TikTok video length, size and format limits (2026)

You can record TikTok videos up to 10 minutes in the app and upload videos up to 60 minutes. Through TikTok's Content Posting API, which is what schedulers use, the longest video is 10 minutes, and every creator can post at least 3 minutes. API uploads can be up to 4 GB, 360 to 4096 pixels on each side, at 23 to 60 FPS. TikTok doesn't publish a required aspect ratio or an in-app file size limit.

Last checked: September 29, 2026.

I built a scheduler that posts to TikTok, so I've spent more time in TikTok's developer docs than I'd like to admit. Here's every limit I could find on TikTok's own pages, with links. Where TikTok doesn't publish a number, I say so.

TikTok video limits at a glance

The app column comes from TikTok's Help Center articles on camera tools and editing and posting. TikTok's help articles now live on tiktok.com/support. The API column comes from TikTok's Media Transfer Guide and Direct Post reference.

In-app recording vs upload limits

TikTok's camera tools article gives two different numbers:

• Videos you record in TikTok can be up to 10 minutes long.
• Videos you upload in TikTok can be up to 60 minutes long.

When you record, you pick a length first and recording stops when you hit it. One detail that catches people out: if you pick a sound before you record or upload, the video length is set by the sound's length.

TikTok's help pages don't publish a file size limit, a minimum resolution, or an aspect ratio for the app. You'll find those numbers on plenty of other sites, but I couldn't find them on a TikTok page, so they're not in this table.

Limits when posting through the API

Schedulers post through TikTok's Content Posting API, and its limits are different from the app's. The Media Transfer Guide lists:

• Formats: MP4 (recommended), WebM, MOV.
• Codecs: H.264 (recommended), H.265, VP8, VP9.
• Frame rate: minimum 23 FPS, maximum 60 FPS.
• Picture size: minimum 360 pixels and maximum 4096 pixels, for both height and width.
• File size: maximum 4 GB.
• Duration: "All TikTok creators can post 3-minute videos, while some have access to post 5-minute or 10-minute videos." The longest video an app can send is 10 minutes.

That last point matters. Your personal limit depends on your account. TikTok gives apps a creator info endpoint that returns the longest video you can post, and tells developers to use it "to stop video posts that are too long". TikTok also says users may trim videos sent from apps inside the TikTok app to fit their account's actual limit.

A few more API rules that explain odd scheduler behaviour:

• Unaudited apps can only post privately. "All content posted by unaudited clients will be restricted to private viewing mode," per the Direct Post reference. If a scheduler's TikTok posts only show up as private, that's usually why.
• There's a daily post cap. The API returns spam_risk_too_many_posts when "the daily post cap from the API is reached for the current user". TikTok doesn't publish the number.
• Upload mechanics. Files are sent in chunks of 5 MB to 64 MB (the last chunk can be up to 128 MB), with 1 to 1,000 chunks. When TikTok pulls a file from a URL instead, the URL must be HTTPS, must not redirect, and must stay reachable until the download finishes or times out after an hour. Both rules are in the Media Transfer Guide.

Caption and hashtag limits

For video posts, the caption goes in a field called title, and the Direct Post reference says its maximum length is 2,200 in UTF-16 runes. In practice that's 2,200 characters of plain text. Many emoji count as two or more.

Hashtags and mentions go in the same caption. TikTok matches them when they're separated by spaces or new lines. The API docs don't set a separate hashtag limit.

Photo posts have different fields: a title of up to 90 and a description of up to 4,000 UTF-16 runes, per the photo post reference.

TikTok's help pages that I read don't publish an in-app caption limit or a hashtag limit.

Cover rules

In the app, you choose the cover from the video itself. TikTok's editing and posting article says to tap Select cover on the post screen, drag to any frame, and save.

Through the API, the cover is also a frame, not a separate image. Apps send video_cover_timestamp_ms, the position of the frame in milliseconds. "If not set, or the specified value is invalid, the cover is set to the first frame of the uploaded video," per the Direct Post reference.

So if you want a designed cover with text on it, build it into a frame of the video.

Common mistakes

• Assuming the 60-minute upload limit applies everywhere. It's the in-app upload limit. Through the API it's 10 minutes at most, and 3 minutes for many accounts.
• Forgetting your own account's limit. Some accounts can post 10 minutes, some 5, everyone gets 3. A scheduler should check this for you.
• Uploading 120 FPS or slow-motion source files. The API only accepts 23 to 60 FPS.
• Expecting to upload a custom cover image through a scheduler. The API only takes a frame position, not an image. Pick a good frame.
• Choosing a sound before recording, then wondering why the length is fixed. The sound sets the length.

Posting to all three

If the same vertical video is also going to Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, the tightest limits come from the other two. See the Instagram Reels limits and YouTube Shorts limits, and how to post one video to TikTok, Reels and Shorts for the workflow. The short version: a 9:16 video, 1080 pixels wide, 30 to 60 FPS, 3 minutes or shorter and under 300 MB, fits all three.

Where Postminion fits

I built Postminion because I was spending an hour a day doing the dumbest possible task: re-uploading the same video to five different apps.

Postminion posts to TikTok through TikTok's official Direct Post API. Its composer takes one video per post, up to 3 minutes and 500 MB. Every TikTok creator can post 3 minutes, so that covers most TikToks. Postminion also reads your account's own maximum length from TikTok and warns you before you schedule something longer.

Longer videos need the TikTok app. If you have 5- or 10-minute access and want to use it, Postminion won't take those files.

The composer shows TikTok's required settings for each post: privacy level, whether comments, Duets and Stitches are allowed, branded content disclosure, the AI-generated content label, and TikTok's music and branded content consent. You can also pick the cover frame. Can you schedule TikTok posts? covers the scheduling side, and the TikTok scheduler page has the overview.

Try Postminion free for 7 days.

FAQ

How long can a TikTok video be in 2026?

Up to 10 minutes if you record in the TikTok app, and up to 60 minutes if you upload a file in the app. Through the API that schedulers use, the maximum is 10 minutes, and your own account may be limited to 3 or 5 minutes.

What is TikTok's maximum video file size?

Through the Content Posting API, 4 GB. TikTok's help pages don't publish a file size limit for the app.

What resolution should a TikTok video be?

TikTok's API accepts anything from 360 to 4096 pixels on each side. TikTok doesn't publish a required aspect ratio. A vertical 9:16 video at 1080 by 1920 pixels is within the API limits and also works for Reels and Shorts.

How long can a TikTok caption be?

Through the API, a video caption can be up to 2,200 UTF-16 units, which is 2,200 characters of plain text. TikTok's help pages don't publish an in-app limit.

Why did my scheduled TikTok post go up as private?

TikTok restricts posts from apps that haven't passed its audit to private viewing. It can also happen if you picked a private privacy level when scheduling.