The best aspect ratio and length for podcast clips on each platform

For podcast clips, export vertical 9:16 for Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts, and keep clips under three minutes so every platform treats them as short-form. Square 1:1 and landscape 16:9 versions are worth making for LinkedIn, feeds and your website. Most clips work best far shorter than the limits: as long as the moment needs, often well under a minute.

The limits below come from each platform's own help pages, checked on 6 October 2026. Platforms change them often, so check the linked page before you rely on a number.

Vertical

1080 × 1920

Reels, TikTok, Shorts

Square

1080 × 1080

Feeds

Landscape

1920 × 1080

YouTube, LinkedIn, websites

Specifications by platform

Which shape should you make?

Vertical 9:16

Vertical fills the whole phone screen, so it is the shape to prioritise for Reels, TikTok and Shorts. Most podcast cameras record landscape, so a vertical clip is a crop. Frame each speaker with their face in the upper half and leave space below for captions.

Square 1:1

Square takes up more of a feed than landscape on a phone and keeps more of the room in shot than vertical. It is a safe second shape for LinkedIn and feed posts.

Landscape 16:9

Landscape is the original framing of most cameras. Use it for YouTube, LinkedIn, your website, and newsletters, where people often watch on a computer.

How long should a clip be?

Platform maximums are much longer than most clips need. A clip should run as long as its moment: a hook, the idea and the payoff, with nothing after the payoff. In practice:

• 15 to 30 seconds for a single sharp line or reaction.
• 30 to 60 seconds for an answer to a question or a strong opinion with a reason.
• 60 to 90 seconds for a short story with a turn at the end.

Staying under three minutes keeps clips eligible for Shorts and for Instagram's recommendations to people who do not follow you yet.¹³

Which frame rate and resolution?

Keep the frame rate your cameras recorded, commonly 25 fps in the UK or 30 fps elsewhere. For resolution, 1080 × 1920 for vertical, 1080 × 1080 for square and 1920 × 1080 for landscape are the usual exports. The platforms publish minimums rather than one recommended size: Instagram asks for at least 720 pixels and 30 fps,² and LinkedIn accepts 256 × 144 up to 4096 × 2304.⁶

Making all three shapes without three edits

Cutting the same clip three times, with three different crops and three caption layouts, is where repurposing gets slow. podswitch builds each clip in vertical, square and landscape from the same edit: the framing is set once per camera, and the captions are laid out for each shape. Each opens in Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve as a timeline you can adjust before you export.

Sources

1. Instagram Help Centre, "Create a reel on Instagram". https://help.instagram.com/2720958398006062/ ↩ ↩²

2. Instagram Help Centre, video upload requirements. https://help.instagram.com/1038071743007909 ↩ ↩²

3. YouTube Help, "Upload YouTube Shorts". https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/12779649 and https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/15424877 ↩ ↩²

4. TikTok Support, "Camera tools". https://support.tiktok.com/en/using-tiktok/creating-videos/camera-tools ↩

5. TikTok Ads Help, "In-Feed Ads" specifications. https://ads.tiktok.com/resources/help/article/tiktok-auction-in-feed-ads ↩

6. LinkedIn Help, "Share videos on LinkedIn" (member posts). https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a7174587 ↩ ↩²

7. LinkedIn Help, video posts for LinkedIn Pages. https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a1311816 ↩