Reel size, Shorts size and YouTube video size: which aspect ratio?

Platforms redesign their apps often, but these sizes have been the standard for years and are a safe default for every upload.

Keep faces, captions and key text in the centre of a 9:16 frame. The bottom of the screen carries the username, caption and audio label, and the right edge carries the like, comment and share buttons, so anything placed there gets covered. Leave space at the top as well, where the app shows its own labels. This clear area is called the safe zone, and it shifts slightly between apps, so captions should be checked for each platform.

Yes, if you plan for it. A horizontal 4K frame (3840×2160) has room for a full 1080×1920 vertical crop, since a 9:16 slice of it is 1215 pixels wide, as long as the subject stays near the centre. If most of your output is short-form, shoot vertical and frame a little wider than you need. Either way, each version should be reframed shot by shot, not just cropped, so text and faces stay inside the safe zone.

Use 9:16 for Stories, Reels and Shorts placements, 4:5 or 1:1 in Instagram and Facebook feeds, and 16:9 for YouTube in-stream ads. That is why video ad editing usually means one ad cut into several ratios. Our Reels and Shorts editing delivers every format you post to, and rates are on the pricing page.