1080×1920, or it is not a Short

YouTube Shorts size

YouTube will take almost any codec and a file up to 256 GB. The size question that matters is the frame. A Short is square or taller, ideally 1080×1920, and no longer than 3 minutes.

720×1280 is the minimum in the Google Ads vertical spec. Below that, the Shorts card fails. A 1920×1080 export fails for a different reason: it is landscape, so YouTube will not shelf it as a Short.

Drop a clip

MP4, MOV, WebM, or a thumbnail. Duration, resolution, aspect, fps, codec, and file size are read here. Nothing is uploaded.

What to do with it

Crop or pad to 9:16 before you upload if the source is a stream, a screen recording, or a 16:9 AI render.
Square counts. It passes the Shorts aspect rule and warns because 9:16 is the recommended fill.
There is no 30 fps floor on this platform. Keep 30 anyway so the same file passes Reels.
The 256 GB cap is real and irrelevant for a phone clip. ClipLint still lists it, with the Help Center URL.

YouTube Shorts specs

A Short is square or vertical and at most 3 minutes. Google's ad safe zone (288 / 672 / 48 / 192) is stricter than most organic templates.

Check	Value	If missed	Confidence	Verified	Source
Shorts length	3 min	fail	Official	2026-10-19	YouTube Help — Shorts
Content ID window	1 min	warn	Official	2026-10-19	YouTube Help — Shorts
Square or vertical	square or taller	fail	Official	2026-10-19	YouTube Help — Shorts
Recommended aspect	9:16	warn	Cited	2026-10-19	Google Ads — vertical video specs
Minimum vertical frame	720×1280	fail	Official	2026-10-19	Google Ads — vertical video specs
Recommended frame	1080×1920	warn	Official	2026-10-19	YouTube Help — Shorts
Upload size	256 GB	fail	Official	2026-10-19	YouTube Help — Shorts
Video codec	H.264, HEVC, VP8, VP9, AV1	warn	Official	2026-10-19	YouTube Help — Shorts
Container	MP4, WebM, or MOV	warn	Official	2026-10-19	YouTube Help — Shorts

Official safe zone, 1080×1920

288 top / 672 bottom / 48 left / 192 right

Taken from Google's vertical ad safe-zone image, also cited by https://www.socialync.io/tools/safe-zones. These margins are for ads. The organic Shorts player is not the same picture.

Cited · 2026-10-19 · Google Ads — vertical video specs

Measured safe zone, 1080×1920

380 top / 380 bottom / 0 left / 0 right

CheckSafe.Zone lists Shorts top and bottom at 380 px, which disagrees with Google's 288 / 672 ad image. Side insets were not recorded from that page, so measured mode does not invent them.

Measured · 2026-10-19 · CheckSafe.Zone

Questions

What size is a YouTube Short in pixels?

1080×1920 recommended. 720×1280 minimum for a vertical frame, from Google's ads spec. Both were verified 19 October 2026.

What ratio do Shorts need?

Square (1:1) or taller. 9:16 is the one that fills the player. 16:9 does not count as a Short.

How long can the file be?

3 minutes. Over 1 minute, a Content ID claim blocks the Short worldwide. That second rule is a warning.