Guide

What are the video specs for every social network?

Updated 18 October 2026

In short: one file works almost everywhere: a 9:16 MP4, 1080 x 1920, H.264 video, AAC audio, 30 fps. The table below gives each network's length, shape, file size and caption limit from its own help or developer page, read on 18 October 2026. Where a network gives two answers (the app says one thing, its API another), both are shown. Where a network gives no number, the cell says so.

The table

"App" means what the network's help pages say about posting by hand. "API" means its developer documentation, which is what scheduling tools follow. The last column links the page the row comes from.

Each network has its own page here with more detail: TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. Text limits side by side are in the caption limits guide. Bluesky is not in the table because we have not read its pages yet.

Where the official pages disagree

• TikTok. The support pages (app) and developer docs (API) are different documents with different numbers. TikTok's Direct Post endpoint has no scheduling field, so a scheduler holds your video and sends it at the set time. TikTok states no organic aspect ratio: 9:16 is its recommendation for ads.
• YouTube. Shorts are up to 3 minutes for uploads after 15 October 2024. A Short over a minute with an active copyright claim is blocked. The description limit is in bytes, not characters.
• Instagram. 20 minutes in the app, 15 through the API. Reels over 3 minutes aren't recommended to new audiences. Meta's own publishing guide gives two daily API post limits (100 and 50), so read the live content_publishing_limit.
• Facebook. Meta's newsroom (17 June 2025) says Reels will have no length or format restrictions. The Reels API page says 3 to 90 seconds. A scheduler follows the API page, so plan for 90 seconds.
• Threads. Video up to 5 minutes. The 500-character limit is listed for text posts; the page does not give a separate text limit for video posts.
• X. X's help centre and API documentation disagree. The help centre says free accounts get 140 seconds and 512 MB, and Premium under 4 hours and 16 GB. The API documentation says 20 minutes and 8 GB on a post (140 seconds and 512 MB is listed there for direct messages), and 125 minutes and 16 GB with Premium. The help page also says web uploads run up to 40 fps, so a 60 fps file is outside that range.
• Twitch. A clip is up to 60 seconds. Some guides say 90 seconds: that is the window the API captures (about 85 seconds before the call and 5 after), not the clip length.
• Kick. Clips are 10 to 180 seconds, with a 60-second wait between clips. Guides that say 60 seconds are out of date.
• LinkedIn. The app and API lengths differ (15 and 30 minutes). We list it only as a footnote.

One export for all of them

1. Frame it 9:16, 1080 x 1920. It is inside every range above and it is the recommended shape on Instagram, Threads and Facebook.
2. Export an MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio. TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Threads each name H.264 in their own pages. We did not check codec rules for X or LinkedIn.
3. Choose 30 fps. It sits inside every range: TikTok 23 to 60, Instagram 23 to 60, Facebook 24 to 60, LinkedIn 10 to 60, X up to 40. Use 60 only if you do not post to X.
4. Aim for 8 to 12 Mbps. That is YouTube's recommended range for 1080p, and it is under the 25 Mbps maximum on Instagram and X.
5. Keep it under a minute. That fits Facebook's 90-second API limit, YouTube's one-minute copyright rule and every other cap in the table. See how long a clip should be.
6. Keep captions away from the buttons. Every app puts its buttons, caption and account name over the video. None of the pages we read give pixel numbers, so put captions in the middle of the frame and preview on a phone. See word-by-word captions.

How to do it in RipClip

RipClip is a browser app that clips, edits, posts and tracks. It reads a long video and cuts the moments that stand on their own into vertical 9:16 clips, framed on the speaker and captioned word by word. Export is up to 4K at 60 fps (4K on Pro and Studio, 1080p on Free and Creator). Free exports carry a small RipClip watermark. Its calendar covers TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and X with a caption per platform. Posting switches on platform by platform as each platform approves RipClip; until then, download your clips and post them yourself.

Twitch and Kick are sources here, not places you post: RipClip reads Twitch VODs, highlights and clips, and Kick VODs and clips (how to clip on Twitch, how to clip on Kick). It does not clip a stream while it is live.

Sources

• TikTok Support: video length, TikTok for Developers: media transfer guide, Direct Post reference. TikTok's own pages. Used for the TikTok row. Read 18 October 2026.
• YouTube Help: Shorts, YouTube Help: upload limits, YouTube Data API: videos. YouTube's own pages. Used for the Shorts row. Read 18 October 2026.
• Instagram Help Centre: Reels length, Meta: IG User media, Meta: content publishing. Instagram's and Meta's own pages. Used for the Reels row. Read 18 October 2026.
• Meta for Developers: Facebook Reels publishing and Meta newsroom, 17 June 2025. Meta's own pages. Used for the Facebook row. Read 18 October 2026.
• Meta for Developers: Threads posts. Meta's own documentation. Used for the Threads row. Read 18 October 2026.
• X Help: X videos, X API: media best practices, X API: counting characters. X's own pages. Used for the X row. Read 18 October 2026.
• Twitch Help: how to use clips and Twitch API: clips. Twitch's own pages. Used for the Twitch row. Read 18 October 2026.
• Kick Help Center: how to create clips. Kick's own article. Used for the Kick row. Read 18 October 2026.
• LinkedIn Help: video specifications and LinkedIn Videos API on Microsoft Learn. LinkedIn's own pages. Used for the footnote row. Read 18 October 2026.
• YouTube Help: recommended upload encoding settings. Used for the 8 and 12 Mbps figures in the export steps. Read 18 October 2026.