The best video length for TikTok, Reels and Shorts
Updated Oct 9, 2026
Every platform now accepts long videos, which makes “how long should it be?” a real question. The short answer: as short as the idea allows, and long enough to deliver what the first second promised.
How to pick the right length
- 1
Start from one idea
One video, one point. If you need two points, it is probably two videos.
- 2
Cut the intro
Start with the most interesting moment; viewers decide in the first one or two seconds.
- 3
End when the point lands
Stop right after the payoff. A loop-friendly ending makes people watch again.
- 4
Check the strictest platform
If the clip goes to several networks, keep it under the shortest limit among them.
The limits, platform by platform
These are the maximum lengths for posting, not recommendations. When the same clip goes to several networks, the strictest one decides.
- TikTok: up to 10 minutes uploaded
- Instagram Reels: up to 15 minutes through the API
- Facebook Reels: up to 90 seconds
- YouTube Shorts: up to 3 minutes
- Snapchat Spotlight and Bluesky: up to 60 seconds
- X (standard accounts): up to 2 minutes 20 seconds
Lengths that tend to work
For entertainment, humour and trends, 7 to 20 seconds is the sweet spot: short enough that people watch to the end and often twice. Tips and quick tutorials usually need 20 to 45 seconds. Stories, explanations and reviews can hold 45 to 90 seconds if every few seconds bring something new. Past 90 seconds, you are making a short-form video only in name: fine for a loyal audience, hard for reaching new people.
These ranges come from what performs across many accounts, not from a rule. Your own analytics are the final judge.
Why watch time matters more than length
The platforms look at how much of the video people watch and whether they watch it again. A 10-second clip watched to the end three times beats a 60-second clip abandoned at second 8. That is why shorter is a safe default, but not a law: a 50-second video that keeps people to the end does better than a 15-second one they skip.
Look at the retention graph in your analytics. If many people leave at the same moment, that is where to cut next time.
One length for every network
If you post the same clip everywhere, 15 to 60 seconds works on every network on the list, including the strict ones. That is also the range of clips generated with AI in PostingClips, and the editor makes it easy to trim a longer video before posting it to Facebook, Snapchat or Bluesky.