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YouTube Shorts Maker

Cut a long video or a YouTube link into vertical Shorts with captions, ready to upload.

Exemplary AI's YouTube Shorts maker cuts a long video (at least 10 minutes, uploaded or from a YouTube link) into vertical 9:16 Shorts with animated captions, ranked by virality score.

Choose "60-90s" or shorter so every clip stays within YouTube's 3-minute limit for Shorts. Free plan: 500 one-time credits; free exports carry a watermark.

How it works

How to make YouTube Shorts from a long video

A YouTube video link pasted into the AI Clips import field

Shorts maker at a glance

Facts checked .

Aspect ratio
Portrait (9:16) or square (1:1), both of which YouTube counts as Shorts; landscape (16:9) is also available for regular videos
Clip length
<30s, 30-45s, 45-60s, 60-90s, 90-3min, 3-5min or 5-10min; longer choices need a source of at least 15 minutes
Length for Shorts
"60-90s" or shorter. Lengths are targets, not caps: "60-90s" aims at about 90 seconds, give or take a minute; "90-3min" aims at about 3 minutes and can run past 3:00, so trim it before you upload it as a Short
Source
An MP3, WAV, M4A, MP4, WEBM, MOV or MKV upload or a YouTube, TikTok, Vimeo or X link, at least 10 minutes long
Framing
Fill, Fit, Split, 3 Split and 4 Split layouts, with automatic speaker framing
Captions
5 animations (Karaoke, Pop word, Box spotlight, Highlight word and Bazooka), in 99 languages
Export
MP4 (H.264). You upload the Short to YouTube yourself.
Free plan
Yes. The Free plan includes 500 one-time credits; files up to 500 MB and 30 min long; 720p video exports with a watermark. AI Clips and audiogram tasks use credits, so the amount you can create depends on the tasks you run.

YouTube's definition of a Short

  • A video up to 3 minutes long with a square or vertical aspect ratio is categorized as a Short.
  • This applies to videos uploaded on or after October 15, 2024 (December 8, 2025 for Official Artist Channels).
  • A landscape (16:9) video does not meet that definition.

Source: Understand three-minute YouTube Shorts - YouTube Help, checked September 26, 2026.

More on making YouTube Shorts

To cut a single Short from a video that is already on your channel, YouTube Studio's own Clips and Shorts tool is free: see Method 1 of our guide to making YouTube Shorts. The full guide also covers picking the moments and what to measure after you post.

Before you upload, choose a few hashtags: hashtags for YouTube Shorts explains YouTube's rules and gives example sets by niche, and the hashtag generator suggests them from your video's transcript.

What it does

Why Choose Exemplary AI's Shorts Maker?

Everything you need to turn one long video into a batch of Shorts, in the browser.

Reframe landscape video to 9:16

Speaker framing keeps the person talking in the shot when a 16:9 video becomes a vertical Short. Switch to fit or split layouts when it suits the scene.

Highlight detection with a virality score

AI reads the transcript and picks moments that work on their own, then scores each clip so you know which to post first.

Animated captions

Burned-in captions in 5 animation styles, with your fonts and colours. You can edit the captions before exporting.

Edit the video by editing the text

Delete words in the transcript to cut them from the Short, and trim or extend the clip on the timeline.

Watch

See it in action

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Tools that work on the same file

You have already uploaded it. These run on the same transcript, so there is nothing to redo.

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The rest of it

YouTube Shorts Maker is one part of one workspace

YouTube Shorts Maker is one door into the same workspace. Whatever you came here to make, the rest is already available from the file you just uploaded.

  • Upload once

    The same recording feeds every tool on the site. Nothing needs uploading twice to get a second format out of it.

  • Caption and translate

    Burned-in captions or subtitle files, in the spoken language or translated with the timings kept intact.

  • Repurpose without re-editing

    Clips, chapters, show notes, blog drafts and social posts all come off the one transcript.

Questions

Common questions

How long can a YouTube Short be?
Up to 3 minutes, for videos uploaded on or after October 15, 2024 (December 8, 2025 for Official Artist Channels), as long as the video is square or vertical (YouTube Help, "Understand three-minute YouTube Shorts").
What aspect ratio does a YouTube Short need?
Vertical or square. Export your clip in portrait (9:16) or square (1:1). A landscape (16:9) video is not categorized as a Short.
Can I turn a YouTube video into Shorts?
Yes. Paste the YouTube link instead of uploading a file. The video has to be at least 10 minutes long for AI Clips to cut it into Shorts.
Which clip length should I pick for Shorts?
Pick "60-90s" or shorter if every clip must be a Short: "60-90s" aims at about 90 seconds, give or take a minute, so it stays well under 3 minutes. "90-3min" aims at about 3 minutes and can run longer, so trim anything over 3:00 on the timeline before you export. The "3-5min" and "5-10min" options are for longer clips and would not count as Shorts.
Does the Shorts maker add captions?
Yes. Captions come from the transcript, in 99 languages, and you can pick an animation style and correct any word before you export.
Is the YouTube Shorts maker free?
Yes. The Free plan includes 500 one-time credits; files up to 500 MB and 30 min long; 720p video exports with a watermark. AI Clips and audiogram tasks use credits, so the amount you can create depends on the tasks you run.
Can I make YouTube Shorts for free without a watermark?
Not on Exemplary AI's Free plan: free exports carry a watermark, and a paid plan removes it. If you only need a Short from a video that is already on your channel, YouTube Studio's own Clips and Shorts tool is free; Method 1 of our YouTube Shorts guide walks through it.

Discover more Clips & Shorts

One upload. Every format you need.

Drop in a recording and work from the transcript — clips, captions, chapters, show notes and posts all come from the same file.

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