YouTube Shorts Dimensions & Video Size (2026)

The recommended resolution for YouTube Shorts is 1080 × 1920 pixels, which is the 9:16 vertical ratio. YouTube classifies any video as a Short if it is 60 seconds or under and has a vertical aspect ratio — so getting the ratio right is what puts the video in the Shorts feed, not just the length.

If you upload a 16:9 landscape video under 60 seconds, YouTube treats it as a regular video, not a Short. It will not appear in the Shorts shelf on the homepage or in the dedicated Shorts tab. This is the most common mistake creators make when cross-posting from other platforms.

Keep important visual content in the center 60–70% of the frame height. YouTube Shorts overlays the title (bottom), channel info, and like/comment/share buttons on the right side. On some devices the bottom overlay covers roughly 20% of the frame, so do not place text or faces in the very bottom portion.

YouTube accepts a wide range of formats for Shorts, but H.264 MP4 is the universal safe choice. YouTube also accepts HEVC (H.265) which gives smaller files at the same quality, though some older upload paths process it more slowly. Stick with H.264 unless you need to cut file size.

Frame rates of 24, 25, 30, 48, and 60 fps are all supported. For screen recordings and tutorials, 30 fps strikes a good balance between smooth motion and file size. For gaming or high-motion content, 60 fps is noticeably smoother on capable devices.

There is technically no file size cap when uploading via desktop browser, but the YouTube mobile app enforces a 256 MB limit for Shorts. If you are uploading from the app, keep your file under that. Web uploads can handle much larger files, with YouTube transcoding them during processing.

Limelight for Mac has a dedicated 9:16 vertical export mode that produces a 1080 × 1920 MP4 — exactly the YouTube Shorts format. After recording your screen, open the export panel, select “9:16 Vertical”, and Limelight auto-crops and recenters the action. You do not need a video editor.

This is particularly useful for software tutorials and screen demos. Record your full Mac desktop in landscape, and Limelight follows your mouse and clicks to keep the interesting region centered in the vertical frame. The output is ready to upload directly to YouTube Shorts.

Limelight also surfaces your keystrokes on screen — great for tutorials where viewers want to see what shortcut you used. The keystroke display is configurable in size and position so it fits cleanly within the Shorts safe zone.

60 seconds is the hard limit, not a target. Shorter Shorts (under 30 seconds) tend to have higher completion rates, which is one of the strongest signals YouTube uses to recommend content. Cut aggressively before export.

Add a title card at the start. Unlike TikTok and Reels, YouTube Shorts shows a title below the video in search results and the home shelf. That title can be long and keyword-rich, which helps with discovery. Use it — and echo the main promise on screen in the first 2 seconds.

Use the Shorts camera, not just upload. YouTube’s algorithm gives some preference to videos created natively in the Shorts camera (in the mobile app), likely because they have the full metadata attached. For screen recordings that must be uploaded as files, make sure you fill in title, description, and at least three relevant tags.