--- title: "YouTube Shorts Maker" description: "Cut a long video or YouTube link into vertical 9:16 Shorts with animated captions. Pick 60-90s or shorter to stay under 3 minutes. Free plan (watermarked)." url: https://exemplary.ai/youtube-shorts-maker facts_as_of: 2026-10-09 publisher: "Exemplary AI (https://exemplary.ai)" --- # 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 to make YouTube Shorts from a long video 1. Upload a video or paste a YouTube, TikTok, Vimeo or X link. It has to be at least 10 minutes long. 2. Pick the spoken language, a video category and a clip duration of "60-90s" or shorter. 3. Open a clip, keep it in portrait (9:16), check the framing and edit the captions. 4. Export the MP4 and upload it to YouTube as a Short. ## Shorts maker at a glance | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | 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. | Facts checked October 2026. ## 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](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/15424877), 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](https://exemplary.ai/blog/how-to-create-youtube-shorts-guide#method-1-free-inside-youtube-studio). The [full guide](https://exemplary.ai/blog/how-to-create-youtube-shorts-guide) also covers picking the moments and what to measure after you post. Before you upload, choose a few hashtags: [hashtags for YouTube Shorts](https://exemplary.ai/blog/best-hashtags-for-youtube-shorts) explains YouTube's rules and gives example sets by niche, and the [hashtag generator](https://exemplary.ai/hashtag-generator) suggests them from your video's transcript. ## 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. Video: [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWeO9aq0XCs) ## Tools that work on the same file You have already uploaded it. These run on the same transcript, so there is nothing to redo. ### [Video trimmer](https://exemplary.ai/video-trimmer) Trim a video by its words: Exemplary AI transcribes it, you select the part of the transcript… ### [AI podcast clips generator](https://exemplary.ai/ai-podcast-clips-generator) Turn a podcast episode into short clips with AI: speaker framing for video, waveform audiograms… ### [Instagram reel maker](https://exemplary.ai/instagram-reel-maker) Turn a long video into Instagram Reels with AI: vertical 9:16 clips with animated captions and… ### [Resize videos](https://exemplary.ai/resize-videos) Save your time by cropping the size of the videos with Exemplary AI. ## 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. ## 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 - [Video trimmer](https://exemplary.ai/video-trimmer) - [AI podcast clips generator](https://exemplary.ai/ai-podcast-clips-generator) - [Instagram reel maker](https://exemplary.ai/instagram-reel-maker) - [Resize videos](https://exemplary.ai/resize-videos) - [Auto video editor](https://exemplary.ai/auto-video-editor) - [Crop video](https://exemplary.ai/crop-video) - [Add image to video](https://exemplary.ai/add-image-to-video) - [Add text to video](https://exemplary.ai/add-text-to-video) - [Remove filler words](https://exemplary.ai/remove-filler-words) - [Add emoji to subtitle](https://exemplary.ai/add-emoji-to-subtitle) - [Silence remover](https://exemplary.ai/silence-remover) - [Add watermark to video](https://exemplary.ai/add-watermark-to-video) - [Add b-rolls](https://exemplary.ai/add-b-rolls) - [Word highlight in subtitle](https://exemplary.ai/word-highlight-in-subtitle) - [AI video editor](https://exemplary.ai/ai-video-editor) - [Long video to short video](https://exemplary.ai/long-video-to-short-video) - [Twitch clip maker](https://exemplary.ai/twitch-clip-maker) - [YouTube to TikTok](https://exemplary.ai/youtube-to-tiktok) - [Sermon clips](https://exemplary.ai/sermon-clips) - [Horizontal to vertical video](https://exemplary.ai/horizontal-to-vertical-video) - [Screen and webcam recorder](https://exemplary.ai/screen-and-webcam-recorder) - [Online screen recorder](https://exemplary.ai/online-screen-recorder) - [Kick clip maker](https://exemplary.ai/kick-clip-maker) - [Viral clip finder](https://exemplary.ai/viral-clip-finder) - [YouTube Shorts size](https://exemplary.ai/youtube-shorts-size) - [TikTok video size](https://exemplary.ai/tiktok-video-size) - [Instagram Reels size](https://exemplary.ai/instagram-reels-size) - [LinkedIn video specs](https://exemplary.ai/linkedin-video-specs) > Exemplary AI is a browser-based AI tool that turns long videos and recordings into short captioned clips, transcripts in 99 languages, subtitles, translations into 116 languages, and written posts such as summaries, blog posts and YouTube chapters. It is built for YouTubers, podcasters and marketing teams; the Free plan includes 500 one-time credits with watermarked video exports. Pricing: https://exemplary.ai/pricing