TikTok Video Size and Ad Specs (2026): 1080 x 1920, Length Limits and Safe Zone
TikTok videos are 1080 x 1920 (9:16), and all 307 live ads we checked used it. The real constraint is the safe zone: about 38% of the frame stays clear of TikTok's UI.
A TikTok video is 9:16 at 1080 x 1920 pixels, for posts and ads alike, and every one of the 307 live TikTok ads we checked was served in that shape. So the size is settled. What decides whether people can read your ad is how much of that frame TikTok leaves uncovered: once its header, caption, buttons and the phone's edges are accounted for, about 38% is clear, a stepped box between y 240 and y 1260 that shrinks further when the caption runs long.
TikTok sizes for posts and ads
Swipe sideways to see every column
| Size | Shape | Max length | Max file | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organic video | 1080 x 1920 | 9:16 | 60 min uploaded, 10 recorded | Not published |
| Photo post | 1080 x 1920 | 9:16 | Up to 35 photos | Not published |
| In-feed ad | 1080 x 1920 (min 540 x 960) | 9:16, also 1:1 and 16:9 | Up to 10 min | 500 MB |
| TopView or reservation ad | 1080 x 1920 (min 540 x 960) | TopView 9:16 only | 5 to 60 s | 500 MB |
| Spark Ad | Your organic post | Any | 10 min | No limit |
| Carousel ad | 720 x 1280, 640 x 640 or 1200 x 628 | Vertical, square or wide | 2 to 35 images | About 100 KB each |
TikTok only publishes floors, 540 x 960 on its ad spec pages and "at least 720P" in its creative guide, so 1080 x 1920 is the convention that clears all of them. One trap: scheduling apps post through TikTok's API, which stops at 10 minutes and at 3 for many accounts, so a scheduler can reject a file the app would take. There's no separate cover size either; you pick a frame from the video. Reels use the same canvas with a different safe zone, covered in Instagram Reels size and safe zone.
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Make a TikTok adExport 9:16, because anything else gets bars
The table says in-feed ads accept square and 16:9 files. Advertisers don't use that option: all 307 ads in our sample were served as 9:16. When we looked at single frames from 73 of them, 6 still had black bars inside the 9:16, which means someone uploaded a 4:5 or square creative and let TikTok pad it.
What a non-9:16 file turns into
The same ad as 9:16, 4:5, 1:1 and 16:9 on a TikTok screen
Fills the screen
307of307
live TikTok ads we checked were served as 9:16
6of73 frames we looked at still had bars inside
Bars cost more than looks. They eat the middle of the screen, the one part TikTok leaves clear, and push the bottom of the creative down under the caption (the warehouse ad further down shows exactly that). TopView won't take anything but 9:16 anyway. If all you have is a square or 4:5 ad, rebuild it at 9:16; our 4:5 guide shows how a 4:5 file sits on other placements.
Keep text in the 38% TikTok leaves clear
With the shape fixed, the real constraint is what TikTok draws on top of it. Its help page won't print a margin, but the template it ships on the in-feed ad page does. These are its numbers on 1080 x 1920, the same ones our checker uses.
TikTok's in-feed template on 1080 x 1920
What covers the frame, layer by layer
still clear
Two things in that picture are easy to miss. The rail only starts at y 840, so the upper middle of the frame is usable almost edge to edge, which makes it the best spot for a headline. And the bottom edge moves: TikTok's 2021 anchor template puts it 812 px up with a one-line caption and 1014 px up with four. Cutting the caption from four lines to one gives back 202 px, about a tenth of the frame's height.
Organic posts have no published safe zone, so use this one for them too. TopView is looser only for its 3-second full-screen opening, then the same zone applies. To check a file, open it in the free safe-zone checker with the TikTok overlay on, or drop the 1080 x 1920 TikTok overlay on your editing timeline.
Where real ads lose their words
Laid over live ads from TikTok's Ad Library, the template shows where the damage happens. Toggle the interface to see each frame the way the advertiser designed it.
Three live ads from TikTok's Ad Library
Where the interface lands on real creative
Logo under the header, the headline's right end under the rail, subtitles under the nav bar.
Aviva Insurance Ireland. First shown September 15, 2026; 25 days as of October 9. Ad Library
One text block at y 390 to 635, above where the rail starts. Nothing collides.
Alyve Wellness. First shown December 30, 2025; 284 days as of October 9, 2026. Ad Library
A 4:5 file with 288 px bars. The age line and both buttons land under the caption.
Hong Kong Shengtengfei Limited. Shown one day, September 8, 2026. Ad Library
Aviva's mistakes all come from laying text out for a blank canvas: a logo in the top corner, a headline across the full width at mid-height, subtitles at the very bottom. Each one lands on a different part of the interface. Alyve's founder video puts all its text in one block above where the rail starts, and nothing collides. Run length doesn't tell you which ad performed better; the overlay only shows what viewers could read.
How long a TikTok can be depends on how you post it
Once the frame works, length is the last export decision, and the ceiling depends on the route. Uploads run 60 minutes and in-app recordings 10. In-feed ads stop at 10 minutes, while TopView and reservation ads, bought through a TikTok sales rep, take 5 to 60 seconds. TikTok's Spark Ads page caps sparked posts at 10 minutes and its in-feed spec page says there's no limit; plan on 10.
On one 60-minute scale
How long a TikTok can run, by how you post it
Uploaded post
Recorded in the app
Posted from a scheduler
In-feed ad
Spark Ad
TopView or reservation ad
307 live TikTok ads
How long they ran
Median 28.5 s
The live ads don't follow TikTok's own advice. Its 2021 research recommended 21 to 34 seconds for in-feed ads, and only 15% of our sample sits there. The two biggest groups are 9-15 s, the range TopView's page now recommends, and 34-60 s, and one ad in ten runs past a minute. We'd cut a 9-15 s version of every ad first, because it fits every TikTok placement, and add a longer cut only when the product needs a demo. For what goes inside those seconds, see scripts from ads that ran 60+ days.
TikTok video size FAQ
What size should a TikTok video be?
1080 x 1920 pixels, a 9:16 ratio. TikTok's ad pages set 540 x 960 as the minimum.
What is the TikTok aspect ratio?
9:16 vertical. In-feed ads also accept 1:1 and 16:9, but those play with black bars above and below.
How long can TikTok videos be?
60 minutes if you upload the file, 10 if you record in the app. In-feed ads run up to 10 minutes; TopView and reservation ads 5 to 60 seconds.
What is the TikTok safe zone?
On 1080 x 1920, keep 240 px clear at the top, 660 at the bottom and 120 on each side, plus the right 300 px below y 840 where the action buttons sit.
What size are TikTok photos?
Post photos at 1080 x 1920, up to 35 per post. Carousel ads take 720 x 1280, 640 x 640 or 1200 x 628.
What is the TikTok file size limit?
500 MB for ads. TikTok doesn't publish a limit for posting from the app or the web.
Before you export a TikTok ad
- 1Export 1080 x 1920, 9:16, H.264 MP4 at 30 fps.
- 2Headline, offer and logo between x 120 and 960, y 240 and 1260, with nothing right of x 780 below y 840.
- 3Long caption or anchor link: keep the bottom 1014 px clear instead of 660.
- 4Rebuild square and 4:5 ads at 9:16 instead of letting them run with bars.
- 5Cut a 9-15 s version of every ad. Keep TopView and reservation cuts under 60 s and files under 500 MB.
- 6Sound on and no TikTok watermark; reservation ads require both.
How we got this
Specs come from TikTok's Help Center (Camera tools, Making a post), its Business Help Center (Auction In-Feed Ads, TopView, Reservation in-feed, Carousel, Spark Ads, Creative best practices) and its Content Posting API docs, checked October 10, 2026. Safe-zone pixels are measured from the In-Feed Standard template on the auction in-feed page (720 x 1280, scaled 1.5x); the long-caption edges come from TikTok's 2021 In-Feed with Anchor template, read by eye. The 21-34 s advice is from TikTok's 7 Top Tips PDF, based on 2021 data. The sample: on October 10, 2026 we searched TikTok's Ad Library for 12 product terms in every country it covers (Europe and Turkey) and read 307 videos from 51 advertisers. Four advertisers supplied 158 of them; counting each advertiser once, the median is 23.9 s. The library serves re-encoded copies, so it shows shape and length, not upload resolution, and 277 of the 307 reached under 1,000 people, so it shows what advertisers upload, not what works.
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