In short — For Meta video ads, build two files and you cover almost every placement: a 4:5 video for Facebook Feed (1440 × 1800 px recommended) and a 9:16 video for Stories and Reels (1440 × 2560 px recommended, 1080 × 1920 also listed). Files are MP4 or MOV, up to 4 GB. In 9:16, keep text and logos out of the top 14%, bottom 35% and 6% on each side, where the app's buttons and captions sit. Sound is optional but recommended everywhere, and Reels play with sound on by default. Every figure below comes from Meta's Ads Guide, checked on 13 October 2026.
Disclosure: Klaivo is our product, an AI ad generator that exports vertical, square and landscape ads. The specs below are Meta's, not ours; where Klaivo has a limit, we say so.
Meta video ad specs at a glance
| Placement | Aspect ratio | Recommended resolution | Length | Max file size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Facebook Feed | 4:5 | 1440 × 1800 | 1 s to 241 min | 4 GB |
| Instagram Feed | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 | 1 s to 60 min | 4 GB |
| Instagram Stories | 9:16 | 1440 × 2560 | 1 s to 60 min | 4 GB |
| Instagram Reels | 9:16 | 1440 × 2560 | 0 s to 15 min | 4 GB |
Source: Meta Ads Guide, video ads, Awareness objective (Facebook Feed, Instagram Feed, Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels), checked 13 October 2026. Meta updates these pages without notice: check the guide before a large production run.
Two things to notice. First, the maximum lengths are technical limits, not advice: nobody watches a 241-minute feed ad. Second, Meta now recommends 1440-pixel-wide files for Facebook Feed, Stories and Reels, above the 1080 px most guides still quote. A 1080 × 1920 file is still listed for Instagram Feed and uploads fine elsewhere.
Facebook Feed video specs
- Aspect ratio: 4:5
- Resolution: 1440 × 1800 px recommended; minimum 120 × 120 px
- File type: MP4, MOV or GIF
- Maximum file size: 4 GB
- Length: 1 second to 241 minutes
- Captions and sound: optional, but recommended
- Primary text: 50 to 150 characters; headline: 27 characters
4:5 takes more vertical space in the feed than square or landscape, which is why Meta recommends it. A 1:1 video also displays without awkward cropping if you don't have a 4:5 version.
Instagram Feed video specs
- Aspect ratio: 9:16 (1% tolerance)
- Resolution: 1080 × 1920 px; minimum width 250 px
- File type: MP4, MOV or GIF
- Maximum file size: 4 GB
- Length: 1 second to 60 minutes
- Captions and sound: optional, but recommended
- Primary text: 125 characters
Meta's guide currently lists 9:16 for Instagram Feed video. Many advertisers still deliver the same 4:5 file they use on Facebook Feed; if you do, preview it in Ads Manager to check how it's displayed.
Instagram Stories video specs
- Aspect ratio: 9:16
- Resolution: 1440 × 2560 px; minimum width 250 px
- File type: MP4, MOV or GIF
- Maximum file size: 4 GB
- Length: 1 second to 60 minutes
- Encoding: H.264, square pixels, fixed frame rate, progressive scan; stereo AAC audio at 128 kbps or more
- Safe zone: keep the top 14%, the bottom 35% and 6% on each side free of text, logos and key elements
Reels video specs (Instagram and Facebook)
- Aspect ratio: 9:16
- Resolution: 1440 × 2560 px; minimum width 250 px for ads under 30 seconds, 500 px for 30 seconds or more
- File type: MP4 or MOV
- Maximum file size: 4 GB
- Length: up to 15 minutes (Instagram Reels)
- Safe zone: same as Stories: top 14%, bottom 35%, 6% on the sides
- Sound: optional, but "strongly recommended"
Meta's guide lists Facebook Reels as a placement of its own. Its Reels ads page gives the same creative rules for both apps (9:16, with sound, key elements inside the safe zone), so one vertical file serves both.
Why sound matters on Reels: Reels play with sound on by default, unless the user has turned it off. Meta reports that, in a meta-analysis of 15 tests with mostly e-commerce, retail and consumer-goods advertisers, Reels ads built in 9:16 video with sound and key elements in the safe zone had a 34.5% lower cost per result than image ads (Meta). That's Meta's own figure, measured against image ads, not against other videos.
The 9:16 safe zone, in pixels
On a 1080 × 1920 frame, Meta's percentages work out to:
| Zone to keep clear | Share | On 1080 × 1920 | On 1440 × 2560 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top | 14% | top 269 px | top 358 px |
| Bottom | 35% | bottom 672 px | bottom 896 px |
| Each side | 6% | 65 px | 86 px |
That leaves a central area of about 950 × 979 px on a 1080 × 1920 frame for the product name, price, captions and logo. The bottom 35% is the zone people get wrong most often: that's where the caption, the call-to-action button and the account name sit.
Which length to choose
The limits above are what Meta accepts, not what performs. For direct-response product ads in Reels and Stories, our working default is 15 seconds in three clips of about 5 seconds: hook, proof, call to action, with 8 to 12 spoken words per clip. The reasoning and word counts are in the video ad structure that sells.
Go longer only when each extra clip adds new information: a demo that needs a second step, a comparison, a testimonial with a specific result.
Common reasons a video ad gets cropped or rejected
- Wrong aspect ratio for the placement. A 16:9 video in Reels gets bars or a crop. Deliver 9:16 for vertical placements.
- Text in the bottom 35%. It disappears under the caption and button. Move it to the centre.
- Low resolution. Below the minimum width (250 px, or 500 px for Reels ads of 30 seconds or more), the file is refused; near it, the ad looks soft.
- Silent ads in Reels. Not a rejection, but a missed opportunity: Reels start with sound.
- Burned-in captions only. Captions help viewers who watch muted, but keep them inside the safe zone.
Making video ads in the right format
If you produce ads with Klaivo: it exports 9:16, 1:1 and 16:9, plus 3:4, 4:3 and 21:9 on the models that support them. There's no 4:5 preset, so for Facebook Feed use the 1:1 export (or the 9:16 one). The assembled ad renders up to 1080p, which matches the 1080 × 1920 size Meta lists and is below the 1440 px it now recommends; each clip can also be downloaded on its own at its full generated resolution, up to 4K. Paste a product link into the AI ad generator to get a vertical script and clips in the format you pick.
For what to put inside the frame, see video ad examples and video ad script templates.
FAQ
What is the best video size for Facebook ads?
Meta recommends 4:5 at 1440 × 1800 pixels for Facebook Feed and 9:16 at 1440 × 2560 pixels for Stories and Reels. Two files, one 4:5 and one 9:16, cover nearly every placement.
How long can a Facebook video ad be?
Meta's guide accepts 1 second to 241 minutes in Facebook Feed, up to 60 minutes in Instagram Feed and Stories, and up to 15 minutes in Instagram Reels. For product ads, 15 seconds is a sensible default.
What is the maximum file size for Meta video ads?
4 GB, in MP4 or MOV (GIF is also accepted in feeds and Stories).
What is the safe zone for Reels and Stories ads?
Keep the top 14%, the bottom 35% and 6% on each side free of text, logos and key elements. On a 1080 × 1920 video, that's the top 269 pixels, the bottom 672 pixels and 65 pixels on each side.
Do Facebook video ads need sound?
Sound is optional but recommended on every placement, and "strongly recommended" for Reels, which play with sound on by default.