Platform sizes
YouTube Shorts size and length
By Suprabhat Updated How we write these
1 min read
The short answer
A YouTube Short is a square or vertical video up to 3 minutes long. Make it 1080 × 1920 pixels (9:16) for a full-screen Short. Horizontal videos don’t count as Shorts, whatever their length.
Shorts
| Recommended size | 1080 × 1920 px (9:16) |
|---|---|
| Shorts thumbnail | 2160 × 3840 px (9:16), 640 px wide at least |
| Shorts | square or vertical, up to 3 minutes |
Horizontal video as a Short
Only square and vertical videos count as Shorts, so a 16:9 clip has to change shape first. Cropping to 9:16 keeps the middle third of the picture — fine for one person talking. For anything wider, put the whole picture over a blurred background instead: Video to Shorts does that, cuts several clips from a long video and adds captions from a subtitle file.
Questions
How long can a YouTube Short be?
Up to 3 minutes, since 15 October 2024, as long as the video is square or vertical.
What resolution should a Short be?
1080 × 1920 pixels, 9:16. Square 1080 × 1080 also counts as a Short but leaves bands above and below on a phone.
Why did my video upload as a normal video instead of a Short?
Because it’s horizontal, or longer than 3 minutes. Reframe it to 9:16 and keep it under 3 minutes.
Do Shorts have thumbnails?
Yes: a 9:16 thumbnail, 2160 × 3840 recommended. You can pick a frame in the app or upload your own from a computer.
Where these numbers come from
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-28. Platforms change their rules; if one has, the upload limits page changelog says so.
Other platform sizes
Make a file fit
- Video to Shorts Cut a long video into vertical 9:16 clips for Shorts, Reels and TikTok.
- Crop Video Crop to vertical 9:16, square or any area you drag out.
- Trim Video Cut the start and end off a clip without re-encoding it.
- Compress Video Squeeze a clip under Gmail, WhatsApp or Discord’s exact limit.