YouTube Shorts size and length: what makes a video a Short

Export a YouTube Short at 1080 × 1920. YouTube makes a Short of any video that is square or vertical and 3 minutes or shorter; a wider or longer video posts as an ordinary one. Below, each rule as YouTube's own pages give it, linked to the page it comes from.

What makes a video a Short

The aspect ratio and the length, and nothing else. YouTube's page on three-minute Shorts, for videos uploaded since October 15, 2024: “Any videos uploaded on or after this date with a square or vertical aspect ratio up to three minutes in length will be categorized as Shorts on YouTube.” Its upload steps name the YouTube app and YouTube Studio; by its wording, “any videos uploaded”, the rule covers a video a scheduling app uploads through YouTube's API as well, though the API's own docs don't mention Shorts.

YouTube Studio's upload steps say the same in two lines: “Up to 3 minutes.” and “With a square or vertical aspect ratio.” Square counts, and so does any aspect ratio taller than it. From the YouTube Blog in October 2024: “Starting on October 15, you can upload Shorts up to 3 minutes long.” and “This change applies to videos that are square or taller in aspect ratio”.

To keep a video out of Shorts, change its aspect ratio. YouTube's own answer: “If you don’t want your content to be classified as Shorts, use a wider aspect ratio such as 16:9 for long-form videos.”

How long a Short can be

Up to 3 minutes. A longer square or vertical video isn't a Short: it posts as an ordinary YouTube video, which YouTube lets run up to 15 minutes until the account is verified (by a text or a call). After that, its limit is 256 GB or 12 hours, whichever is less.

A Content ID claim shortens it. From YouTube's three-minute Shorts page: “Any Short that is over one minute in duration with an active Content ID claim of any type, including manual claims, will be blocked globally on YouTube.” and “The video will not be playable or recommended on YouTube, and will not be eligible for monetization.” It isn't permanent: “Once the claim is resolved, your Short will be viewable and eligible for monetization.” Songs picked from YouTube's Shorts library have a limit of their own: “You can use most songs for up to 90 seconds in a 3 minute Short. However, some tracks may be limited to 60 or 30 seconds.”

The one music YouTube promises draws no claim is the royalty-free music in its Audio Library: “The royalty-free music won’t receive a Content ID claim.” So the safe way to use the full 3 minutes is your own footage and sound, or a track from that library. Anything that does draw a claim keeps a Short to 1 minute until the claim is resolved.

Size and aspect ratio

Make it 9:16, 1080 × 1920. YouTube's resolution page lists sizes for the 16:9 aspect ratio only, with 1080p as “1080p (HD): 1920x1080”; a Short is that picture turned upright. Its Shorts help page adds, for the YouTube app: “You can upload Short videos with a maximum resolution of 1080p.”

Fill the frame rather than adding bars to make a video fit. YouTube: “For best results, avoid adding padding or black bars directly to your video.”

The thumbnail

YouTube: “You can choose from auto generated suggested options, or upload your own if your account is verified.” For Shorts there is a catch: “Note: Custom thumbnails for Shorts are currently only available to add in YouTube Studio on a computer. Your account must be verified to use this feature.”

The size it recommends: “Have a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels for videos and 2160 x 3840 for Shorts, with a minimum width of 640 pixels for videos and a minimum height of 640 pixels for Shorts.” And the aspect ratio: “For Shorts, try to upload a thumbnail with an aspect ratio of 9:16.” The file can be JPG or PNG, up to 50 MB from a computer.

File and format

YouTube's recommended upload settings, in plain words:

• An MP4 file, saved with its index at the front (“moov atom at the front of the file (Fast Start)”)
• H.264 video
• AAC-LC audio (Opus is listed too) at 48 kHz
• The frame rate it was recorded in: “Content should be encoded and uploaded in the same frame rate it was recorded.”
• No bitrate limit: “Variable bitrate. No bitrate limit is required, though we offer recommended bit rates below for reference”

The biggest file YouTube takes is 256 GB, far past anything 3 minutes long.

Titles, descriptions and hashtags

A title can be up to 100 characters, in the app (“add a title (max 100 characters)”) and through YouTube's API, where the description can be up to 5,000 bytes: “The video's description. The property value has a maximum length of 5000 bytes and may contain all valid UTF-8 characters except < and >.” Bytes, not characters: an emoji or an accented letter takes more than one.

Hashtags, from YouTube's help page: “Out of all the hashtags you add to the video’s description, up to three hashtags that are considered most engaging will appear by your video title.” And the ceiling: “If a video or playlist has more than 60 hashtags, we'll ignore each hashtag on that content.” Instagram and TikTok cap hashtags differently (Instagram's limit, explained).

Posting Shorts from a scheduling app

A scheduling app uploads through YouTube's Data API. Its docs don't mention Shorts; what makes one is the rule above, worded for any video uploaded. One thing does differ, from the API's upload docs: “All videos uploaded via the videos.insert endpoint from unverified API projects created after 28 July 2020 will be restricted to private viewing mode.” So a tool registered with Google after that date that hasn't passed YouTube's audit can post only private videos. Postango asks YouTube to make every video it posts public; whether a video went up public or private shows beside it in YouTube Studio. Titles have the same 100-character limit as in the app, and descriptions 5,000 bytes.

Check your own file

The free video checker reads a video's length, aspect ratio and file size in your browser, without uploading it. For a video 2 minutes 30 seconds long at 1080 × 1920 it answers “Fits” for YouTube and adds: “YouTube will make it a Short: it's square or vertical and 3:00 or less.”

The same guide for the other networks: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook Reels and LinkedIn. Every network's limits, side by side, are on the video limits page.

What Postango does with YouTube

Postango, which publishes this guide, posts to YouTube through its API. What that means for a video:

• A Short when it fits. Postango doesn't make a separate video for each network. Each video comes back as a short-form edit, vertical by default, and a long-form edit, and each one you keep is a single file, posted the same everywhere it goes. A vertical one that runs 3 minutes or less becomes a Short. A longer one posts as an ordinary YouTube video. A vertical video is 720 × 1280 on Starter, and 1080 × 1920 on Pro and Workshop. Workshop makes wide videos up to 4K; a vertical video is 1080 × 1920 at most on every plan.
• Length. Posted whole, at any length: Postango never splits a video for YouTube. YouTube takes videos over 15 minutes only from verified channels. Postango can't see whether yours is, so the review card (Content › Needs review on the website, Content › Needs review in the app) tells you before a longer video posts, and if YouTube refuses it, the failed post on your calendar says how to fix it. The failed post says: “YouTube refused this video for its length: it takes videos over 15 minutes only from verified channels. Verify yours at youtube.com/verify, then Reschedule this post.” Posting never uses a video, so a refused post costs nothing more.
• Music from your library only. Postango adds music only from your music library (Music on the website, Settings › Music in the app): tracks you upload, which should be music you have the rights to, and the tracks included with Postango. A Content ID claim on a track keeps a Short to 1 minute until it is resolved, as above.
• A title. YouTube videos need one. Postango sends the title you chose, or the caption's first line, cut between words to fit 100 characters.
• Three hashtags at most. Yours go first, Postango's caption writer is told never to use #fyp, #viral or #trending, and YouTube shows up to three by the title anyway (all of Postango's hashtag rules).
• No thumbnail. YouTube picks one from the video; Postango sends a cover only to Pinterest, which requires one. On a verified account you can change it in YouTube Studio on a computer.

Questions

Sources

YouTube's pages read on October 5, 2026.

• YouTube Help: understand three-minute YouTube Shorts
• YouTube Help: upload YouTube Shorts (computer)
• YouTube Blog: tall updates coming to Shorts (Oct 3, 2024)
• YouTube Help: upload size
• YouTube Help: video resolution and aspect ratios
• YouTube Help: get started creating YouTube Shorts
• YouTube Help: add custom thumbnails
• YouTube Help: recommended upload encoding settings
• YouTube Data API: the video resource (title and description)
• YouTube Help: hashtags
• YouTube Data API: videos.insert (uploading)