What size should TikTok videos be in 2026?

Export 1080 x 1920 pixels at 9:16. That is the full-screen TikTok frame. 720 x 1280 will post and look softer. 4K vertical gets scaled down.

What is the TikTok safe zone for text?

Keep captions and logos out of the top ~150 pixels and the bottom ~250 to 400 pixels. Username, buttons, captions, and the search bar sit there and will cover your type.

What file format should I export for TikTok?

MP4 (H.264) with AAC audio, 30 fps for talking clips and 60 fps for motion, under the in-app file cap (mobile uploads are much smaller than desktop Studio).

How many photos can a TikTok photo post hold?

Buffer's size guide says TikTok carousels can hold up to 35 photos. I keep photo posts to 4 to 7 slides at 1080 x 1920. Nobody finishes 35.

TikTok Video Size and Dimensions 2026

I export TikTok videos at 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16) in 2026. That’s the full-screen phone frame TikTok Creative Center and TikTok’s ads video specs keep pointing at. Postfa.st still prints 1080 x 1920 as of September 2026. Descript, Fliki, and SocialChamp rank with the same box plus safe zones. Length on most accounts goes to 10 minutes. I still cut most clips to 15 to 45 seconds, and I keep type out of the top and bottom UI.

TL;DR

Video: 1080 x 1920, 9:16
Safe zone: leave the top ~150 px and bottom ~250 to 400 px clear
Length: up to 10 minutes on most accounts, shorter performs for me
Photos: still 1080 x 1920 if you want full screen

What size should my TikTok videos be in 2026?

1080 x 1920 pixels at 9:16. Width 1080, height 1920. I don’t send 1080 x 1350 TikToks. That’s an Instagram feed size, and TikTok will pad it.

File	Pixels	What TikTok does
Recommended	1080 x 1920	Fills the screen
Acceptable	720 x 1280	Posts, looks soft
Too wide	1920 x 1080	Letterbox
Square	1080 x 1080	Letterbox

Hootsuite lists TikTok vertical at 1080 x 1920, Stories at 1080 x 1920, landscape ads at 1920 x 1080, and square ads at 640 x 640. Hootsuite’s profile photo of 20 x 20 is a display size, not an upload. I still upload 1080 x 1080 for the avatar. If you need a crop in a hurry, use the TikTok image resizer. For the rest of the apps, start at the social size hub.

What about TikTok photo mode vs video?

Photo carousels are still a 9:16 frame. I design 1080 x 1920 slides. A 1080 x 1080 photo will post with empty space above and below. I only use square if the client refuses to recrop and accepts the bars.

Is 1080 x 1920 the only TikTok size that works?

No. TikTok will ingest other ratios. 1080 x 1920 is the only size I call “works” if the brief is full screen. Ads docs have listed a lower vertical minimum around 540 x 960. That’s a floor, not a look I want on a client’s For You page.

I also don’t upload 4K vertical as a flex. The app scales it. You wait longer, and the result is still 1080-wide on most phones.

What’s the TikTok safe zone for text and stickers?

I keep logos and captions out of the top ~150 pixels and the bottom ~250 to 400 pixels. Descript is the ranker that treats safe zones as the whole job, not a footnote. The exact chrome shifts with captions on or off, and with the shop bar, but those strips are where TikTok paints username, like, comment, share, caption, and search.

What I put in the safe middle

Face, product, price, the one sentence they need if they watch muted. I learned this when a restaurant client’s address sat under the caption and nobody could screenshot it.

Stickers you add inside TikTok also eat the safe zone. If I burn in captions in CapCut, I raise them until they clear the native caption line.

How long can a TikTok video be?

Most accounts can post up to 10 minutes. TikTok has tested longer uploads on some accounts (you may see 60 minutes in Studio). Metricool’s Reels-length page still says you can upload videos up to 60 minutes from your library. I don’t plan content around a 60-minute cap I can’t promise a client.

What I actually post:

Type	Length
Hook + product	12 to 25 seconds
Talking head tip	20 to 45 seconds
Tutorial	45 to 90 seconds
Long story	3 to 8 minutes, rare

Instagram’s clock is separate. If you’re cross-posting, read Reels length so you don’t hit an Instagram camera cap with a 10-minute TikTok.

Is a 7 second TikTok still worth posting?

Yes, if the joke lands. I still post 7 to 12 second clips for a single gag or a product sting. I don’t pad them to 30 seconds to look “serious.” A 7-second clip that loops is often stronger than a 40-second explanation.

What TikTok size should I use for photo posts?

I still export photo carousels at 1080 x 1920 if I want each slide full screen. A 1080 x 1080 photo posts. It sits in a vertical frame with empty space. For a photo-led account I design 1080 x 1920 slides with the subject in the center third.

TikTok photo mode isn’t Instagram’s 4:5 feed. Don’t reuse a 1080 x 1350 carousel and expect it to look intentional.

How many photo slides can I add?

I keep photo posts to 4 to 7 slides unless it’s a real step-by-step. Every slide is 1080 x 1920. The first slide has to work if they never swipe. Buffer’s size guide says TikTok carousels can hold up to 35 photos. I don’t ship 35. Nobody finishes 35.

What size should a TikTok cover or thumbnail be?

Same canvas as the video: 1080 x 1920. TikTok lets you pick a cover frame or upload one. I place the title in the center third so the like stack and caption don’t sit on it. A 1080 x 1350 Instagram cover will letterbox. Ads stay 9:16 unless the brief names a 1:1 or 16:9 placement in TikTok ads video specifications.

What file format and fps should I export for TikTok?

MP4, H.264, AAC, 30 fps for talking, 60 fps for dance, sport, or screen capture. I keep bitrate sane (20 to 40 Mbps is plenty for 1080). RecurPost’s Instagram sheet lists 25 Mbps VBR for Reels. TikTok is similar enough that I don’t chase a fake “TikTok bitrate.” Mobile uploads have a smaller file cap than TikTok Studio on desktop (Studio can take a much larger file). If a phone upload fails, I compress once and retry. I don’t stack three compressions.

Audio

AAC, 48 kHz. TikTok will replace your audio if you use a restricted track. That isn’t a size problem, but it’s why I keep a clean voiceover take.

Will a 1:1 or 16:9 TikTok get letterboxed?

Yes. A square or landscape clip posts with bars or a blur fill. I crop. If the source is a 16:9 interview, I punch in on the speaker to 9:16. If two people sit apart, I split the clip into cuts instead of showing a tiny wide shot in the middle of a phone.

What size should a TikTok profile photo be?

I upload 1080 x 1080. The avatar is a small circle, but a 200 px file looks muddy next to newer videos. Hootsuite’s 20 x 20 is not the file I send. Same habit as Instagram: upload large, let the app shrink it.

Can I use the same 9:16 file for TikTok and Reels?

The pixel box matches: 1080 x 1920. The safe zone doesn’t. Instagram’s like stack and caption sit in slightly different places than TikTok’s. I either keep type in the true center, or I export two files. Watermarks are a taste issue. I crop them off when a client cares.

Reels cover crops also differ. That’s on the Instagram image size page, not here.

What size should my client’s TikTok ads be?

In-feed ads I still make at 1080 x 1920, 9:16. TikTok ads video specifications also list 1:1 and 16:9 for some placements. Hootsuite’s ad row is landscape 1920 x 1080 and square 640 x 640. I only leave 9:16 if the brief names a specific placement that wants another ratio. Duration for ads is a media-plan question. I don’t invent a “best ad length” from a fake dataset.

Do Spark Ads need a different pixel size?

No. Spark Ads use the organic post. If the organic file is 1080 x 1920, the ad is 1080 x 1920. I don’t make a second canvas for Spark. I do make sure the safe zone still holds after the “Sponsored” label.

Why does my TikTok look cropped on some phones?

Different phones have different aspect ratios (19.5:9, 20:9, 21:9). TikTok scales 9:16 to fill, so extra-tall screens can crop a little on the sides or show a bit more. I keep faces and type away from all four edges, not just top and bottom. If a logo kisses the left edge, a notched phone can clip it.

What about punch-hole cameras?

The hole is the phone’s problem, not TikTok’s pixel spec. I still keep a 40 to 60 pixel pad from the top edge so a punch-hole doesn’t sit on a forehead or a price.

How do I resize a horizontal video for TikTok?

I punch in. I don’t pillarbox a 16:9 clip in a 9:16 timeline unless the whole point is a movie scene. Steps I actually use:

Timeline 1080 x 1920
Scale the 16:9 clip until the height fills 1920
Reposition on the speaker
Cut when they leave the frame
Add captions in the center safe zone

If the horizontal file is the only asset, I sometimes put a blurred copy behind it. I tell the client it looks like 2018. Then they usually let me crop.

For YouTube, that same 16:9 original becomes a thumb or a long-form file. Don’t smash it into TikTok and also into a YouTube thumbnail without a separate 1280 x 720 still.