Shoot vertical 9:16 (1080×1920) for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. Use 4:5 (1080×1350) for the Instagram feed and LinkedIn's mobile feed. Keep 16:9 (1920×1080) for YouTube long-form. If you only want to shoot once, frame your subject in the top two-thirds of a 9:16 vertical clip, that one file crops cleanly into every other shape below. This guide covers the current 2026 numbers, the exact pixels each platform's UI blocks, and a repurposing workflow so you're not reshooting five versions of the same video.
Table of Contents
- The 2026 cheat sheet
- Safe zones: where the UI actually covers your video
- Shoot once, repurpose everywhere
- Quick decision guide
- Thumbnails and cover images
- Worked examples
- Common mistakes
- Related calculator
- Frequently asked questions
- References
The 2026 Cheat Sheet
| Platform | Format | Aspect Ratio | Pixel Size | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube (long-form) | Standard upload | 16:9 | 1920×1080 | Up to 12 hours |
| YouTube Shorts | Short-form feed | 9:16 (square also qualifies) | 1080×1920 | Up to 3 minutes (since Oct 2024) |
| Instagram Feed | Photo/video post | 4:5 | 1080×1350 | — |
| Instagram Reels | Short-form feed | 9:16 | 1080×1920 | Typically up to ~90 sec, longer on some accounts |
| TikTok | Native video | 9:16 | 1080×1920 | Up to 10 minutes; best performance well under a minute |
| LinkedIn (mobile feed) | Native video | 4:5 | 1080×1350 | Sweet spot 30–90 sec |
| LinkedIn (short-form feed) | Vertical feed | 9:16 | 1080×1920 | Typically 30–90 sec |
A few things worth flagging that a lot of 2025-era guides still get wrong:
- YouTube Shorts stopped being a 60-second format back in October 2024. Any vertical or square video up to 3 minutes now qualifies for the Shorts shelf. The 60-second ceiling still shows up in older articles, but it's gone. Most high performers still run 15–45 seconds, though, the extra runway is for retention, not an invitation to pad.
- Instagram now recommends 4:5, not the square 1:1 it built its identity on. A 4:5 post occupies noticeably more of the vertical scroll than a square one, and Meta's own guidance treats it as the feed default in 2026.
- LinkedIn has a real short-form vertical feed now. It's been rolling out since late 2024 and is fully live in 2026, a native, TikTok-style scroll, separate from the standard feed. If you're only posting square LinkedIn video because that's what worked in 2023, you're leaving an entire surface untouched.
Once you know which shape you need, the Aspect Ratio Calculator will give you the exact pixel dimensions for any custom crop or resize, useful the moment your footage doesn't land on a round number like 1080×1920.
Safe Zones: Where the UI Actually Covers Your Video
Every one of these platforms overlays buttons, captions, and profile info directly on top of a full-screen vertical video. That's the part spec tables leave out, and it's the part that actually determines whether your subtitle or CTA is readable.
These numbers move with every UI update, caption length, and device, treat them as a planning baseline, not a pixel-perfect guarantee, and preview before you publish.
TikTok (organic, 1080×1920 canvas):
- Top ~130–150px, For You / Following tabs
- Bottom ~320–350px, caption, sound attribution, account name (longer captions push this deeper)
- Right ~120–140px, like, comment, share, bookmark column
Instagram Reels (same canvas):
- Top ~200–250px, profile bubble, follow button
- Bottom ~310–400px, caption text, audio credit, engagement icons
- Right ~85–120px, like/comment/share stack
YouTube Shorts (same canvas):
- Top ~150px, channel name, subscribe button
- Bottom ~300–380px, title, like/dislike, comment shelf
- A commonly cited centered safe box is roughly 900×1160px, useful as a starting template even though YouTube's own overlay shifts slightly by device
The practical takeaway: the bottom third and the right-hand column of a 9:16 frame are never truly yours. Keep your hook text, your face, and any on-screen CTA centered in the upper two-thirds of the frame, and you'll clear all three platforms' UI without designing three separate versions.
Shoot Once, Repurpose Everywhere
Reshooting for every platform is the slow way to do this. The faster route: shoot one vertical 9:16 master with your subject centered in the top two-thirds, then crop that single file into every other shape you need.
- Master file: 9:16, 1080×1920. This is your source. Frame with generous headroom and don't let anything critical touch the left or right edges, you'll be cropping in from both sides for narrower ratios.
- Crop to 4:5 (1080×1350) for the Instagram feed and LinkedIn's mobile feed. Because 4:5 is nearly the full width of your master, this crop mostly just trims height off the top and bottom.
- Crop to 1:1 (1080×1080) for LinkedIn's square format or any cross-platform placement. Same logic, trim height, keep the full width.
- Crop to 16:9 (1920×1080) if you want a YouTube long-form cut. This is the tightest crop of the four, since you're cutting a landscape strip out of a portrait frame, which is exactly why the subject needs to sit centered and fairly tight in the master shot to begin with.
The rule that makes this whole workflow work: reframe, don't stretch. A crop that trims the edges keeps your subject sharp and undistorted. Squeezing a 9:16 clip to fit a 16:9 frame (or the reverse) warps everything and looks obviously wrong on a full-screen mobile display.
If your source footage isn't a clean multiple of these dimensions, say you filmed at 1920×1200, or you're working from a screen recording with an odd resolution, the Aspect Ratio Calculator will give you the exact target width or height to crop to before you export, so nothing gets distorted in the process.
Quick Decision Guide
- Only making one video today? Shoot 9:16. It covers TikTok, Reels, Shorts, and LinkedIn's vertical feed natively, and crops acceptably into everything else.
- Posting a talking-head clip to LinkedIn specifically? 4:5 in the main feed outperforms square for screen real estate, but don't skip the native vertical feed, that's a 9:16 surface with its own audience.
- Repurposing an old 16:9 YouTube video into Shorts? Don't just letterbox it. Reframe with subject tracking (most editors do this automatically now) so you're not left with a small, black-barred clip in the middle of a full-screen feed.
- Making carousel or feed images, not video? 4:5 (1080×1350) is Instagram's current default; keep the essential content in the center to survive the profile grid's tighter crop.
Thumbnails and Cover Images
The video itself isn't the only shape that matters. Every platform also has a separate still-image spec for the thumbnail or cover that represents your video before anyone presses play, and getting that wrong is just as common as getting the video ratio wrong.
YouTube thumbnails use the same 16:9 ratio as long-form video, at a recommended 1280×720px, even for a Short. YouTube generates a default frame automatically if you don't upload one, but a custom thumbnail consistently outperforms an auto-selected frame, and it needs to read clearly at the small size it appears in search and suggested-video rows, not just full screen.
TikTok and Reels cover images inherit the 9:16 video canvas rather than using a separate ratio. Whatever frame you select (or upload separately) as the cover crops to the same 1080×1920 shape, so the safe-zone rules above apply to your cover choice too, a cover with text near the bottom edge risks the same caption-bar overlap as the video itself.
Instagram feed covers and carousel first frames follow the 4:5 rule the same as any other feed post. A carousel with a 16:9 or square first slide next to 4:5 slides looks visibly inconsistent in the grid, so match the ratio across every slide in a set, not just the first one.
Worked Examples
Example 1: Cropping a 9:16 Master to 4:5 for Instagram
Your master is 1080×1920. For a 4:5 Instagram feed post, the target is 1080×1350. Keep the full 1080px width and trim 1920 − 1350 = 570px of height, typically split between the top and bottom so your framed subject stays centered.
Example 2: Cropping a 9:16 Master to 1:1 for LinkedIn
Same 1080×1920 master, cropped to a 1080×1080 square. Keep the full width again and trim 1920 − 1080 = 840px of height. This is a bigger trim than the 4:5 crop, so headroom in the original framing matters more here.
Example 3: Cropping a 9:16 Master to 16:9 for YouTube
To pull a 16:9 landscape strip out of the same 1080-wide master: height = 1080 × (9 ÷ 16) = 607.5px, rounded to 608px. That's less than a third of the original 1920px height, the tightest crop of the four shapes, which is why the subject needs to sit tight and centered in the master shot from the start.
Example 4: Repurposing an Old 16:9 YouTube Video Into a Short
Going the other direction is harder. From a 1920×1080 landscape source, a full-height 9:16 vertical crop needs a width of 1080 × (9 ÷ 16) = 607.5px, rounded to 608px, only about 31.7% of the original 1920px width. Simple cropping throws away most of the frame, which is why subject-tracking reframing (not letterboxing) is the standard fix for this direction.
Example 5: An Odd-Resolution Screen Recording
A screen recording comes in at 1920×1200, not a standard video ratio. To make it YouTube-ready at 16:9, keep the full 1920px width and trim height to 1920 × (9 ÷ 16) = 1080px, removing 1200 − 1080 = 120px. The Aspect Ratio Calculator handles this exact conversion for any source size, not just the round numbers used in these examples.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Assuming square (1:1) is still Instagram's default. It moved to 4:5 for feed posts; square still displays but underperforms on screen space.
- Stretching instead of cropping. Squeezing a clip to fit a different ratio distorts every face and straight line in the frame; always reframe by trimming, never by warping the aspect ratio itself.
- Not checking safe zones before adding text or a CTA. A caption placed dead center at editing time can land directly under a platform's comment button or caption bar once it's live.
- Reusing one crop for TikTok and Instagram Reels without checking both. The two platforms share the same 1080×1920 canvas but their UI overlays sit in slightly different places.
- Believing YouTube Shorts still caps at 60 seconds. That limit changed to 3 minutes in October 2024; content planned around the old ceiling is leaving runway on the table.
Related Calculator
Working from a non-standard source size or need the exact crop target for a custom resolution? The Aspect Ratio Calculator computes the simplified ratio, the GCD-based working, and the exact pixel dimensions for any width or height you enter.
Frequently Asked Questions
What aspect ratio should I use for Instagram in 2026?
4:5 (1080×1350) for main feed posts and carousels, and 9:16 (1080×1920) for Reels and Stories. Square 1:1 still works but occupies less screen space in the scroll.
Is 16:9 still fine for YouTube if I also post Shorts?
Yes, they're two different surfaces. Standard long-form video should stay 16:9 (1920×1080); anything you export specifically for the Shorts shelf needs to be vertical or square, up to 3 minutes.
How long can a YouTube Short actually be now?
Up to 3 minutes, for any 9:16 or 1:1 video uploaded since October 2024. The old 60-second ceiling is out of date. Most top performers still run much shorter than the max.
Does LinkedIn have a vertical short-form feed like TikTok?
Yes. It's a dedicated scrollable vertical feed, separate from the main LinkedIn feed, and it's been live since late 2024. Native 9:16 video and 4:5 mobile-feed video are both worth posting.
What's the single safest aspect ratio if I only want to shoot once?
9:16 vertical (1080×1920). Frame your subject centered in the top two-thirds of the frame, and that one file crops cleanly down into 4:5, 1:1, or 16:9 for every other placement.
What resolution should I export a YouTube video in for 2026?
Match the platform's native size rather than over- or under-shooting: 1920×1080 for standard 16:9 long-form, 1080×1920 for Shorts and other vertical placements. Uploading higher than needed doesn't hurt quality, but it does inflate file size and upload time for no visual benefit on most viewing devices.
Why does Instagram recommend 4:5 instead of square now?
A taller frame occupies more vertical space in a scrolling feed than a square one, meaning more time on screen before a viewer scrolls past. Meta's 2026 creator guidance treats 4:5 as the default for that reason, even though 1:1 still displays correctly for older square assets.
Can I use the same video for TikTok and Instagram Reels without re-editing?
Usually yes, both platforms use the same 9:16, 1080×1920 canvas natively. The bigger difference is safe zones: TikTok's UI sits slightly differently than Instagram Reels', so a caption or CTA positioned perfectly for one can sit right under a button on the other. Check both overlays before publishing the same file to both.
What happens if I upload the wrong aspect ratio to a platform?
Most platforms still accept and display it, usually by adding black bars (letterboxing) or auto-cropping the edges to fit their expected shape. Automatic cropping frequently cuts off exactly the part of the frame you wanted visible, which is why matching the native ratio yourself gives you control the platform's auto-crop won't.
Should I add captions before or after cropping to different ratios?
After. Burning captions in before cropping risks losing them off the edge or landing them in the wrong spot once the frame changes shape. Add platform-specific captions, or use each platform's native captioning tool, after you've finalized the crop for that specific placement.
What's the difference between YouTube Shorts and a regular YouTube upload?
Format and discovery, not video quality. Shorts is a separate vertical/square feed with its own algorithm and a 3-minute limit as of the 2026 rules, while a regular upload can be any length and any aspect ratio, landscape included, and appears in normal search and recommendations rather than the Shorts shelf.
References
- YouTube Creator Academy. Shorts specifications and eligibility guidance, including the October 2024 runtime update.
- Meta for Creators. Instagram feed, Reels, and Stories video and image specifications.
- LinkedIn Marketing Solutions. Video ad and organic content specifications for feed and short-form vertical placements.
Specs verified against platform help documentation and current creator-tooling sources as of July 2026. Platform UI and safe-zone dimensions shift often, recheck before a major campaign.