Best Export Settings for TikTok, Reels and Shorts

Short-form video runs the internet's attention economy, and the platforms are picky in predictable ways. The good news: "best export settings" is mostly about three decisions — shape, container, size — and none of them require expensive software. Here's the practical version, plus one honest limitation of free browser tools you should know about.

1. Shape: film vertical from the start

TikTok, Reels and Shorts are vertical, full-screen experiences (9:16). A horizontal video gets shrunk into a small window with dead space above and below — the fastest way to look like you don't belong. The fix happens before export: hold your phone upright when filming. An honest note about Steenox: our tools convert, compress and trim, but they don't crop or rotate — they keep your video's original shape. So get the shape right at filming time; everything after that is polish.

2. Container and codec: MP4 with H.264

All three platforms accept MP4 happily, and H.264 video with AAC audio is the compatibility sweet spot — it uploads without complaint and plays back on every device your viewers own. If your footage is in another container (an iPhone MOV, a WebM from the web), run it through the Video Converter to MP4 first. One conversion from a good original loses nothing you'll ever notice.

3. Size: big enough to look sharp, small enough to upload

There's no prize for uploading a 500 MB short. The platforms recompress everything you send them — aggressively — so feeding them a gigantic file doesn't buy you quality, it just buys you upload time. Practical targets:

• Resolution: 1080×1920 (full HD vertical) is the sweet spot. Higher resolutions get downscaled by the platform anyway.
• Length: 7–30 seconds performs best for discovery; the platforms allow much longer, but the algorithm favors watch completion.
• File size: tens of megabytes, not hundreds. If your export is enormous, run it through the Video Compressor on Strong before uploading.

A simple pre-upload workflow

1. Trim the clip to its best 7–30 seconds with the Video Trimmer — hook first, no dead air.
2. Convert to MP4 with the Video Converter if the file isn't MP4 already.
3. Compress on Balanced or Strong if the file is unwieldy — remember, the platform will compress it again regardless.
4. Upload, then watch your own post once on a phone to check that text and faces survived the platform's processing.

FAQ

Should I export in 4K for TikTok?
It rarely helps. The platform downscales to 1080p-ish for most viewers, so 4K mostly costs you upload time and storage. Film in high quality, export at 1080×1920.

Why does my video look worse after uploading?
Because every platform re-encodes uploads to save bandwidth. Starting from a clean, sensibly sized file minimizes the damage — but some softening is unavoidable and normal.

Can Steenox make my horizontal video vertical?
Honestly, no — our tools don't crop or reframe. For true vertical output, film vertically. (Cropping a horizontal video to vertical throws away most of the frame anyway — filming right the first time always wins.)

Prepare a video free →

Published October 29, 2026 · Steenox guides