Published by November 27, 2025 · Reading time 17 minutes · Created by Lix.so
The right Facebook video ad size isn't a one-size-fits-all answer. It really depends on where your ad is going to show up. For most Feed placements, a 1:1 square video (1080x1080 pixels) is your most flexible option. But for immersive spots like Stories and Reels, you absolutely need a 9:16 vertical video (1080x1920 pixels). Nailing these dimensions from the start is what makes your ads look professional and native to the platform, which is half the battle.
Trying to keep track of all the technical requirements for Facebook video ads can make your head spin. Every placement seems to have its own set of rules. This guide is your cheat sheet—designed to give you quick, practical answers so you can sidestep those frustrating upload errors and formatting headaches before they even start.
Meta's specs are constantly changing to keep up with how people actually use the platform, which is overwhelmingly mobile-first. As of 2025, you'll see Feed ads supporting both 1:1 square (up to 1936x1936) and 4:5 vertical (around 1080x1350). For those full-screen, can't-miss placements like Stories and Reels, the 9:16 vertical aspect ratio (1080x1920 pixels) is a hard requirement. For almost any placement, your file size should be under 4GB, and you'll want to stick with MP4 or MOV files using H.264 compression. For another great breakdown of these specs, check out the guide over on Hootsuite's blog.
To help you digest this, here's a quick table covering the most common placements you'll be dealing with.
| Placement | Aspect Ratio | Recommended Pixels | Max Duration | Max File Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feeds | 1:1 or 4:5 | 1080x1080 or 1080x1350 | 240 minutes | 4GB |
| Stories | 9:16 | 1080x1920 | 15 seconds | 4GB |
| Reels | 9:16 | 1080x1920 | 90 seconds | 4GB |
| In-Stream | 16:9 or 1:1 | 1920x1080 or 1080x1080 | 5-15 seconds | 4GB |
| Search Results | 1:1 | 1080x1080 | 240 minutes | 4GB |
This table should give you a solid baseline for your projects, but always remember that specs can change. It's a good habit to double-check the official guidelines if you're running a major campaign.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of each placement, let’s make sure we're on the same page with the three core technical settings. Getting these right—aspect ratio, resolution, and file size—is the foundation of any successful video ad.
This really comes down to finding the right balance. You need the correct aspect ratio for the placement, high enough resolution for crisp playback, and a file size that’s small enough to load quickly on a spotty mobile connection.
Key Takeaway: If you only remember one thing, make it this: match your video's aspect ratio to the ad placement. Nothing screams "lazy advertiser" like a 9:16 video getting awkwardly cropped in a 1:1 Feed placement. It creates a terrible user experience and kills your ad's performance before it even has a chance. Always, always start with the placement in mind.
Getting your video ad facebook size right is way more than just a technical box to tick. It’s a strategic move that directly hits your campaign's performance and, ultimately, your return on ad spend. Think of it this way: Meta's algorithm is built to reward content that gives users a smooth, native experience. When your ad fits the placement perfectly, it's rewarded with better delivery and lower costs.
But when an ad is sized wrong? It gets awkwardly cropped or shows up with those ugly black bars, screaming to the user that it doesn't belong. This is a user experience killer.
An ad that fills the screen, like a 9:16 video in Stories, feels immersive and professional. A badly formatted ad just looks spammy, leading to lower click-through rates (CTR) and higher costs for every single result. You’re essentially paying to show people an ad that’s already working against itself.
The financial hit is real. Video is the king of the platform, and the numbers don't lie: mobile-first video campaigns see 62% higher engagement than desktop-only ads. That stat alone shows just how critical vertical formats are for matching how people actually use their phones.
By sticking to the right dimensions for each placement, you ensure your budget is spent on creatives that are set up for maximum impact, not fighting a bad first impression. If you want to dive deeper into the data, there are some great Facebook ad statistics on sqmagazine.co.uk that paint the full picture.
When your ad fits the placement perfectly, it respects the user's time and attention. The algorithm recognizes this positive interaction, which can lead to a virtuous cycle of more favorable placements and improved campaign efficiency.
At the end of the day, mastering the technical specs is foundational for strong performance. To build on this, the next step is getting a handle on managing all your ad assets efficiently. For more on that, check out our detailed guide on Facebook Ads creative management best practices.
Before you can master every video ad facebook size spec, you need to speak the language. Getting a handle on a few core technical terms will demystify the entire process, making it way easier to talk to designers and ensure your video exports are perfect every time. These are the building blocks for every single ad you'll ever create.
First on the list is aspect ratio. This is simply the shape of your video, described as the relationship between its width and height. It’s written as a ratio, like 1:1 (a perfect square) or 9:16 (a tall, vertical rectangle). Honestly, this is the single most important factor in making your ad look like it belongs where it’s placed. A 9:16 video feels native in a Story, while a 1:1 video is made for the Feed.
Next up is pixel dimensions, which you'll also hear called resolution. This is the literal count of pixels that make up the video, like 1080x1920 pixels. The higher the resolution, the sharper and clearer your video will look. While Facebook has minimums, you should always aim for high-definition resolutions to keep your ads looking professional and crisp, especially on modern phone screens.
Beyond the video's shape and clarity, you have to think about how it's all packaged together. This is where file formats and compression come in, and they directly affect your file size and whether the platform will even accept your upload.
There are two key pieces to this puzzle:
Why It Matters: Think of it like this: your container is the shipping box (MP4), and the codec (H.264) is how efficiently you pack everything inside. The wrong box might get rejected at the post office, and sloppy packing can lead to a giant file that loads forever or a final product that just looks pixelated and cheap. Getting these technical details right is foundational.
The Facebook Feed is the original, prime real estate for advertisers, and it remains one of the most powerful placements out there. When you're figuring out the right video ad facebook size for the Feed, flexibility is your best friend. The platform is built to handle both square and vertical formats to match how people naturally scroll.
Your two main options here are the classic 1:1 aspect ratio (square) and the taller 4:5 aspect ratio (vertical). The 1:1 format, usually 1080x1080 pixels, is a solid, versatile choice that looks good on both desktop and mobile. But the 4:5 vertical format, at 1080x1350 pixels, is engineered to dominate the screen on mobile, grabbing more attention without making someone turn their phone sideways.
This mobile-first thinking is non-negotiable. With most people scrolling Facebook on their phones, a 4:5 video gives them a much more immersive experience right in their feed. For instance, a DTC brand could use a 1:1 video to give a 360-degree view of a product, while a service-based business might use a 4:5 video to feature a customer testimonial that fills up more of the screen, making it harder to ignore.
To make sure your ad runs without a hitch and looks sharp, you have to stick to the technical specs. Nail these, and you'll avoid most common upload errors and ugly compression issues.
Don't forget the text that goes with your video. Your headline needs to be short and punchy (max 40 characters), while the primary text can be longer. A good rule of thumb is to keep the primary text under 125 characters to avoid it getting cut off.
In-stream video ads are a completely different animal. These ads pop up before, during, or after other videos, much like a commercial break on TV. Because of that context, the user is in a different frame of mind, and the specs reflect that.
The go-to aspect ratio for in-stream placements is 16:9 (horizontal), typically at 1920x1080 pixels, because it matches standard video content. That said, 1:1 (square) is also an option. The biggest difference here is the runtime. In-stream ads are built for quick, memorable hits, usually running between 5 and 15 seconds.
Pro Tip: For in-stream ads, you have to land your message in the first few seconds. Unlike the Feed, where people choose to stop and watch, you're interrupting what they were already viewing. Get your brand and your point across immediately, before they even think about hitting "skip." This placement rewards advertisers who are brief and crystal clear.
Let's be clear: vertical video isn't just some passing trend anymore. For high-engagement placements like Facebook Stories and Reels, it's the absolute standard. If you want to succeed here, you have to design for a full-screen, immersive experience. That means getting the video ad facebook size right isn't a friendly suggestion—it’s a hard requirement for performance.
These placements are built from the ground up for a 9:16 aspect ratio. In practical terms, that means you need to export your video at 1080x1920 pixels. If you don't, you'll end up with those ugly black bars or awkward, automatic cropping that immediately screams "this ad doesn't belong here." Nailing the vertical format ensures your creative owns the entire mobile screen, grabbing maximum attention and feeling native to the user's feed.
Unlike the more forgiving Feed, Stories and Reels are uncompromising. They demand this vertical-only format. It's a creative constraint, sure, but it's one that forces you into a mobile-first mindset, which is exactly where you need to be to connect with people in these fast-paced, personal spaces.
While both placements share the same core dimensions, they have slightly different rules and user expectations, especially around video length. Getting these details right is key to optimizing your campaigns.
Quick tip: A huge number of people watch videos with the sound off. For both Stories and Reels, burned-in captions are completely non-negotiable. They make sure your message actually gets across, even in a silent environment. For a deeper dive on this, check out our complete guide to Facebook Story size specifications.
Getting the technical specs right is just the entry fee. Your creative strategy has to match what users expect from each format.
For Stories, think interactive. Use platform-native tools like polls and stickers to get people to engage directly with your ad. Since users can swipe up to visit a link, make your call-to-action impossible to miss.
With Reels, the goal is to entertain first, sell second. Your ad needs to feel less like a traditional commercial and more like another fun piece of content in their scroll. This is a massive strategic shift from Feed ads, which can afford to be much more direct. Getting this right is what separates the campaigns that fly from the ones that flop.
You’ve nailed the right video ad facebook size and aspect ratio for every placement, but your campaign launch still hits a wall. Frustrating, right? Upload errors, pixelated playback, or just flat-out format rejections are almost always traced back to the export settings in your video editor. Getting this final step right is critical.
Most of these headaches can be solved by simply standardizing your export process. Before you hit that render button, run through a quick mental checklist to make sure your settings align with what Facebook expects. This guarantees the best possible compatibility and quality.
For smooth, error-free uploads every single time, treat this checklist as your go-to template:
Sticking to these technical specs is non-negotiable, especially in an ecosystem where mobile-first video ads now account for over 50% of Facebook's video ad revenue. The platform's entire business model is built on delivering a seamless video experience for both users and advertisers.
Common Problem: My video looks blurry or pixelated after I upload it.
Solution: This is almost always a compression problem. Facebook re-compresses every video you upload, so if you give it a low-quality file to start with, the final result will be even worse. Always export at a high bitrate and make sure you’re using the recommended pixel dimensions for the placement (like 1080x1920 for Stories). Start with a high-quality source file and let Facebook do the rest.
If you're managing dozens or even hundreds of creatives, manually checking these settings for every single file is a recipe for mistakes and wasted time. To streamline your workflow, take a look at our guide on Facebook's bulk video uploader to see how you can manage it all more efficiently.
Even with a detailed guide, a few common questions always seem to pop up when you're in the weeds with video ad specs. Let's tackle them head-on to clear up any lingering confusion about the right video ad facebook size and other technical bits.
One of the biggest questions I hear is, "Can I just use one video size for all placements?" The short answer is a hard no. While you can let Facebook's automatic cropping do its thing, it almost always ends in disaster. Imagine a 16:9 landscape video being crammed into a 9:16 Story—you get massive, ugly black bars that scream "lazy ad" and kill your performance. Always, always create unique assets for each aspect ratio.
When it comes to the file format, keep it simple. The absolute best and most universally accepted format for Facebook video ads is MP4.
It strikes the perfect balance between high quality and efficient file size, especially when you pair it with the H.264 video codec and AAC audio. Sure, Facebook accepts .MOV files, but MP4 is the gold standard that will give you the fewest headaches with uploads or playback, no matter the device or internet speed. Sticking to MP4 is your safest bet for a smooth launch.
Another common headache is getting your file size down without turning your video into a pixelated mess. The secret is efficient compression. Exporting with the H.264 codec at a reasonable bitrate is your best friend here. It's specifically designed to maintain visual clarity while shrinking the file, ensuring your ad loads fast and looks sharp.
Finally, don't get hung up on the maximum video length. Just because Facebook allows videos up to 240 minutes for some placements doesn't mean you should use it. That's a technical limit, not a best practice. Shorter is almost always better. Aim for under 15 seconds for Stories and Reels, and keep Feed videos under 60 seconds to grab and hold onto that precious viewer attention.
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