How long can a YouTube Short be?
| Spec | YouTube Shorts |
|---|---|
| Max length | 3 minutes |
| Aspect ratio | Square or vertical |
| Max resolution | 1080p |
| Title | Up to 100 characters |
| Which uploads count | Square or vertical, up to 3 minutes, uploaded on or after October 15, 2024 (December 8, 2025 for Official Artist Channels) |
| Thumbnail | 2160×3840 (9:16), at least 640 px tall, JPG or PNG |
Source: Understand three-minute YouTube Shorts, Upload YouTube Shorts, Get started creating YouTube Shorts and Add custom thumbnails, YouTube Help, checked November 4, 2026.
What size is a YouTube Short?
YouTube's Shorts pages give a shape (square or vertical) and a maximum resolution (1080p), not an exact pixel size. In pixels that means (our arithmetic):
- Vertical 9:16: 1080×1920 at most.
- Square 1:1: 1080×1080 at most.
- Portrait 4:5: 1080×1350 is vertical too.
YouTube's three-minute page says square or vertical videos up to 3 minutes are categorized as Shorts. It doesn't describe landscape videos as Shorts, so export vertical or square if you want the Shorts shelf. For any other size, use the aspect ratio calculator.
Why is my older 2-minute vertical video not a Short?
Because of the upload date. For standard channels, only videos uploaded on or after October 15, 2024 can be categorized as Shorts at up to 3 minutes. Longer videos uploaded before that date stay long-form. For Official Artist Channels the cutoff is December 8, 2025 (YouTube Help).
What size is a YouTube Shorts thumbnail?
2160×3840 pixels (9:16), with a minimum height of 640 pixels, as a JPG or PNG up to 50 MB from desktop (YouTube Help). Regular video thumbnails are the landscape equivalent: 3840×2160 (16:9). See the YouTube video specs.
Exporting a launch video for YouTube Shorts
| Setting | Recommended export |
|---|---|
| Size | 1080×1920 (9:16) |
| File | MP4, H.264 (YouTube's recommended encode) |
| Frame rate | 30 fps, or the rate it was made at |
| Length | 15 to 60 seconds; never over 3 minutes |
| Title | Under 100 characters |
Our recommendation, chosen to sit inside the YouTube Shorts limits above. The full guide: how to make a launch video.
Post a vertical cutdown of your launch film as a Short alongside the full 16:9 upload. Lead with the single most visual product moment, keep text large and centred, and end on the product name. The full film in our study of 150 top Product Hunt launches had a 78-second median; Shorts reward a tighter cut.