Max Video Length on Every Platform in 2026 (And the Number That Actually Applies to You)
Every platform publishes a maximum video length, and on almost every platform that number is useless to you. The headline figure is usually a desktop, web-upload or paid-tier limit. The number that governs what you can actually post from your phone, on a free account, and still get reach with is a different one.
Here is both, for every major platform.
The short answer
| Platform | Published cap | What actually applies |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok | 60 min | 10 min |
| Instagram Reels | 20 min | 3 min |
| YouTube Shorts | 3 min | 3 min |
| 15 min | 10 min | |
| X (Twitter) | 4 hrs | 2:20 |
Why is TikTok's real limit 10 minutes, not 60?
TikTok's 60-minute maximum is a web upload limit. If you record in the app, or upload from the app, you are capped at 10 minutes.
Since most creators shoot and publish on their phone, 10 minutes is the number that governs day-to-day work. The 60-minute ceiling only matters if you edit on a desktop and upload through a browser.
Why do Instagram Reels stop working after 3 minutes?
Reels were extended to a 20-minute cap, but Instagram does not recommend Reels longer than 3 minutes to people who don't already follow you.
That single detail changes everything. Past 3 minutes, your Reel mostly circulates inside your existing audience instead of reaching new people through Explore or the Reels feed. The in-app Reels camera also still caps at 3 minutes, which tells you what Instagram expects the format to be.
If reach is the goal, treat 3 minutes as a hard ceiling regardless of what the upload screen allows.
What happens if a YouTube Short is longer than 3 minutes?
It stops being a Short. YouTube Shorts caps at 3 minutes, and anything longer is published as a regular video - it leaves the Shorts feed and competes in normal YouTube distribution instead.
This is the only platform on the list where the published cap and the working limit are the same number, which makes it the easiest to plan around.
Why do LinkedIn and X have two different numbers?
Both split their limits by where you upload from or what you pay.
LinkedIn allows 15 minutes from desktop and 10 minutes from the mobile app. X allows 4 hours with Premium on web or iOS, and 140 seconds - 2 minutes 20 seconds - on a free account.
If you post from your phone without a subscription, the smaller number is your real limit on both.
The pattern worth remembering
Across every platform, the published maximum is the best case: desktop, web upload, paid tier. The number you can actually work with is the one that survives a phone, a free account, and the need to reach people who don't follow you yet.
When you plan a video, plan against the second number. The first one is marketing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the safest video length for all platforms at once? Under 3 minutes. A video under 3 minutes can be published natively to TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn and X Premium without hitting any limit or losing distribution.
Does a longer video get less reach? Not automatically - but on Instagram, Reels over 3 minutes are not recommended to non-followers, which limits reach in practice. On TikTok and YouTube, length matters far less than watch-through rate.
Do these limits change often? The caps change every year or two. The practical limits change more slowly, because they follow how people actually use each app.
Turn what you already posted into what you post next
Knowing the limits is the easy half. The hard half is remembering what you already made - which angle you used in that 90-second Reel in March, or the hook that worked on a LinkedIn video last quarter.
Rescroll turns your posts, videos and carousels into a library you can talk to. Ask it "what did I say about hooks?" or "find the clip where I explained this" and get the answer back with the post attached, instead of scrolling your own grid for twenty minutes.