Platform specs
TikTok aspect ratio and size: what TikTok states and what to export
By the KeyMo team · Updated
As of 11 October 2026, TikTok states 9:16 as the recommended ratio for ads and accepts vertical or landscape uploads in TikTok Studio. For TikTok Studio desktop uploads it states 720p or higher and up to 10 GB. It names no required size for regular posts, so we recommend 1080x1920.
TikTok aspect ratio and size numbers, as of 11 October 2026
Everything in this table was read on TikTok's own pages. The ad rows are advertising specs. They are the clearest numbers TikTok publishes, but they are not the rules for a regular post.
| Item | What TikTok states | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Orientation | Vertical or landscape uploads are both accepted | TikTok Studio uploads |
| Resolution | 720p or higher; 1080p or higher is advised as a quality tip | Uploads up to 60 minutes; Creator Rewards tips |
| File size | Up to 10 GB | TikTok Studio desktop uploads |
| Vertical ratio | 9:16, recommended, at 540x960 px or larger | In-feed ads |
| Horizontal ratio | 16:9 at 960x540 px or larger | In-feed ads |
| Square ratio | 1:1 at 640x640 px or larger | In-feed ads |
| Ad file size | 500 MB or less | Non-Spark in-feed ads |
| Ad file formats | .mp4, .mov, .mpeg, .3gp (the auction page adds .avi) | Non-Spark in-feed ads |
| Ad bitrate | 516 kbps or more on one page, 2,500 kbps or more on another | Non-Spark in-feed ads |
| Best practice | Orient vertically at 9:16, shoot at least 720P | Performance ads |
The ad bitrate row is a real conflict between two TikTok pages, so we show both and do not pick one.
What TikTok does not state for regular posts
We found no page that gives a required pixel size, a required ratio, a list of file formats or a frame rate for a regular organic post. Any site that prints a firm '1080x1920 is required' for organic video is repeating a convention, not a TikTok rule.
TikTok is not vertical only. Its Creator Academy says horizontal videos get a view full screen button and that you do not need to add black margins to make a video look vertical. The video has to be truly landscape, with no text laid over the margins.
What a 16:9 clip looks like inside a 9:16 frame
If you drop a 16:9 recording onto a 1080x1920 canvas without reframing, the picture is 1080 pixels wide and about 608 pixels tall. That is roughly 32% of the frame height, and the other 68% is bars. That is our arithmetic, not a TikTok figure.
- Landscape video you want viewers to turn their phone for: upload it as true landscape and let full screen mode do the work.
- Landscape video you want to fill the phone: reframe it to 9:16 instead of letterboxing it.
- Landscape video with captions in the margins: TikTok says the video has to be truly landscape, with no text in the margins, so reframe it instead.
Our aspect ratio calculator works out the crop for any source size, and file size calculator estimates MB from bitrate and length.
How KeyMo output compares
| Number | TikTok | KeyMo clip |
|---|---|---|
| Ratio | 9:16 recommended for ads | 9:16, never 16:9 |
| Pixels | 540x960 minimum for ads, 720p for long uploads | 1080x1920 |
| Frame rate | Not stated | 30 fps |
| Codecs | Not stated for regular posts | H.264/AAC |
| Watermark | Reservation ad specs: no watermarks allowed | No watermark on any plan |
KeyMo reframes landscape sources to 9:16 with automatic face tracking, so a podcast recorded in 16:9 comes out as a full vertical clip.
Sources: TikTok Creator Academy (checked 11 October 2026); TikTok Ads Manager: auction in-feed ads (checked 11 October 2026); TikTok Ads Manager: reservation in-feed ads (checked 11 October 2026); TikTok Ads Manager: creative best practices (checked 11 October 2026).