Specs
Social Video Ad Specs Cheat Sheet: 9:16, 1:1, 16:9 and Safe Zones
Nothing deflates a new ad faster than uploading it and watching the app crop off your logo or bury your offer under a button. A quick look at social video ad specs before you post saves a lot of frustration.
This cheat sheet covers the three shapes you will use most, where to keep your important text, and why captions matter when people watch with the sound off. We stick to well-known sizes and official guidance, so you can trust what is here. Platforms update their rules often, so check their help pages before a big launch.
The three video shapes you actually need
Almost every social placement uses one of three shapes, called aspect ratios. Here they are with the common full-HD sizes.
- Vertical 9:16 (1080x1920): tall, full-screen video. This is the shape for TikTok, Instagram Reels and Stories, Facebook Reels and Stories, and YouTube Shorts.
- Square 1:1 (1080x1080): the classic feed post. Handy for Facebook and Instagram feeds and anywhere a square looks tidy.
- Wide 16:9 (1920x1080): the TV shape. Use it for regular YouTube videos, your website and presentations.
If you only make one version, make it vertical. That is where short ads live, and it fills the whole phone screen.
Social video ad specs from the official sources
Here is what the platforms themselves say, in plain terms.
TikTok
TikTok's video ad specifications recommend a 9:16 vertical video for in-feed ads, at a resolution of at least 540x960. In practice, 1080x1920 gives you a sharper result and meets that minimum easily.
YouTube Shorts
Google's help page on Shorts ads covers vertical 9:16 video. It also notes that only the first 60 seconds play in the Shorts feed, so keep your message and call to action inside that minute.
Instagram and Facebook
Reels and Stories are full-screen vertical placements, so 9:16 at 1080x1920 is the natural fit. Feed placements also accept other shapes, and square 1:1 is a common, safe choice there. Because options and limits shift, preview your ad in the ad tool before you publish it.
For how long each ad should run on these platforms, see how long a video ad should be.
Safe zones: keep your offer where people can see it
On vertical video, the app lays its own buttons and text on top of yours. The like and share icons, your account name, the caption, and the call-to-action button all sit over the video, mostly along the bottom and the right side. The very top can hold the app's own labels too.
The space that stays clear is called the safe zone. A few simple habits keep you inside it:
- Put your most important words (the offer, the price, the business name) in the middle of the frame.
- Leave generous margins at the top and bottom, and a little extra on the right side.
- Keep logos away from the corners.
- Do not put a phone number, QR code or web address at the very bottom edge, where buttons cover it.
- Preview the ad in each platform's ad tool, which shows the overlays, before you spend a dollar.
Exact pixel margins differ by app and change with redesigns, so treat the preview as your final check.
Captions for sound-off viewing
Lots of people scroll in quiet places: waiting rooms, offices, late at night next to a sleeping partner. If your ad only works with sound, those viewers miss it.
- Always add captions. They let the ad make sense on mute and help viewers who are hard of hearing.
- Burn them in or upload them. Captions built into the video show up everywhere. Some platforms also let you add a caption file.
- Keep lines short. Two short lines at a time are easier to read than one long sentence.
- Make them readable. Big enough to read on a phone, with strong contrast against the background, and placed inside the safe zone.
- Let the visuals carry the message too. Your offer should be on screen as text, not only spoken.
Every video we make includes captions, voiceover and music, so it works with the sound on or off. If your current voiceover feels flat, our guide on fixing a robotic voiceover can help.
Which sizes come with our videos
The Quick promo ($199) and the Spokesperson ad ($349) are made in vertical 9:16, ready for Reels, Stories, TikTok and Shorts. The Spokesperson ad also puts your offer and a QR code on the end card.
Need another shape? The extra size add-on is $49 per size, for a square 1:1 or a wide 16:9 version. Order it with your video so every platform you use is covered from day one.
Not sure which video to start with? Our guide to choosing the right video ad walks you through it.
Doing it yourself vs a flat price
Resizing a video yourself is more than changing a setting. Going from vertical to square often means moving every text block, re-framing shots and redoing captions so nothing gets cut off. If you are building ads with a video generator app, an editing app and a caption app, those plans add up. Published plans for each kind of tool commonly run from about $6 to $40 a month, and one example stack of five monthly plans we priced in October 2026 came to about $116 a month (about $1,392 a year) before extra credits. Our breakdown of DIY video ad tool costs shows the full math.
With a flat price, you get a finished video with captions built in and sized for the platforms you use, with one revision included. You can post it on any channel for as long as you like.
- See the vertical Quick promo video for a fast offer ad.
- See the Spokesperson video ad for a presenter-led ad with a QR end card.
Add-ons, including the $49 extra size, are listed on our video ad pricing page. When you are ready, order your video.