Vertical video sizes: Reels, Shorts, TikTok
All three use 1080x1920. What differs is where the interface covers the frame.
Updated 2026-08-06
Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok all use a 9:16 vertical frame, and all three recommend 1080x1920. On size alone, one export covers all three.
The catch is composition, not size. Each platform draws its own buttons and text on top of the video, so the area that actually stays visible is much smaller than 1080x1920.
What actually gets covered
- Top 10 to 14 percent: status bar and progress indicators.
- Bottom 20 percent: account name, description, audio details.
- Right 20 percent of the width, around the middle: the vertical column of action buttons.
Together that is close to a third of the frame. Put a face, a product, or a subtitle there and it looks fine while editing and disappears once posted.
Turning a landscape photo vertical
Cropping a 16:9 photo to 9:16 throws away most of the left and right. Unless the subject is dead centre, the result is unusable. Filling the top and bottom is the better move.
- Choose Fit inside and the whole photo lands in frame with background above and below.
- Set the background to blurred and the bars read as a deliberate treatment.
- For a solid colour, sample the photo's edge with the eyedropper so the seam is less visible.