TikTok Video Size Limit, and How to Compress Video for TikTok

For uploads through TikTok’s Content Posting API the limit is a maximum of 4 GB, in MP4 (recommended), WebM or MOV. The same page gives 360 to 4096 pixels on each side and 23 to 60 frames per second. The app’s own upload screen may differ.

Two cautions. These figures were read on 11 October 2026 and platforms change them, so read the page before a campaign. And a limit is a ceiling, not a target: a 4 GB file on a phone connection is slow to post even where it is allowed, which is the practical reason to compress.

YouTube Help says Shorts are up to 3 minutes long, take vertical video, and accept a maximum resolution of 1080p. It states no file-size cap for Shorts, so the general upload limit of 256 GB or 12 hours applies to any video you upload.

YouTube’s recommended upload encoding settings are a concrete target for any platform. They ask for an MP4 container, H.264 video, AAC-LC or Opus audio, the frame rate you recorded at, variable bitrate, and for 1080p SDR a video bitrate of 8 Mbps (12 Mbps at high frame rates) plus 384 kbps stereo audio. Use them as a starting point for TikTok and Reels too, as a clean, moderate file is a safe base for any platform.

For file size, the arithmetic is simple: megabytes equal megabits per second times seconds, divided by 8. At 8 Mbps a 60-second clip is about 60 MB and a full 3-minute Short about 180 MB. TikTok’s 4 GB cap would take roughly 66 minutes at that rate, so for clips of this length the cap is never what stops you. Your connection is. For the sizes that email and chat impose, see our bitrate guide for hitting a size target.

Instagram sets its own Reels file-size, length and aspect-ratio rules, and they change. Read its Help Center before you export, and treat a vertical H.264 MP4 as the safe starting file.

What you control is the file. A vertical 9:16 export in H.264 MP4 at 1080 pixels wide, at your recorded frame rate, is a safe starting file for short-form platforms, and a smaller file uploads faster on a weak connection. If you post the same clip to several apps, export once and compress once rather than once per app: every extra generation of compression costs detail.

Choose Compress, MP4, H.264, and the quality label High (CRF 24). Smol’s default codec is H.265, which is smaller but plays on fewer devices, so switch to H.264 for anything going to a platform or a person you do not control. Then read the output size.

For finer control, Smol accepts an exact CRF from 0 to 63 and nine speed presets. Lower CRF means higher quality and a bigger file. Our H.265 vs H.264 test measured the codecs with separate encoders, so its savings are not a promise for Smol output. At the same settings it found H.265 saved 3% on a calm clip and 30% on a busy one. Footage that moves a lot is where H.264 files grow.

Upload a clean file that is already the size the platform wants. Platforms may re-encode your upload, so a clip that is oversized or heavily compressed first can lose detail twice. Avoid the second pass by sending an H.264 MP4 at 1080 pixels wide with a moderate quality setting.

• Match the frame rate you recorded at, inside TikTok’s 23 to 60 fps range. Do not convert 24 fps footage to 60.
• Stay between 360 and 4096 pixels per side. A 4K export (3840 wide) is allowed on the API page but only 1080p matters on a Short, which YouTube caps at 1080p.
• Do not compress an already-compressed upload again. Compress the edit’s export once.
• Compare the output with the original at full screen before posting. Pick the lowest quality you cannot tell apart.
• Keep captions and text large enough to survive a re-encode: thin type is the first thing to smear.

Export from your editor, drag the file into Smol, set H.264 MP4 and a quality, run it, and check the size. The output lands beside the original with a _compressed suffix, and by default the original is untouched.

1. 1

   Export once from your editor

   Use a high-quality export at the resolution you will publish, vertical 9:16. Keep the original project.

2. 2

   Drag the file into Smol

   Add the cover image or caption PDF in the same batch if you have them. Mixed file types are fine.

3. 3

   Choose Compress, MP4, H.264

   Set the quality label to High (CRF 24). Switch to Web (CRF 28) for drafts. Reduce resolution if the export is above 1080p.

4. 4

   Run it and read the output size

   Check it against the limit you care about, such as a file-share cap. If it is over, lower quality or resolution and run again.

5. 5

   Watch it once before posting

   Scrub the compressed file for blocky gradients and smeared text. If you see them, go one quality step higher.

For a folder of clips, see how to batch compress videos on a Mac. For footage straight from an iPhone, the steps are the same and converting MOV to MP4 is a one-step job.

Free and built-in options come first. Here is how they compare with Smol.

If you only post occasionally, your editor’s export and QuickTime will do. See our HandBrake alternatives guide for the trade-offs. For the longer picture of reducing video file size on a Mac, see our guide. Creators who also post to other platforms can read YouTube upload compression and Instagram creators.

• You edit or caption in a phone app. Smol is a Mac app and does not run on iOS, so it cannot touch footage that never reaches your Mac.
• You need an exact byte size for video. Smol sets quality and resolution; you have to run, check and adjust.
• You need the fastest possible encode. Smol is not the fastest tool.
• You need to trim, cut, caption or add effects. Smol compresses and converts; it is not an editor.
• You need a lossless master. Compressing always re-encodes, so archive the original export.

If you only post two clips a month, your editor’s export is enough. Smol pays off when you move a lot of footage through a Mac and want a repeatable setting. Also see how to compress a video on Mac (four methods).