Video Sizes for Social Media in 2026: What Dimensions Do You Actually Need?

Why the format should be planned before filming

You don’t need to arrive with a list of technical specifications. What matters is telling us where the finished video needs to appear.

If you know you want a main website film as well as Reels, Stories or social adverts, the shots can be composed from the start so they work in both landscape and vertical formats. That reduces the risk of faces, products, hands or important details being lost when the picture is cropped later.

During filming we can use 9:16 and 4:5 framing guides while still recording a wider master picture. In practical terms, that means we can see what will survive the crop before the shot is recorded.

What does “open gate” mean?

Some cameras can record a taller area of the sensor, known as open gate — a feature more videographers are now asking camera manufacturers to include because clients increasingly want the same footage to work in both landscape and vertical formats. You don’t need to worry about the terminology; the practical benefit is simply that there can be more picture above and below the subject when a 9:16 or 4:5 version is created later, giving us more flexibility to adapt one shoot for different platforms without compromising the composition.

It won’t make every shot work in every shape, but combined with careful composition it gives your footage more flexibility across different platforms.

The four video shapes you need to know

Most business video requirements now fall into four main aspect ratios.

You probably don’t need all four. For many companies, a 16:9 main film and a 9:16 vertical version cover the most useful placements. If Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn feeds are important to the campaign, adding a 4:5 version can make sense too.

The aim is not to order every possible size. It is to choose the versions your business will actually use.

16:9 Landscape Video

Recommended size: 1920 × 1080 pixels

This is the familiar widescreen format and is still the safest starting point for a main business film. If you are commissioning a case study, testimonial, company film or event video, this will often be the version you use most widely.

Best for:

• YouTube
• Company websites
• Case study films
• Customer testimonials
• Corporate films
• Training and induction videos
• Conference films
• Presentations
• LinkedIn
• Video embedded within web pages

For many projects, 16:9 makes sense as the main film, with shorter or differently shaped versions created alongside it for social media.

4:5 Portrait Video

Recommended size: 1080 × 1350 pixels

4:5 is taller than square but not as narrow as a full-screen Reel. For businesses posting into social feeds, it can be a very useful middle ground.

Best for:

• Facebook Feed
• Instagram Feed
• LinkedIn Feed
• Social advertising

Its main advantage is simple: it uses more of a phone screen than landscape video while still feeling natural inside a scrolling feed.

If paid social or feed-based content is part of your campaign, a 4:5 version may be worth adding to the delivery list.

Instagram Video Sizes in 2026

If Instagram is an important part of your campaign, there are two formats most businesses should concentrate on.

Instagram Reels and Stories

1080 × 1920 — 9:16 vertical

This is the full-screen mobile format. Important faces, logos, captions and product details should be kept away from the extreme edges because Instagram’s interface can sit over parts of the picture.

Instagram Feed

1080 × 1350 — 4:5

Instagram accepts several shapes, but a file being accepted by the platform doesn’t mean it has been designed to make the best use of the screen.

If you want both Reels and feed posts from the same filming day, include both in the brief before filming so the material can be composed accordingly.

LinkedIn Video Sizes in 2026

LinkedIn gives businesses more flexibility than many people realise. Landscape, portrait and vertical video can all have a place, depending on what you want the content to achieve.

Standard LinkedIn company video

1920 × 1080 — 16:9

A strong choice for case studies, testimonials, interviews, company news, recruitment films, project videos and event films.

Mobile-focused LinkedIn content

1080 × 1350 — 4:5

Useful when the video is intended mainly for people scrolling through the LinkedIn feed.

Short vertical content

1080 × 1920 — 9:16

If you are already creating vertical material for Reels or Shorts, suitably framed footage can also give you additional LinkedIn content without organising another shoot.

What About Website Banner Videos?

Website banner videos — also called hero videos or background videos — are treated differently from a normal video player. They often run behind a headline or call to action and may be cropped differently depending on the visitor’s screen.

There isn’t one universal banner dimension. A wide desktop monitor may show a broad strip of the picture while a phone can show a much tighter crop.

A good starting point

1920 × 1080 — 16:9

The bigger issue is where the important action sits inside the frame. If a person, product or key detail is too close to an edge, it may disappear as the website adapts to different screen sizes.

For that reason, banner footage is usually composed with the important action kept in a safer central area.

Website banner videos should also be short

A homepage banner is usually better suited to concise visual moments than a complete corporate film: people at work, machinery operating, product detail, customer interaction, locations, movement through a building or short drone shots.

These sequences often work without dialogue because banner videos commonly autoplay silently. Your main film can then sit elsewhere on the page with sound and playback controls.

Should Text Be Added to the Video?

Sometimes — but permanent text inside the picture isn’t always necessary.

Your website may already place its own headline over a banner video. Social platforms can also add captions, usernames, buttons and descriptions over parts of the frame.

If text needs to be built into the video, it should sit within a sensible safe area so it remains readable and isn’t covered by the platform interface. This is particularly important with 9:16 video.

Do I Need Four Completely Different Videos?

Usually not. This is where planning the deliverables before filming can save a lot of duplicated work.

For example, one customer case study shoot could give your business:

Main film

16:9 — 1920 × 1080
For your website, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Vertical social edit

9:16 — 1080 × 1920
For Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels, Stories and YouTube Shorts.

Feed version

4:5 — 1080 × 1350
For Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn feeds.

Website banner

A short, dialogue-free selection of shots prepared for your homepage.

Instead of commissioning four unrelated productions, you get a family of useful assets from one project — each prepared for the place it is going to be seen.

So, What Video Sizes Should I Ask For?

For a typical business video project in 2026, this is a sensible starting point:

Main video:
1920 × 1080 — 16:9

Vertical social version:
1080 × 1920 — 9:16

Social feed version if required:
1080 × 1350 — 4:5

Square version if specifically needed:
1080 × 1080 — 1:1

Website banner:
Usually based around 16:9 footage, edited specifically for the website layout.

You may need fewer versions, or a different combination. You don’t have to work that out on your own. Tell us where the video will be used and we can recommend the most practical delivery package before filming.