Ultimate TikTok Video Size Guide for 2023

TikTok is a rapidly growing social media app with over 1.534 billion users and 3.5 billion installations worldwide. With 167 million videos being watched every minute, it has become highly popular among millennials and Gen Z. As of the last quarter of 2023, there are over 1.7 billion monthly active users globally.

All these surprising stats prove one thing; TikTok is the next big thing for brands and influencers to grow online. This will be your ultimate guide for TikTok video size for 2023, optimizing your videos, and more; which will help you win the TikTok game and make the most of this magical platform. Let’s dive in.

Maximum TikTok video size

Do you wonder what the maximum TikTok video size is?

Is it the same for both iOS and Android?

The answer is, that TikTok offers different maximum file sizes for both types of devices. If you’re an Android user, you can upload TikToks of 72 MB maximum size. For iOS users, the maximum video file size is 287.6 MB. TikTok provides users with a cutting feature to trim the unwanted parts of recorded videos.

While video size is related to the file of the actual video that you post on the TikTok app, there are more than one things to consider. You can upload a video in landscape format, while the ideal scenario is to post videos in portrait or vertical format. We’ve discussed several scenarios you could be posting on TikTok and the recommendations to consider for maximum exposure and reach.

Video dimensions

The TikTok video size ratio is 9:16 with recommended dimensions of 1080 x 1920. 

These dimensions will make sure that your video is uncropped, non-pixelated, and gives the best user experience to the audience.

Users can also post a 1:1 ratio, but it will not take up the complete screen. TikTok allows users to upload videos on the platform in both landscape (horizontal) and portrait (vertical) modes.

Since most social apps are optimized for the content in vertical format, we recommend posting TikToks in that mode. This will allow you to get greater watch time, audience retention, and complete views - inviting algorithms to promote your videos across the platform gaining more views and engagement. 

If you want, however, to post horizontal videos then there are a few options that you can use:

  • You can record your videos in landscape mode by holding your phone in the horizontal position. This will automatically create landscape videos,

  • If you have a portrait video but want to publish it as a landscape TikTok, TikTok has provided an in-app video mode button (that appears while uploading videos) to switch between the modes. Just tap that button to get your desired video orientation.

Maximum length of a TikTok

When TikTok was launched in 2018, it offered its users to post 15-second vertical videos only. Moving on the app allowed posting videos up to 1 minute in length. And now, TikTok is testing 3-minute videos to see how the community responds to longer videos.

Undoubtedly, before TikTok, YouTube and Facebook ruled the video-sharing space and they primarily focused on long videos on their platforms.

While the app has experienced unprecedented success with 15-second and 1-minute videos, it’s still to be seen if everything goes well with 3-minute videos. A few key things are;

  • One important metric on all social platforms is audience engagement, and talking about video-sharing networks like YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok - it’s watch time and video completion rates.

  • TikTok content creators have had great success with short videos - they provided entertaining and valuable content, got the audience’s engagement, and received great watch times and video completion numbers.

  • Longer videos mean they have to put in extra effort to provide the same level of entertainment and education, otherwise, they would risk losing followers and reach for their content.

How to optimize TikTok videos

To make sure the videos are optimized for TikTok before you hit ‘publish’, here is a 3-step process to follow;

Step#1: Upload your video

Jump over to clideo.com which is the best tool for video editing.  Upload your video from Dropbox, Google Drive, or your computer.

What about a published YouTube video?

You can simply copy and paste the URL of the video without having to download it first.

Clideo allows you to edit up to 500 MB of files for free.

Step#2: Resize your TikTok 

Once you’ve uploaded your video, you will now see the video editor. You can type in custom dimensions or can select a preset. If you have created videos on the TikTok app, you can choose from a 9:16 or 1:1 aspect ratio.

Now crop the video and adjust it using the zoom and position selectors. If you click the Fill button it will crop the video. Alternatively, click the ‘Fit’ to match the frame size.

Zooming in and out allows you to get your desired angle. Clideo allows you to change the background color of your videos and select a format for the output video.

When you’ve finished the editing, you can click the “Resize button”.

Step#3: Download the resized video

You’re almost there. Before downloading your video, you need to make sure the video is perfect for use. 

You can preview the video to see that its quality hasn’t been compromised during the whole editing process. If you’re satisfied, you can click the “Download” button and save it to Google Drive or Dropbox.

Why does TikTok crop my video?

Every social media app has margins for its content. In the same way, TikTok has its margins, and it will crop every video you upload on the platform according to those margins.

We have provided the size guide above about the TikTok video size Ratio, video length, and video file size. Make sure to follow these recommendations to avoid losing parts of your videos to cropping. 

Bonus Tip: 

One important tip, that can boost the click-throughs on your videos and drive more traffic to your landing pages and sales pages, is to keep call-to-action text in the middle of the screen to make it stand out and noticeable.

TikTok video ads

Most social media apps make money with advertising - brands pay them to show their ads to the target audience and generate sales.

With the exploding popularity of the lip sync and dancing app, TikTok ads have been awaited for quite some time. Brands and businesses were excited to grow their business with the TikTok ads.

And then finally in 2019, TikTok launched its advertising features, and as expected, advertising on TikTok turned out to be insanely profitable, and more and more businesses are jumping into cash in on this new opportunity. The next section explores different types of TikTok ads you can use to market and sell your products and services on the app. 

Types of TikTok ads

TikTok ads can be broadly classified into two types of ads; news feed app series and standard video ads. News feed app series ads have further classifications that you’ll explore next. Let’s explore different types of video ads;

Standard Video Ads:

Placement: TikTok in-feed

News Feed App Series Ads:

BuzzVideo: 

  • BuzzVideo in-feed ads

  • BuzzVideo details page ads

  • BuzzVideo story ads

TopBuzz:

  • TopBuzz in-feed ads

  • TopBuzz details page ads

Babe:

  • Babe in-feed ads

  • Babe details page ads

Composition of TikTok ads  

Standard Ads: A standard video ad consists of video creative, ad display image, app or brand name, and ad description.

News Feed App Series Video Ads: A news feed app series video ad consists of video creative, ad display image, app or brand name, and ad description.

Aspect ratio 

Standard Ads: The aspect ratio for standard ads can be 16:9, 9:16, or 1:1.

News Feed App Series Video ads:   The aspect ratio for news feed app series video ads can be 16:9 or 1:1.

Video Resolution 

Standard Ads: Supported video resolution must be ≥540*960px,  ≥960*540px, or ≥640*640px.

News Feed App Series Video ads: There are no restrictions for these ads. We recommend a resolution ≥720*1280px, ≥1280*720px, or ≥640*640px.

File Type 

Standard Ads: Supported video formats for standard ads are .mp4, .avi, .3gp, .mpeg, and .mov.

News Feed App Series Video Ads: Supported video formats for standard ads are .mp4, .3gp, .mpeg, .gif, and .mov.

Video Duration 

Standard Ads: TikTok supports video ads of 5-60 seconds. Our recommendation for best results is 9-15 second long videos.

News Feed App Series Video Ads: There is no duration limit set by TikTok. We recommend short videos 5-60 seconds long.

Bitrate 

The bitrate should be equal to or above 512 kbps. This applies to both ad types.

File Size 

File size for both types of ads should be equal to or less than 500 MB.

Profile Image 

The supported profile image’s aspect ratio is 1:1.

File formats can be .jpg, .jpeg, or .png.

File size should be less than 50 KB.

App Name or Brand Name 

For the App name, TikTok supports 4-40 characters for Latin and 2-20 characters for Asian.

For the brand name, they support 2-20 characters for Latin, and 1-10 characters for Asian.

These character limits apply to both types of TikTok ads.

Important:

  • Emojis can not appear in the app or brand name.

  • Punctuations and spaces will occupy the characters’ space.

  • Depending on the phone model and its operating system, longer text may not be displayed completely on the screen. 

Ad Description

TikTok supports up to 100 characters for sd descriptions written in Latin, and up to 50 characters for Asian characters.

Important:

  • Punctuations and spaces will be counted as characters.

  • Emojis and characters like “#”, and “{}” will not appear in the description.

  • Longer text may not appear completely on the screen depending on the phone model and operating system of the phone.

Actionable tips for TikTok ads

Focus on using vertical videos for TikTok ads. It will get your ads a native-ads feel and will highly likely give you amazing results. Using horizontal orientation might get your ads chopped off which will diminish its impact for sure.

A best practice for the length of video ads is to use 9 and 5-second long videos. It will create a great impact and drive promising results. Your video should start with scroll-stopper visuals that grab the attention of viewers and stop the scroll. Otherwise, they will swipe up your ad to the next TikTok in the feed.

Key elements of your ads like your brand or app name and call-to-action should be placed in the center of the display to avoid them being cropped off. Never forget to include a compelling call to action to enhance the results of your ad campaigns. A native CTA button is a great option to invite more clicks from the viewers.

Captions work great to tell viewers exactly what your ad is all about, and they’re instantly interested to know more about your product and watch the ad in its entirety or a great portion of it. TikTok recommends writing captions in the local language of the audience you’re targeting.

One final thing is to add background music to your TikTok video ads. TikTok requires audio settings to be turned on, so it’s highly recommended to use soundtracks in your video ads.

Conclusion:

We’ve covered TikTok’s recommended video dimensions and size in this blog.  We’ve also covered TikTok ads, their different types, and the best practices to make the most out of your TikTok ads campaigns. It’s time to hear about your thoughts now.

What your brand is selling and how successful you’re in your marketing campaigns?

Have you used TikTok ads before? How did it go? Is there anything else you want to know about TikTok ads or TikTok marketing in general?

FAQs

How do I upload 4K TikTok?

After you’ve recorded your TikTok video using the app, tap next to add captions, tags, hashtags, etc. Now tap on “More options” and then toggle “Allow high-quality uploads”. This setting is off by default.

Does TikTok allow 60 fps?

Yes. TikTok allows videos of 60 fps (frames per second). This is the maximum you can upload on the app.

Is 1080 or 4K better for TikTok?

1080 px is the maximum resolution you can use to upload videos on TikTok. If you post 4K, the app will drop it to 1080 px. So, make sure to resize your 4K videos to 1080 px for better video quality.