TikTok's recommended aspect ratio is 9:16 vertical, exported at 1080 × 1920 px (width first). That is the TikTok aspect ratio that fills a phone screen with no black bars and no cropping.
TikTok's own In-Feed ad spec page (last updated June 2026) lists 9:16 as "Vertical (recommended)". Sked Social describes 1080 × 1920 as the industry-standard Full HD size.
Getting the shape right costs you zero editing minutes if you fix it when you film. Upload a raw take to this site's editor and the first clip is cut free, no card: start with one take. The rest of this page covers what TikTok accepts, where to keep your face, and what to do with footage that is the wrong shape.
What shapes does TikTok accept?
TikTok accepts three ratios on its ad spec page. Only one fills a phone held upright.
| Ratio | Orientation | TikTok ad minimum | Fills the phone screen? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:16 | Vertical | 540 × 960 | Yes |
| 16:9 | Landscape | 960 × 540 | No, plays with empty bars or gets cropped |
| 1:1 | Square | 640 × 640 | No, plays with empty bars or gets cropped |
Source: TikTok Ads Manager, In-Feed ad specs, fetched 2026-10-22. These are ad minimums. They are the best published floor, and 1080 × 1920 clears all of them.
4:5 and 3:4 are not listed by TikTok. Sked Social says to reframe them to 9:16.
Black bars appear because the video's ratio does not match the 9:16 display area. OBSBOT advises fixing that before upload instead of relying on TikTok to crop.
Upload limits to know
These come from TikTok's developer documentation for the Content Posting API, which scheduling tools use. Check them if you post through a scheduler.
- Size on each side: 360 to 4,096 px.
- Frame rate: 23 to 60 fps.
- Format: MP4 recommended, MOV or WebM also accepted.
- Codec: H.264 recommended. H.265, VP8 and VP9 are also accepted.
- File size: up to 4 GB.
- Length: all creators can post 3-minute videos. Some can post 5- or 10-minute ones. API uploads max out at 10 minutes.
Source: TikTok for Developers, Content Posting API media transfer guide, fetched 2026-10-22.
Secondary sources report longer limits: up to 10 minutes recorded in the app and up to 60 minutes uploaded (Sprout Social, Oct 16 2026; PostFast, verified Sep 25 2026). Treat those as their reports. Check your own app before you plan around them.
Where to keep your face and the product
TikTok's caption, buttons and profile info sit over the bottom and right of the video. For a talking-head product video, that is where your hands and the product often end up.
PostFast cites TikTok's In-Feed ad safe-zone template (720 × 1280). It says to keep the top 160 px, the bottom 440 px and 80 px on each side clear, plus the right-hand button column. Scaled to 1080 × 1920, that is roughly:
| Edge | Template (720 × 1280) | Scaled to 1080 × 1920 |
|---|---|---|
| Top | 160 px | 240 px |
| Bottom | 440 px | 660 px |
| Each side | 80 px | 120 px |
This template is TikTok's ad guidance. Treat it as a guide for organic posts.
Film the right tiktok aspect ratio today
These steps are general phone behaviour. Menu names vary by phone.
- Hold the phone upright in portrait. Do this before you press record, because the orientation you start in is the one you get.
- Open the camera's Video mode and set the resolution to 1080p. Vertical 1080p video comes out at 1080 × 1920, which is 9:16.
- Put your face and the product in the middle third of the frame. Stay out of the bottom third and the right edge.
- Record a short test, 5 seconds is enough. Play it back and check it fills the screen.
- Before you post, preview in the TikTok app. Check that nothing important sits under the caption or the buttons.
Shooting 4K is fine. A 4K master gives you room to reframe later. Export at 1080 × 1920, which keeps files small and clears every TikTok minimum (OBSBOT, Sked Social). OBSBOT also says TikTok's creative guidance recommends 720p or higher.
Worked example
The ratio costs you nothing when you capture it right. The time goes to trimming pauses, filler words and retakes. Here is that cost for an affiliate who films three talking-head takes a day.
- Takes per day: 3
- Hand-trimming per take: 12 to 15 minutes (illustrative, use your own number)
- Per day: 3 × 12 to 15 = 36 to 45 minutes
- Per week, posting 7 days: 252 to 315 minutes, or about 4 to 5 hours
Now put that against a $30 product. Every rate below is hypothetical and is not a TikTok rate. Plug in your own.
At a 10% commission, one sale pays $3.00. Say you value your time at $20 an hour (also hypothetical). Then 4.2 to 5.25 hours of weekly trimming is $84 to $105 of your time. At $3.00 a sale, that is 28 to 35 extra sales a week to cover the trimming.
| Hypothetical commission on a $30 product | Pay per sale | Sales to cover $84 to $105 |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | $1.50 | 56 to 70 |
| 10% | $3.00 | 28 to 35 |
| 15% | $4.50 | 19 to 24 |
To check your own numbers, multiply your minutes per take by takes per day and by 7. Divide by 60 for hours. Multiply by your hourly value. Divide by your real pay per sale.
If that total looks too high, upload a raw take and get the first clip cut free, no card: try the first one. The editor cuts pauses, filler words such as "um", retakes, and spoken "Clip N" slates.
How to fix footage that is the wrong shape
Landscape and square clips need a 9:16 canvas. Do not stretch them. Stretching distorts your face and the product.
- Open the clip in a video editor that lets you set the canvas or project ratio. OBSBOT's guide lists CapCut as one such tool.
- Set the canvas to 9:16.
- Crop or scale the clip, then reposition it so your face sits in the safe zone. Or place the clip on a blurred or solid background (OBSBOT).
- Export at 1080 × 1920.
Cropping a landscape clip to fill the frame cuts off the sides. A talking head filmed wide, with space around you, survives that better than a close shot. Next time, film vertical and skip this step.
What this site's editor does with the shape
You upload one raw take from your phone's camera roll or your computer, and get back a cut clip. The finished clip is 1080×1920 (vertical 9:16) with sound in sync, ready for TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. A take can be up to 5 minutes long and up to 2 GB.
It does not add captions, music, b-roll, effects or transitions. Film vertical and keep your face in the safe zone yourself.
Every clip is checked before it is delivered. A clip that fails a check is not delivered and does not count toward the plan. After the first clip, plans are monthly and listed at /pricing. More posts are on the blog.
Your next take
Film the next one upright at 1080p, then upload that raw take and get the first clip cut free, no card: send it here. Download your clips when they are ready. Uploaded videos are deleted 7 days after upload and finished clips 30 days after they are made.