How Long Can a TikTok Be? Length Limits and Size (2026)

How long can a TikTok be? There's no single number anymore. The maximum TikTok video length depends on your account. TikTok's own developer documentation says it plainly: different users have different maximum video-duration privileges. Most accounts can post at least 10 minutes, and TikTok has tested uploads of up to 60 minutes.

Apps that post for you (schedulers, editors) are capped at 10 minutes and 4 GB. And if you want to earn from the Creator Rewards Program, your video has to be at least 1 minute long. Below are all the limits, the TikTok aspect ratio and dimensions that fill the screen, and what we saw when we exported and posted our own clips.

How long can a TikTok video be in 2026?

The limit has grown fast. TikTok raised it to 10 minutes in 2022 and 15 minutes in 2023. In January 2024 it started testing 30-minute uploads, and in May 2024 it confirmed a test of 60-minute uploads for a limited group of users.

Today the answer depends on how you post:

To see your own limit, start an upload in the app. If your video is too long, TikTok asks you to trim it before posting.

TikTok video length limit for apps and schedulers

If you post through a scheduling tool, an editor or any app that connects to your TikTok account, it uses TikTok's Content Posting API. TikTok's documentation for that API sets these limits:

• Length: up to 10 minutes per video sent through the API.
• File size: up to 4 GB.
• Frame rate: between 23 and 60 fps.
• Resolution: at least 360 pixels and at most 4,096 pixels on each side.
• Formats: MP4 recommended (WebM and MOV also work), H.264 recommended.

The same docs say each account has its own maximum duration, and apps are supposed to check it before posting. That's why a scheduler may refuse a video your phone app would accept.

TikTok aspect ratio and dimensions

The TikTok aspect ratio that fills a phone screen is 9:16 (vertical). The standard TikTok video size is 1080 × 1920 pixels: 1080 wide, 1920 tall.

Quick answers:

• What aspect ratio is TikTok? 9:16, vertical.
• What size is a TikTok video? 1080 × 1920 px is the safe choice.
• TikTok video dimensions for landscape clips? A 16:9 video still posts, but it shows with empty space above and below.
• Best aspect ratio for TikTok? 9:16. Square works, but it leaves the screen half empty on a phone.

Our test: a TikTok file from a wide video

We made a TikTok version of a 30-second scene from Sintel, the open-licence film by the Blender Foundation, with our YouTube clip cutter on October 22, 2026. We picked TikTok, Reels and Shorts at once.

One thing we learned: the 9:16 box starts in the center of the wide picture. In one shot of our clip, the character was cut off at the edge. Move the box onto the subject before you save; it's the difference between a clean vertical clip and a random crop.

In the editor, the TikTok output is labelled "up to 10:00", which matches the API limit. A one-minute selection (shown above) fits easily.

How long should a TikTok be? (And the 1-minute money rule)

There's a difference between how long a TikTok can be and how long it should be.

If you want to earn from TikTok's Creator Rewards Program, length matters a lot. TikTok's program terms say a video only counts when:

• It is one minute or longer.
• It reaches at least 1,000 qualified views (a qualified view is 5 seconds or more).
• It is not a Duet, Stitch, Photo Mode post, or sponsored content.

The account itself needs 10,000 followers and 100,000 video views in the last 30 days to join. These are from the terms TikTok publishes for the program.

If you just want views, shorter is easier to watch to the end. But length alone doesn't decide reach. We posted the same 21.3-second clip to TikTok and YouTube Shorts on October 16, 2026. After six days it had 1,033 views on YouTube and 1 view on TikTok, where our account was brand new with no followers. Same video, same length, very different results.

Our rule of thumb:

Is there a minimum TikTok video length?

TikTok doesn't publish a minimum for regular posts. Very short clips upload fine. Keep in mind that a "qualified view" for rewards is 5 seconds or more, so a 3-second video can't earn from the program at all.

TikTok photo posts and slideshows

Photo posts aren't limited by length but by count: you can add up to 35 photos in one post. Photo Mode posts don't count for Creator Rewards.

If you want to save someone's slideshow photos in full size (with permission), our TikTok photo downloader saves each image as a JPG.

How to make a long video fit TikTok

1. Check your limit: start an upload in the app and see if TikTok asks you to trim.
2. Cut the best part: pick the minute or two that works alone.
3. Turn it vertical: 9:16 at 1080 × 1920, with the subject inside the frame.
4. Keep it at least 1:01 if you want it to count for Creator Rewards.
5. Save the sound separately if you'll reuse it. Our TikTok to MP3 tool keeps the audio from any TikTok as MP3, M4A or WAV.

If you also post to YouTube, the rules are different there: our guide on YouTube Shorts length covers the 3-minute Shorts limit.

So, how long can a TikTok be? As long as your account allows, often 10 minutes and up to 60 for some creators. Through apps, 10 minutes. For money, at least 1 minute. For attention, usually less than you think.