10 November 2026

TikTok Video Size and Specs: Get the Upload Right (2026)

TikTok plays every clip inside a 1080×1920 window and re-encodes the file you hand it. The version people watch is therefore never the version you uploaded. It is a second-generation encode made by a machine working to a bitrate ceiling you cannot see.

That one fact reframes the whole question of TikTok video size. There is no official spec sheet to match, because TikTok does not publish a bitrate target. The practical goal is to hand the uploader a file that leaves the transcoder with as little to repair as possible.

Below: the canvas, the export settings worth keeping, the two upload paths, and the six ways an upload comes back looking worse than the timeline did.

TikTok Video Size: The Short Answer

A vertical clip at 1080×1920 pixels, 30 frames per second, H.264 inside an MP4 container, is the safest thing to upload. It matches the canvas the feed displays, and it is the largest resolution TikTok renders in the ordinary case.

Square and horizontal files are accepted as well. TikTok does not crop them for you. It fits them into the vertical frame with bars, so a 16:9 clip ends up as a narrow band across the middle of the screen with dead space above and below.

Setting	What to hand the uploader	Why it matters
Frame size	1080×1920, 9:16 vertical	Matches the display canvas
Frame rate	30 fps, 60 for fast motion	60 renders only on capable devices
Video codec	H.264 High profile, 8-bit 4:2:0	Decodes everywhere, no surprises
Bitrate	8–12 Mbps for 1080p	More gets flattened by the transcode
Audio	AAC, 48 kHz, stereo, 192 kbps	Avoids a resample on arrival
Colour	BT.709 SDR	HDR shifts when converted blind
Container	MP4 with faststart	Starts playing before it finishes loading

Two entries there are working numbers rather than published rules. TikTok has never documented a recommended bitrate, and the mobile app has enforced a file-size cap around 288 MB for years while the desktop uploader takes considerably more.

Setup: Three Things to Check Before You Export

The canvas is fixed at export, so the TikTok video size question is really an export question. Three checks catch most of the failures before a file is ever uploaded.

First, confirm what the source actually is. Extensions and filenames lie; the stream headers do not.

ffprobe -v error -show_entries stream=codec_name,width,height,r_frame_rate,pix_fmt -of default=nw=1 input.mp4

Look at r_frame_rate in particular. A phone that says it recorded 4K has often written a variable frame rate file, and a variable rate source is the usual reason audio drifts after upload rather than before.

Second, pick the canvas before opening the editor. Decide whether the clip fills 1080×1920 or sits inside it with padding, because that choice sets the crop, the scale factor and the amount of detail you lose.

Third, check the colour tag. A clip shot in HDR on a recent phone carries an HLG transfer function, and an unconverted HDR upload usually renders flat, grey and slightly green on TikTok’s player.

Method 1: Export a Vertical Master That Survives the Re-encode

If the footage came from a camera or a horizontal timeline, arithmetic matters more than any preset. Cropping 1920×1080 to 9:16 keeps a 608×1080 slice, and filling a 1080-wide frame with that slice means upscaling by 1.78×. The upscale is why horizontal footage looks soft on TikTok even when every export setting is correct.

Finishing in 4K avoids the problem. The same crop out of 3840×2160 is 1215×2160, which then scales down to 1080×1920 and gains sharpness instead of surrendering it.

ffmpeg -i master.mov -vf "scale=1080:1920:force_original_aspect_ratio=increase,crop=1080:1920,setsar=1" -c:v libx264 -profile:v high -pix_fmt yuv420p -crf 18 -preset slow -r 30 -c:a aac -b:a 192k -ar 48000 -ac 2 -movflags +faststart tiktok.mp4

The increase and crop pair fills the frame and trims the overflow. Swap them for decrease plus pad if you would rather keep every edge and letterbox the result. The FFmpeg project documents each of these options in its H.264 encoding guide.

CRF 18 is deliberately generous. The platform spends whatever quality you give it, and a lightly compressed master survives the second encode better than a file already squeezed to hit a size target.

Export 30 fps unless the subject is sport, dance or gameplay. A 60 fps file costs twice the bitrate for motion the feed cannot always show, and on some Android devices it triggers a stutter that a 30 fps version would not.

If the shot is wide and the subject sits off-centre, the crop position matters more than the frame size. That problem is treated separately in this guide to reframing horizontal footage.

Method 2: TikTok’s Own Editor and Studio Uploader

For a short clip shot on the phone, skip the export entirely. TikTok records at 1080p in-app, and a file that never leaves the device avoids one full generation of compression.

For anything longer, TikTok Studio in a desktop browser is the better road in. It accepts larger files than the mobile app, survives a dropped connection better, and lets you choose the cover frame and schedule the post in the same screen.

What neither path offers is control over the transcode. There is no switch for “upload without re-encoding”, and no account tier that bypasses the encoder. Every route ends in the same place.

What the Tools in This Space Actually Do

Every “TikTok video size converter” page does roughly the same job: it re-encodes your file to 1080×1920 and returns it at a bitrate it chose for you. Your editor does that too, with a preview, a quality setting and a file you can inspect afterwards.

The limits do not move. None of these tools influences how TikTok encodes the upload, none recovers detail discarded before upload, and none helps when the source is protected, private or somebody else’s.

Worth knowing: TikTok stores several renditions of each post and serves whichever fits the viewer’s connection. The same video can look sharp on Wi-Fi and mushy on a weak mobile signal. That is rendition selection, not a failed upload, and no export setting changes it.

A soft clip stays soft. Compression removes information; it never puts any back. The only quality decision you still control is what the first encode looks like, which is why the export settings above matter more than any upload trick.

If the finished upload still looks duller than the timeline, the cause is usually the encode rather than the platform, and there is a diagnostic order worth following for soft playback after upload.

Rights and Responsible Use

A video on TikTok belongs to the person who made it. Uploading your own footage and taking a copy of someone else’s are different acts with different consequences, and owning a file has never meant owning the rights inside it.

Keeping a clip for personal reference is one thing. Re-posting it, cutting it into a compilation, or using it in anything commercial is another, and each of those needs the creator’s permission whether or not a watermark is visible.

TikTok’s terms of service describe the platform as provided for private, non-commercial use and leave ownership of a video with whoever created it. A saved file grants no licence to publish, monetise or redistribute what is inside it.

Troubleshooting: Six Uploads That Come Back Wrong

The upload looks softer than the timeline

Either the master was upscaled to fill the frame or its bitrate was too low to begin with. Re-export from the original at CRF 18 and check that the source is not a 608-pixel-wide crop stretched to 1080.

Colours look washed out or over-saturated

An HDR source went up unconverted. The fix is a tone-mapped export to BT.709 before upload; the underlying conversion is explained in this HDR to SDR conversion walkthrough.

Audio drifts out of sync

The source is variable frame rate, which phone cameras produce constantly. Convert it to a constant 30 fps master first; drift that grows steadily over a clip is almost always this and not a TikTok fault.

Black bars above and below the picture

A 16:9 file went into a 9:16 canvas. TikTok honours the original aspect ratio and pads rather than cropping, so the bars are baked in at your end, not added by the platform.

The upload stalls at processing

Usually size or codec. Files over the app’s cap, HEVC in an unusual container, and audio-only streams inside the MP4 all cause it. Export a clean H.264/AAC MP4 and retry from the desktop uploader.

On-screen text disappears behind the interface

It was placed outside the safe area. Keep captions clear of the right-hand icon rail and the bottom band that carries the username, caption and sound label, or the interface will cover them on every phone.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the TikTok video size for uploads?

1080×1920 pixels, vertical, is the size to upload. It matches the display canvas exactly and avoids both the letterboxing and the upscaling that other aspect ratios force.

Does TikTok re-encode every upload?

Yes. Every upload is re-encoded, including a perfect 1080p master. The practical difference is how much quality survives, which is why the export settings matter more than the upload method.

Can I upload a horizontal video?

Yes, but it will sit in a vertical frame with bars and lose most of the screen. If the clip is worth the effort, reframe it to 9:16 instead; the framing guide linked above covers how.

Why does a 4K upload look no better than 1080p?

Because the transcode caps what survives. The feed is built around a 1080-wide vertical frame, so extra pixels help the crop and nothing after it.

Is the file size limit different in the app and the browser?

Yes. The desktop uploader in TikTok Studio accepts considerably larger files than the mobile app. For long recordings, exporting a lower bitrate is more reliable than fighting the cap.

Is 60 fps worth uploading?

Only for motion. A 60 fps clip plays at 60 on devices that render it and costs twice the bitrate to get there, so static footage gains nothing from it.

Can I upload a video someone sent me?

Not as your own. A file in your messages is a copy, not a licence, and posting it publicly needs the creator’s permission no matter how it reached you.

Which Route Should You Take?

Short clip, shot on the phone: use the app. No export will improve it, and recording in-app skips a generation of compression that nothing later can undo.

Shot on a camera, cut in an editor, or longer than a few minutes: export a 1080×1920 H.264 master at CRF 18 and send it through TikTok Studio rather than the phone.

Horizontal footage you care about: finish in 4K so the vertical crop still has pixels to spare. If the source is 1080p horizontal, either accept the softness or pick a tighter shot instead of stretching the frame.

And if the real question is how to get a copy of somebody else’s post, that is a permission problem rather than a settings problem. The TikTok help centre sets out what the platform itself allows.