YouTube Shorts size, aspect ratio and resolution
YouTube makes a Short of a square or vertical video up to three minutes long, and Short videos upload at up to 1080p, by YouTube Help, read on 3 November 2026. A wider video, such as 16:9, stays a long-form video. YouTube prints no pixel size for a Short: a vertical 9:16 video at 1080 x 1920 is vertical and within 1080p. Drop your video to see its size and whether YouTube treats it as a Short; it opens on this device and is never uploaded.
It reads the width, height and length the file reports. It does not read the frame rate or the bitrate.
- Size
- Shape
- Length
- File
| Format | Shape and size | Length | Your video |
|---|
Make it a Short, with captions
Free: 2 videos every 30 days, each with captions and up to 3 clips, no watermark, no sign-up. Then try Captions + Clips free for 7 days, no card. Captions + Clips is $29 a month for unlimited clips and captions; Captions is $9.98 a month or $49 once.
YouTube's Shorts sizes, from its own pages
Every figure below is from YouTube Help or Google Ads Help, read on 3 November 2026 and linked. Every platform's length limit is on video length limits, and what the Shorts buttons cover on the safe zone checker.
| What | YouTube's figure | What its own page says | Source, read 3 Nov 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shape | square or vertical | To upload a Short, the video must be up to 3 minutes, with a square or vertical aspect ratio. | YouTube Help: Upload YouTube Shorts read 3 Nov 2026 |
| What makes a video a Short | square or vertical, up to three minutes | Videos uploaded on or after 15 October 2024 with a square or vertical aspect ratio, up to three minutes long, are categorised as Shorts. To keep a video long-form, use a wider aspect ratio such as 16:9. | YouTube Help: Understand three-minute YouTube Shorts read 3 Nov 2026 |
| Resolution | up to 1080p | You can upload Short videos with a maximum resolution of 1080p. | YouTube Help: Get started creating YouTube Shorts read 3 Nov 2026 |
| Bars and padding | none in the file | For best results, avoid adding padding or black bars directly to your video: the player changes its own shape to fit the video and the screen. | YouTube Help: Video resolution and aspect ratios read 3 Nov 2026 |
| File formats | .MOV, .MP4, WebM and more | .MOV, .MPEG-1, .MPEG-2, .MPEG4, .MP4, .MPG, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, WebM, DNxHR, ProRes, CineForm and HEVC (H.265). | YouTube Help: Supported YouTube file formats read 3 Nov 2026 |
| Encoding | MP4, H.264, AAC-LC or Opus | An MP4 container with the moov atom at the front, H.264 video, AAC-LC or Opus sound at 48 kHz, encoded at the frame rate it was recorded at. The page opens by saying its features are for partners using YouTube Studio Content Manager; it is the page the file formats page links for encoding. | YouTube Help: YouTube recommended upload encoding settings read 3 Nov 2026 |
| Shorts adverts | 9:16 best suited | Vertical videos, with a 9:16 aspect ratio, are best suited for the Shorts format; horizontal and square are also supported. | Google Ads Help: YouTube Shorts ads, asset specs and best practices read 3 Nov 2026 |
YouTube changes these: it moved Shorts from one minute to three on 15 October 2024. We read every page again each month and change the dates together; the next check is by 3 December 2026.
What makes a video a Short
Two things, both about the file: its shape is square or vertical, and it is three minutes or shorter. Upload a file like that and YouTube categorises it as a Short; a wider file, such as 16:9, stays a long-form video whatever its length.
Square counts, and so does 4:5: YouTube says square or vertical, so 1:1 and portrait 4:5 are Shorts as well as 9:16. Google's advice for Shorts adverts calls 9:16 best suited to the format.
A few pixels wider than square: YouTube's pages do not say how it treats a file that is almost square but a little wider, so the checker above marks it as a catch rather than a Short.
What YouTube does not print: a pixel size or a frame rate for Shorts. 1080 x 1920 is the 9:16 shape at 1080p, the most YouTube takes for a Short. For the frame rate, its encoding page says to upload at the rate the video was recorded at.
Make a video Short-sized in Burncaps
A long-form video becomes a Short when it is square or vertical and three minutes or under. Burncaps does both in your browser, with word-by-word captions burned in, or none if you choose No captions. The video never leaves your device.
| Shape in Burncaps | Size on a computer | A Short? |
|---|---|---|
| Vertical 9:16 | 1080 x 1920 | Yes: vertical, and 1080p |
| Square 1:1 | 1080 x 1080 | Yes: square |
| Portrait 4:5 | 1080 x 1350 | Yes: vertical |
A whole video, up to ten minutes and 1.2 GB: drop it, open More, then Shape, and pick Vertical 9:16. Follow me keeps your face in the frame, Fixed holds the frame where you drag it, and Fit everything shows the whole wide picture over a blurred copy of itself. Every second is kept, so the Short is as long as the video: keep it at 3:00 or under. A phone may write a smaller size to fit its memory.
A longer video, up to three hours: Burncaps finds the clips worth posting and cuts each to 9:16, with ums cut and long pauses shortened. Trim makes a clip up to three minutes; keep it at 3:00 or under for a Short. Long video to Shorts explains how the clips are chosen, and how to make a YouTube Short has the upload steps.
Free: 2 videos every 30 days, each with captions and up to 3 clips, no watermark, no sign-up. Then try Captions + Clips free for 7 days, no card. Captions + Clips is $29 a month for unlimited clips and captions; Captions is $9.98 a month or $49 once.
The same video on Instagram and TikTok
Instagram Reels: any shape from 1.91:1 to 9:16, at least 720 pixels and 30 frames a second, so a 9:16 Short is also a Reel. The figures are on Instagram Reel size.
TikTok: vertical or landscape, 720p or higher when you upload in TikTok Studio on a computer, and 9:16 recommended for its adverts. The figures are on TikTok video size.
Questions, answered plainly
What are the YouTube Shorts dimensions?
YouTube Help gives a shape and a ceiling, not a pixel size: a Short is square or vertical, and Short videos upload at a maximum resolution of 1080p. A vertical 9:16 video at 1080 x 1920 is both, and Google calls 9:16 best suited to the Shorts format in its advice for Shorts ads. Read on 3 November 2026.
What aspect ratio makes a video a Short?
Square or vertical. YouTube Help says a video uploaded on or after 15 October 2024 with a square or vertical aspect ratio, up to three minutes long, is categorised as a Short, and that a wider ratio, such as 16:9, keeps a video long-form. A portrait 4:5 video is vertical, so it counts too.
Can a YouTube Short be 4K?
YouTube Help says you can upload Short videos with a maximum resolution of 1080p. A vertical 1080p Short is 1080 pixels wide.
What file format should a YouTube Short be?
YouTube takes .MOV, .MP4, WebM and 13 other formats. Its page of recommended upload encoding settings names an MP4 with H.264 video and AAC-LC or Opus sound, at the frame rate the video was recorded at.
How long can a YouTube Short be?
Up to three minutes, by YouTube Help, read on 3 November 2026. Every platform's length limit is on our video length limits page.
Is my video uploaded to check its size?
No. The page reads the width, height and length from the video file in your browser, on your own device, and the file is never sent anywhere, which you can see in your browser's network tab on a computer. The page sends only anonymous step counts, such as that the page was opened, never anything from the file (see the privacy policy).
How do I turn a 16:9 video into a Short?
Make it vertical or square. In Burncaps, drop the video, then under More choose Shape and Vertical 9:16 or Square 1:1; a whole video up to ten minutes keeps every second. Keep it at three minutes or under. A longer recording becomes Shorts as clips of up to 3 minutes each. Free is 2 videos every 30 days, each with captions and up to 3 clips, no watermark, no sign-up.
Burncaps facts, checked 3 November 2026
What it is: a browser tool that burns animated word-by-word captions into a talking video, or finds the best moments of a talk, podcast or interview and gives them back as ranked, captioned 9:16 clips.
Price: free for 2 videos every 30 days, each one recording with its captioned video and up to 3 clips, no mark and no sign-up; then the free 7-day Captions + Clips trial, no card (your email only); then Captions + Clips, $29 a month, gives unlimited clips and captioned videos, or Captions, $9.98 a month or $49 once, gives unlimited captioned videos. Captions paid once is not a subscription.
Privacy: the video never leaves your browser. The sound goes only to our speech service, on a phone unless you switch it off, on a computer only if you choose it. Because the video never reaches us, we cannot keep it or train AI on it, and we train no AI on anything you make.
Files: MP4 or MOV in, MP4 out. Captions on the whole video: up to ten minutes. Clips: up to three hours, on a phone or a computer. SRT, VTT, ASS and text files are free without limit for recordings up to ten minutes; a longer recording, up to three hours, gives its script and those files (the first ten minutes free, all of it as one of your free videos, in the trial or with Captions + Clips or Captions) and its clips (every one found and shown before you sign up; up to 3 from each free video exported free, every one in the trial or with Captions + Clips).
Clips: about one clip for every two minutes of talk, up to 30, ranked, the ones we would post first circled, each showing the words it opens and ends on and the reason it was chosen; each cut to 9:16 with ums and dead air removed, an opening card and captions, framed on whoever is talking. Every clip of the whole recording is found and shown, free and with no sign-up; each free video exports up to 3 of them, and the 7-day trial and Captions + Clips export every clip, unlimited.
Languages and styles: captions in the language spoken, twelve Indian languages heard on your device, translation into 59 languages, 60 caption styles.
After it listens: correct any word (one click changes it everywhere), add or cut words, one to six words at a time, position, size, text and highlight colours, and names this browser remembers, all free and without listening again.
Made by: Jordan Labs Ltd, UK company no. 17358646.
Against other tools: sixteen caption tools compared, from the vendors' own pages.