One video, every feed: the sizes that matter
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In this post
To put one video in every feed, make three masters from one plan: 9:16 at 1080 × 1920 for Reels, Stories, TikTok and Shorts; 4:5 at 1080 × 1350 for the Facebook and LinkedIn feeds; and 16:9 at 1920 × 1080 for YouTube, your site and wide slots. Keep the words and the product in the centre band that every crop keeps.
Why one size no longer fits every feed
For years, most marketing video was one 16:9 file. You exported it once, uploaded it everywhere, and each player showed it in a box. Now the phone is the screen, and each feed fills that screen in its own shape. A wide film in a full-screen vertical feed gets dark bars above and below it, and the picture shrinks to a strip across the middle of the phone. The words in that strip are too small to read.
The shape also decides where a video goes. YouTube's help page says that videos uploaded after October 15, 2024 with a square or vertical aspect ratio and up to three minutes long are categorised as Shorts. The same page recommends a wide format, such as 16:9, for a video that you want to keep long-form. So the ratio you export is not only a look. It chooses the shelf your film sits on.
This matters most to small teams: a founder with a launch film, or a marketer with one product explainer and a small budget for social video and ads. You do not have time to edit four films. You need one film that you plan once and export in the sizes that matter, with nothing important cut off in any of them.
The video sizes that matter for every feed
The platforms accept many sizes, but four shapes cover almost every placement a marketer posts to or buys, and three of them do most of the work. The table puts the common pixel sizes next to where each shape goes.
| Shape | Pixels | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| 9:16 vertical | 1080 × 1920 | Instagram and Facebook Reels, Stories, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram feed ads |
| 4:5 portrait | 1080 × 1350 (1440 × 1800 for the Facebook Feed) | Facebook Feed, LinkedIn feed |
| 1:1 square | 1080 × 1080 | Placements that still ask for square, X |
| 16:9 wide | 1920 × 1080 | YouTube long-form, LinkedIn horizontal, X ads, your site, decks |
Square is in the table because some placements still ask for it. On a phone, 4:5 does the same job with more height. When a placement wants 1:1, crop it from the same centre as the 4:5, as the worked example below shows.
What each platform asks for
The cheat sheets that rank for this query often copy each other, and they do not always agree. The platforms' own spec pages are the source to trust. This is what each one says today.
Meta: Facebook and Instagram
Meta's ads guide gives the Facebook Feed a ratio of 4:5 at 1440 × 1800 pixels. For Instagram Reels ads it gives 9:16 at 1440 × 2560 pixels. The same page suggests that you keep at least 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% of each side free of text, logos and other key creative elements. Meta's page for Instagram feed video ads gives 9:16 at 1080 × 1920 pixels, so the vertical master now serves the Instagram feed too.
TikTok
TikTok's ad specs recommend vertical 9:16 at 540 × 960 pixels or more. They also accept horizontal 16:9 at 960 × 540 or more and square 1:1 at 640 × 640 or more. An In-Feed ad can run up to 10 minutes, and the file can be up to 500 MB. In practice, export the 1080 × 1920 master: it is well above the minimum.
LinkedIn's video ad specs take all four shapes. They recommend 1920 × 1080 or 1200 × 675 for 16:9, and 720 × 900 for 4:5, with 4:5 allowed up to 1080 × 1350 and 9:16 up to 1080 × 1920. The same page recommends a length of 15 to 30 seconds, so that a video can run in every placement in the LinkedIn Feed and the Audience Network, and a frame rate under 30 frames per second.
YouTube and X
YouTube's long-form player is 16:9, and the Shorts rule above decides where a square or vertical upload goes. For X, Sprout Social's spec guide lists organic video at 1280 × 720 (16:9), 720 × 1280 (9:16) and 720 × 720 (1:1). For X video ads, the same guide recommends 1920 × 1080 or 1200 × 1200, so your 16:9 master and a square crop cover it.
Where the crops land: a worked example
The safest plan is to lay out the 9:16 film first and take the 4:5 and 1:1 versions from its centre. The question is which part of the tall frame survives every crop and the Reels buttons. The arithmetic is short.
- The master is 1080 × 1920. A 4:5 frame at the same width is 1080 × 1350, so the crop removes 1920 − 1350 = 570 rows: 285 at the top and 285 at the bottom. The 4:5 version keeps rows 285 to 1635.
- A 1:1 frame at the same width is 1080 × 1080, so the crop removes 1920 − 1080 = 840 rows: 420 at each end. The square keeps rows 420 to 1500.
- In the 9:16 Reel itself, Meta's safe zone keeps text out of the top 14% and the bottom 35%. 14% of 1920 is 269 rows, and 35% of 1920 is 672 rows. Text is safe from row 269 to row 1920 − 672 = 1248.
- The band that is safe in all three is where they overlap: from the latest start (420) to the earliest end (1248). That is 828 rows, 43% of the frame's height.
- From the sides, 6% of 1080 is 65 pixels. The safe box for the words, the logo and the product is 950 × 828 pixels: from 65 to 1015 across and from 420 to 1248 down.
The same arithmetic shows why 16:9 is its own master and not a crop. A 16:9 frame cut from the 1080-wide vertical film is 1080 × 608 pixels. That keeps 608 of 1920 rows, under a third of the height, and the player then has to scale it up to fill 1920 × 1080. The result is soft and tight. Lay out the wide version again from the same shots instead.
How to plan one film for three masters
A film that works in every size is planned that way from its first frame. These are the steps, in order.
- Write the script once. The words, the voice and the timing stay the same in every size, so every version tells the same story.
- Lay out each scene in 9:16 first, with the headline, the product and the logo inside the safe box from the worked example.
- Keep the background larger than the subject, so each crop and each wide layout has picture to fill its edges.
- Make the 4:5 and 1:1 versions as centre crops of the 9:16 film. Watch each one to the end, and move any shot that loses its subject.
- Lay out the 16:9 version again. Put the words beside the product, not above it, because a wide frame has room at the sides and little height.
- Export each master at its full size, and name the files by shape and placement so nobody uploads the wrong one.
The Ritual Coffee launch ad shows this plan in a finished film: one pour, laid out in four formats, with the cup and the words in view in each one. For more detail on where text goes inside the vertical frame, read our Reels ad safe zone guide.
This is also how FoxyLab works. You paste a link or write a line in a chat, and the studio writes, voices and animates the film, then renders it in 9:16, 1:1, 4:5 and 16:9. That holds for a launch film, a product explainer, a social clip or an ad. When a crop loses something, you say so in the chat, and the studio changes that version.
Common mistakes and their fixes
One wide file uploaded everywhere
A 16:9 film in a vertical feed fills only a strip of the phone, and its words become too small to read. Fix: export a 9:16 master for the full-screen feeds, laid out for that shape.
Words at the bottom of a vertical frame
For Reels ads, Meta suggests that you keep the bottom 35% of the frame clear of text and logos. A headline or an offer at the foot of the frame goes against that advice. Fix: move the headline and the offer up into the safe box. Our post on captions for video ads shows how to set captions that read on mute.
A short vertical video meant for the main YouTube channel
Under YouTube's rule, a square or vertical upload of three minutes or less becomes a Short. Fix: if you want the film on the channel as a long-form video, upload the 16:9 master.
The wide version cut out of the vertical one
The worked example shows that this keeps under a third of the frame. Fix: lay out the 16:9 version from the same shots, with its own composition.
One cheat sheet trusted for every platform
Third-party tables go out of date and disagree with each other. Meta's own page now gives 9:16 for Instagram feed ads, so a table that lists one feed size for every app can send the wrong file. Fix: check the platform's spec page before you buy a placement, and look at the file in the ad preview before you publish.
A checklist before you export
- The 9:16 master is 1080 × 1920 or larger, and the headline, the product and the logo sit in rows 420 to 1248.
- Nothing important is in the top 14% or the bottom 35% of the vertical frame, or within 6% of its sides.
- The 4:5 version is 1080 × 1350 (or 1440 × 1800 for the Facebook Feed) and shows the subject in every shot.
- The 1:1 version, if a placement asks for it, is a centre crop that you watched to the end.
- The 16:9 master is 1920 × 1080 and laid out for its own shape.
- LinkedIn versions run under 30 frames per second, and each ad version fits its platform's length and file-size limits.
- Each file name says its shape and its placement.
Questions people ask
What is the best single video size for social media?
If you can make only one, make 9:16 at 1080 × 1920. It fills the full-screen feeds on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube Shorts. It does not suit YouTube's long-form player or wide placements, so add a 16:9 master when you can.
Is 4:5 or 1:1 better for the feed?
4:5 is taller, so it takes more of the phone's screen as people scroll. Meta gives 4:5 for the Facebook Feed, and LinkedIn accepts it up to 1080 × 1350. Use 1:1 where a placement asks for it.
Will YouTube treat my vertical video as a Short?
Yes, if it is square or vertical and three minutes or shorter. Upload a 16:9 version if you want a long-form video.
Do I need a different edit for each size?
You need a different layout, not a different story. Keep one script, one voice and one timing, and lay out the frames for each shape.
What to do next
Take your next launch film or product video and lay it out in 9:16 first, with its words in the safe box. Then make the 4:5 and 16:9 masters from the same shots. If you want the studio to do it, open FoxyLab's studio, paste a link to your product, and ask for the film in every size.
