The core specs
A YouTube Short is a vertical video at a 9:16 aspect ratio, exported at 1080×1920 pixels. You can upload at a higher source resolution, up to 4K, but YouTube serves Shorts to viewers at a maximum of 1080p regardless of what you upload — so there's no playback benefit to exporting larger, only a bigger file to move.
Length: Shorts can run up to 3 minutes (180 seconds). That limit moved up from 60 seconds on October 15, 2024, so if you learned the old 60-second rule, it's outdated. There's no official minimum, but in practice most well-performing Shorts land in the 15–60 second range — long enough to deliver a payoff, short enough to hold full-video retention.
YouTube's own interface — like/comment/subscribe buttons on the right, title and channel info at the bottom — sits on top of your video. Keep critical text centered and away from those edges.
Why 9:16 and not square
A 1:1 square upload technically qualifies as a Short, but it leaves letterboxing on most phones since the player is vertical. Full 9:16 fills the screen edge to edge, which is what viewers expect and what the algorithm treats as the standard format.
Export settings worth getting right
- Container/codec: MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio is the safest, most universally accepted combination.
- Frame rate: match your source footage's frame rate rather than converting — converting introduces judder that's very noticeable on fast cuts.
- Bitrate: keep it high enough that fast motion and on-screen text don't smear during YouTube's own re-compression — when in doubt, export closer to the higher end of your editor's recommended range for 1080p.
The safe-zone habit that saves re-edits
The single most common Shorts mistake we see is a title or caption sitting exactly where YouTube's subscribe button, like count, or channel name renders on top. Since that overlay position is consistent across the app, the fix is simple: keep your primary text centered in the middle third of the frame, and treat the outer edges — especially the right side and bottom strip — as UI territory, not caption territory.
Key Takeaways
- 1080×1920 pixels, 9:16 vertical — that's the format, full stop
- Up to 3 minutes (180 seconds) as of October 2024, not the old 60-second limit
- Exporting above 1080p doesn't improve what viewers see — YouTube caps playback resolution
- Keep titles and captions centered, away from the right edge and bottom strip where YouTube's own UI sits
