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YouTube Shorts Size, Dimensions and Safe Zone

Make Shorts at 1080 × 1920 px (9:16) and keep text inside the 900 × 1160 px safe area. Check a frame of your own video against the overlay, then download it.

The standard YouTube Shorts size is 1080 × 1920 px: a 9:16 vertical frame, the shape YouTube needs (square or vertical) for a video up to 3 minutes to count as a Short.

Keep text and faces out of the top 380 px, the bottom 380 px and the right 120 px, where the Shorts player puts its own controls. To cut Shorts from a long video, Exemplary AI's free plan includes 500 one-time credits.

YouTube Shorts dimensions at a glance

Facts checked .

Resolution
1080 × 1920 px
Aspect ratio
9:16 vertical (square also counts as a Short)
Length
Up to 3 minutes
Keep clear: top
380 px: the search and navigation controls at the top of the Shorts player
Keep clear: bottom
380 px: the title, channel name, Subscribe button, sound and progress bar
Keep clear: right
120 px: the like, dislike, comment, share and remix buttons
Safe area
900 × 1160 px
How it works

How to size a video for YouTube Shorts

A 9:16 phone frame measured at 1080 by 1920 pixels

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.

Where the safe-zone numbers come from

YouTube publishes the rule for what counts as a Short (the shape and the length) but not pixel margins for the player. The margins here are the ones creator guides measure from the Shorts player, and they are generous on purpose: the controls move a little between the app, the mobile site and different phones. Before you post, play the video in the YouTube app and check that nothing you care about sits under a button.

Making Shorts from a longer video? The YouTube Shorts maker turns a long video or a YouTube link into vertical clips with captions. If a TikTok version is next, the TikTok video size guide has that app's margins.

What it does

Shorts at the right size, without the guesswork

Start from the frame YouTube expects and keep your words where viewers can read them.

A free overlay to check against

A 1080 × 1920 px transparent PNG with the covered margins hatched and the safe area outlined. Drop a frame of your own video into the checker first to see what would be hidden.

Vertical clips from a long video

Exemplary AI cuts a long video into clips in 9:16, 16:9, 1:1 and 4:5, with captions burned in, ready to upload as Shorts.

Captions above the player controls

Burned-in captions can sit at the top, center or bottom of the frame. Center keeps them clear of the title and channel name at the bottom.

Keep going

Build your next Short around the right frame

Find a moment in a longer video, reframe it, and give its captions a clear visual style.

Browse all 155 tools
Questions

Common questions

What size is a YouTube Short?
1080 × 1920 px pixels in a 9:16 vertical frame. YouTube also counts square videos as Shorts, as long as they are up to 3 minutes long.
What is the YouTube Shorts safe zone?
The part of the frame the Shorts player does not cover: about 900 × 1160 px once you leave the top 380 px, the bottom 380 px, the left 60 px and the right 120 px clear. YouTube does not publish exact margins, so check the video in the app before posting.
Can I upload a 16:9 video as a Short?
Not as a Short. YouTube only counts square or vertical videos as Shorts, so a landscape video needs reframing to 9:16 first.
Where should captions go on a YouTube Short?
Above the bottom 380 px, where the title, channel name and Subscribe button sit, and away from the button column on the right. The middle of the frame is the safest place.
How do I use the safe zone overlay?
Download the PNG, put it on the top track of your editor over your video, line up your text inside the dashed box, then turn the overlay off before you export.
Can Exemplary AI make Shorts at this size for free?
Yes. Exemplary AI turns a long video into 9:16 clips with captions, and the Free plan includes 500 one-time credits; files up to 500 MB and 30 min long; 720p video exports with a watermark.

Discover more Clips & Shorts

Turn a longer video into your next Short

Choose a moment, review the vertical framing, and export it with readable captions.

Make Shorts from a videoContact us