Platform specs
How long should YouTube Shorts be?
By the KeyMo team · Updated
YouTube allows Shorts up to 3 minutes, but that is the limit, not the target. YouTube's help pages do not say how long a Short should be, and the 30 to 60 second advice you will see online is not on YouTube's help pages. Our recommendation: finish the idea, then stop. For a podcast clip that is often 20 to 60 seconds.
What YouTube states about Shorts length
| Figure | What YouTube says | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 3 minutes | The Shorts camera records one or more clips that add up to three minutes | YouTube Help: Create YouTube Shorts |
| 15 October 2024 | Square or vertical videos of up to three minutes uploaded on or after this date are categorized as Shorts on standard channels. Earlier uploads stay long-form | YouTube Help: Shorts length and classification |
| Square or vertical | Required for a file uploaded as a Short. A wider ratio such as 16:9 keeps a video out of Shorts | YouTube Help: upload Shorts |
| 1080p | Maximum resolution for Shorts | YouTube Help: Create YouTube Shorts |
| Up to 60 seconds | What the Edit into a Short tool takes from an existing public video | YouTube Help: edit long-form into Shorts |
| Up to 90 seconds | Most Audio Library songs can be used for up to 90 seconds in a 3-minute Short; some are limited to 60 or 30 | YouTube Help: Shorts length and classification |
| No minimum watch time | Since 31 March 2025 a Short view counts every start or replay | YouTube Help: Shorts |
Nothing on these pages names a best length. The limit is wide enough that almost any podcast moment fits.
Allowed length is not ideal length
The 30 to 60 second advice repeated online does not appear on any YouTube help page we read, so treat it as third-party advice.
A better rule for a clip cut from a longer talk:
- Write the point of the clip in one sentence.
- Start on the sentence where the speaker begins that point.
- End on the sentence where it lands, even if the sentence is short.
- If you now have two separate points, split them into two Shorts.
- Only then look at length, and trim any lead-in that survived.
Where music and claims change the answer
YouTube's pages disagree about long Shorts with a copyright claim. Its three-minute Shorts and music pages say a Short over one minute with an active claim is blocked, while the Create YouTube Shorts page says such Shorts are no longer automatically blocked and may remain playable.
We cannot settle that for you. If your clip carries music or audio someone else owns, staying under one minute sidesteps the question. Check YouTube's current wording before you post a longer one.
How KeyMo's clips fit
| KeyMo length choice | Range | Fits when |
|---|---|---|
| Short | 20 to 40 seconds | One take, one answer |
| Medium | 40 to 60 seconds | A story or an answer with an example |
| Long | 60 to 90 seconds | An exchange or a three-step argument |
| Auto | 15 to 90 seconds | You want KeyMo to choose per clip |
Every choice stays well under 3 minutes. KeyMo outputs vertical 9:16 at 1080x1920, so clips qualify by shape and sit at YouTube's 1080p cap, in H.264 and AAC, which YouTube names among its recommended upload formats. Each clip also gets a score out of 10 with a one-line reason, and clips under 7 are dropped.
For the limit itself see YouTube Shorts length, and for the opening seconds see the first 3 seconds of a Short.
Sources: YouTube Help: Create YouTube Shorts (checked 11 October 2026); YouTube Help: Shorts overview and creation tools (checked 11 October 2026); YouTube Help: Shorts length and classification (checked 11 October 2026); YouTube Help: Upload YouTube Shorts from a computer (checked 11 October 2026); YouTube Help: Edit long-form videos into Shorts (checked 11 October 2026); YouTube Help: Music in Shorts (checked 11 October 2026); YouTube Help: Recommended upload encoding settings (checked 11 October 2026).