×960); 16:9 needs at least 960×540 and 1:1 at least 640×640.
• Length: up to 10 minutes for non-Spark In-Feed ads; Spark Ads, which run an organic post, have no limit.
• File: .mp4, .mov, .mpeg, .3gp or .avi, 500 MB or less, bitrate at least 516 kbps.
• Ad text: shown in white in a fixed font, with no links, @ mentions or hashtags. The display name is one line of up to 20 Latin characters.
• Safe zone: TikTok publishes downloadable safe-zone files instead of fixed numbers, because the covered area depends on the ratio and the length of the ad text. Arabic ads have their own right-to-left file.

Instagram and Facebook Reels ad specs

• Aspect ratio: 9:16, full screen; Meta recommends 1440×2560, and 1080×1920 is the common export.
• Length: from 0 seconds up to 15 minutes.
• File: MP4 or MOV, up to 4 GB.
• Primary text: about 44 characters before it is cut off.
• Safe zone: keep at least 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% on each side free of text, logos and other key elements; the interface covers those areas.

Facebook and Instagram feed video specs

Meta’s ads guide recommends 4:5 for feed video, at 1440×1800, from 1 second to 241 minutes, as MP4, MOV or GIF up to 4 GB. Primary text works best between 50 and 150 characters and the headline at about 27. Meta also recommends H.264, square pixels, a fixed frame rate and stereo AAC audio at 128 kbps or more. A 4:5 crop of your 9:16 master keeps the subject large in the feed without black bars.

YouTube Shorts ad specs

Google lists 9:16 as the vertical ratio, with 1080×1920 recommended and 720×1280 as the minimum for HD; 4:5 and 2:3 are accepted too. Any length can be uploaded, but only the first 180 seconds play in the Shorts feed and Google recommends Shorts ads under 60 seconds. Accepted files include MP4, MOV and WebM.

One master, three aspect ratios

Shoot or render vertically, then crop from the centre: 9:16 for Reels, TikTok and Shorts, 4:5 for feeds, 1:1 where square still performs. Cropping only works if the subject sits in the middle of the frame. Keep the product and the face in the central square of the 9:16 frame and every cut keeps them.

How long should a vertical video ad be?

The limits are long, but attention is short. TikTok’s own creative guidance has long pointed to 21 to 34 seconds for in-feed ads, Google recommends Shorts ads under 60 seconds, and most UGC-style ads land between 15 and 30 seconds: a hook in the first two seconds, a demonstration, then the offer. Test a 15-second and a 30-second cut of the same script before going longer.

Export checklist

• H.264 MP4, 1080×1920, 30 fps, AAC stereo audio.
• Captions burned in and placed inside the safe area, not in the bottom third.
• Product and face inside the central square, so the 4:5 and 1:1 crops keep them.
• No price, logo or call to action in the top 14% or bottom 35%.
• A 4:5 version for Facebook and Instagram feeds.
• For Arabic ads, check the right-to-left safe-zone file TikTok provides.

What AdFace exports

AdFace renders MP4 ads in the format chosen for a campaign: 9:16 (1080×1920), 1:1 (1080×1080) or 4:5 (1080×1350). Optional burned-in captions have three styles and support right-to-left Arabic. A batch exports as a ZIP or a review link. Choose the placement format before rendering rather than expecting three automatic exports.