Reference

YouTube Shorts limits

A YouTube Short runs up to 3 minutes, must be square or vertical, and takes a title of 100 characters and a description of 5,000 characters. Each figure below carries the YouTube page it was read from and the date it was read, 30 September 2026.

Every figure checked 30 September 2026.

YouTube Shorts length limit

A Short can be up to 3 minutes long.

YouTube's help centre raised the Shorts ceiling to three minutes for videos uploaded on or after 15 October 2024, and the Shorts upload form in YouTube Studio states the same figure. The rule is about classification as much as length: a square or vertical video of three minutes or less uploaded after that date is a Short, whatever you meant it to be. Videos uploaded before the change keep the status they had. YouTube does not publish a minimum length.

support.google.com, support.google.com (checked 30 September 2026)

YouTube Shorts aspect ratio

A Short must be square or vertical, and a wider ratio such as 16:9 keeps a video long-form.

Two YouTube pages describe the shape, and neither names a fixed ratio. The upload form asks for 'a square or vertical aspect ratio', and the length page says to use a wider ratio such as 16:9 if you do not want a video classed as a Short. The 9:16 and 1080x1920 figures printed on most spec charts do not appear on any YouTube page read for this table, so this page does not print them as a requirement. YouTube does state a resolution ceiling for Shorts, 1080p, on its creation tools page.

support.google.com, support.google.com, support.google.com (checked 30 September 2026)

YouTube Shorts title character limit

A title can be up to 100 characters.

The video settings page in YouTube's help centre sets the title ceiling at 100 characters and bars invalid characters, and the Shorts creation page repeats the figure at the point where you type the title. The Data API reference agrees on the number and names the two characters a title may not contain, the angle brackets. The help centre does not say whether the form refuses or trims a longer title, so the ceiling is the only figure this page states.

support.google.com, support.google.com, developers.google.com (checked 30 September 2026)

YouTube Shorts description character limit

A description can be up to 5,000 characters in the help centre's wording, or 5000 bytes in the Data API's.

The number is the same and the unit is not. YouTube's help centre counts characters; the Data API reference counts bytes, and a byte is a character only for plain ASCII text. A description written in English with no accents will hit both ceilings at once. One written with accented letters, emoji or a non-Latin script reaches 5000 bytes first. Both official pages are shown, and the safe reading is to treat 5,000 characters as the ceiling and stay further under it when the text is not plain ASCII.

support.google.com, developers.google.com (checked 30 September 2026)

YouTube hashtag limit

You can use up to 60 hashtags, and past 60 YouTube ignores every hashtag on that video.

YouTube's hashtag page is unusual among platform limits because it states the consequence as plainly as the number: more than 60 hashtags on a video or playlist and each one is ignored. It also states that only up to three of the hashtags in a description are shown beside the title, and that over-tagging can lead to a video being removed from uploads or from search. There is no separate figure for Shorts; the same page covers videos and Shorts alike. The 15-hashtag cap that circulates on other sites is not on any YouTube page read for this table.

support.google.com (checked 30 September 2026)

YouTube tags character limit

Tags can total up to 500 characters, and YouTube publishes no maximum number of tags.

The only tag ceiling YouTube publishes is in the Data API reference: the whole list of tags may run to 500 characters, commas between tags count, and a tag with a space in it is counted as if it were wrapped in quotation marks. The help centre gives no number at all. It says tags play a minimal role in discovery, and its tags page says that adding excessive tags to a description breaks the policies on spam, deceptive practices and scams.

developers.google.com, support.google.com, support.google.com (checked 30 September 2026)

YouTube Shorts file size and upload formats

An upload can be up to 256 GB or 12 hours, whichever is less, in any of the sixteen formats YouTube lists.

YouTube's long-upload page sets the file ceiling at 256 GB or 12 hours, whichever comes first, and its Data API reference states 256GB without the time clause; both are shown. The accepted formats are listed on YouTube's file-format troubleshooter, and the same page rules out audio-only files such as MP3 or WAV. A Short is a video like any other for these rules, with one extra ceiling of its own: the 1080p resolution cap on the creation tools page. The upload form also lets you select up to 15 short videos at a time.

support.google.com, developers.google.com, support.google.com, support.google.com (checked 30 September 2026)

Every limit, in one table

Each value is quoted from the YouTube page it links to, checked 30 September 2026. A limit YouTube does not publish is recorded as not documented rather than filled in from a third-party figure.

YouTube Shorts limits, each value linked to its source and checked 30 September 2026.
What is limitedWhat YouTube documents
Shorts length limit3 minutes ('You can now create YouTube Shorts up to three minutes in length.')The Shorts upload form states the same ceiling: 'Select a short-video file: Up to 3 minutes.' See https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/12779649. A video uploaded on or after 15 October 2024 with a square or vertical aspect ratio and a length of up to three minutes is classed as a Short; uploads from before that date keep their long-form status.

support.google.com (checked 30 September 2026)

Shorts aspect ratiosquare or vertical ('With a square or vertical aspect ratio.')YouTube adds that a wider ratio keeps a video long-form: 'If you don't want your content to be classified as Shorts, use a wider aspect ratio such as 16:9 for long-form videos.' See https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/15424877. No YouTube page read on the check date names 9:16 or 1080x1920 as a Shorts requirement.

support.google.com (checked 30 September 2026)

Shorts maximum resolution1080p ('Note: You can upload Short videos with a maximum resolution of 1080p.')

support.google.com (checked 30 September 2026)

title character limit100 characters ('Video titles have a character limit of 100 characters and cannot include invalid characters.')The Shorts creation page repeats the figure ('add a title (max 100 characters)'), see https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/10059070. The Data API reference adds that a title may not contain the characters < or >, see https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/videos.

support.google.com (checked 30 September 2026)

description character limit5,000 characters ('Video descriptions have a character limit of 5,000 characters and cannot include invalid characters.')The Data API reference states the ceiling in a different unit: 'The property value has a maximum length of 5000 bytes and may contain all valid UTF-8 characters except < and >.' Bytes and characters differ once the text carries accents or non-Latin script, so both figures are shown. See https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/videos.

support.google.com (checked 30 September 2026)

hashtag limit60 hashtags ('If a video or playlist has more than 60 hashtags, we'll ignore each hashtag on that content.')Up to three of the hashtags in a description appear beside the title. YouTube does not publish a separate hashtag cap for Shorts.

support.google.com (checked 30 September 2026)

tags character limit500 characters in total ('The property value has a maximum length of 500 characters.')Commas between tags count toward the 500, and a tag containing a space is counted as if wrapped in quotation marks. YouTube does not publish a maximum number of tags, and its help centre says tags 'play a minimal role in your video's discovery', see https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/57404.

developers.google.com (checked 30 September 2026)

file size and length256 GB or 12 hours, whichever is less ('The maximum file size you can upload is 256 GB or 12 hours, whichever is less.')The Data API upload reference states 'Maximum file size: 256GB' without the 12-hour clause, see https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/docs/videos/insert. By default an unverified account can upload videos of up to 15 minutes; a phone-verified account can upload longer ones.

support.google.com (checked 30 September 2026)

upload file formats.MOV, .MPEG-1, .MPEG-2, .MPEG4, .MP4, .MPG, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, WebM, DNxHR, ProRes, CineForm and HEVC (H.265) ('make sure that you're using one of the following formats: .MOV .MPEG-1 .MPEG-2 .MPEG4 .MP4 .MPG .AVI .WMV .MPEGPS .FLV 3GPP WebM DNxHR ProRes CineForm HEVC (H.265)')Audio-only files cannot be uploaded: 'Audio files, like MP3, WAV, or PCM files, can't be uploaded to create a YouTube video.'

support.google.com (checked 30 September 2026)

Shorts per upload batch15 short videos at a time ('You can choose up to 15 short videos at a time, but be sure to click EDIT DRAFT to complete your video details before publishing.')

support.google.com (checked 30 September 2026)

  • YouTube's help centre sets the Shorts ceiling at three minutes for videos uploaded on or after 15 October 2024, asks for a square or vertical aspect ratio, and caps Shorts uploads at 1080p (accessed 30 September 2026). support.google.com, read 30 September 2026
  • YouTube's video settings page sets the title ceiling at 100 characters and the description ceiling at 5,000 characters; its hashtag page sets the cap at 60 and states that every hashtag is ignored past it (accessed 30 September 2026). support.google.com, read 30 September 2026

What happens past each limit

YouTube publishes the consequence for four of these limits. More than 60 hashtags, and every hashtag on that video is ignored; over-tagging can also get a video removed from uploads or from search. A Short longer than one minute that carries an active Content ID claim of any kind is blocked worldwide: it will not play, will not be recommended and cannot be monetised, though YouTube states there is no penalty to the channel. A file in a format outside the list produces an 'invalid file format' error at upload. A file over 256 GB is not accepted, and YouTube's advice is to compress it with the H.264 codec before trying again.

For the text fields YouTube publishes the ceiling and nothing more. Neither the help centre nor the Data API says whether a title over 100 characters, a description over 5,000 characters or a tag list over 500 characters is refused or cut. The API lists errors named invalidTitle, invalidDescription and invalidTags without tying any of them to length. This page will not guess the rest.

How SpeedRun Social keeps posts inside these limits

SpeedRun Social writes every YouTube description to a 5,000-character ceiling and caps hashtags at 3 per post, both enforced by the code that generates the caption rather than by a reviewer remembering the rule. Three hashtags is also the number YouTube shows beside a title, so nothing the product adds is hidden by the platform. The review preview shows the description and its hashtags before anything publishes.

Questions people ask about these limits

  • How long can a YouTube Short be?

    Up to 3 minutes. YouTube's help centre states 'You can now create YouTube Shorts up to three minutes in length', for videos uploaded on or after 15 October 2024. Videos uploaded before that date keep their earlier status.

  • What aspect ratio does a YouTube Short need?

    Square or vertical. The upload form asks for 'a square or vertical aspect ratio', and YouTube says a wider ratio such as 16:9 keeps a video long-form. No YouTube page read for this table names 9:16 or 1080x1920 as a requirement, though 1080p is stated as the Shorts resolution ceiling.

  • How many characters can a YouTube title have?

    100 characters. YouTube's video settings page states 'Video titles have a character limit of 100 characters and cannot include invalid characters', and the Data API reference names the two characters a title may not contain, the angle brackets.

  • How many hashtags can you put on a YouTube Short?

    Up to 60, and the same rule covers regular videos. YouTube's hashtag page states that a video with more than 60 hashtags has every hashtag ignored, and that up to three from the description appear beside the title. YouTube publishes no separate cap for Shorts.

  • Is there a YouTube description character limit?

    Yes, 5,000 characters in the help centre and 5000 bytes in the Data API reference. The two agree for plain ASCII text and part ways once the description carries accents, emoji or a non-Latin script, where the byte count is reached first.

  • What file formats and size does YouTube accept?

    Sixteen formats, listed on YouTube's file-format troubleshooter: .MOV, .MPEG-1, .MPEG-2, .MPEG4, .MP4, .MPG, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, WebM, DNxHR, ProRes, CineForm and HEVC. The ceiling is 256 GB or 12 hours, whichever is less. Audio-only files such as MP3 or WAV are refused outright.

See also

Shorts that fit the format

The free plan: 300 credits a month refilled forever, one free campaign a week (3 posts, 1 video, 1 cross-post), no card, watermarked media on free.

No account, no email, no card. One post from your own website.

Start freeSee real output