When posting videos on Facebook, it’s important to understand the optimal video dimensions and specs to ensure your content looks great and drives engagement. With billions of videos posted and watched daily, following Facebook’s recommended video sizes and formats is key.
What are the recommended dimensions for Facebook video?
Facebook recommends uploading videos that are at least 720p HD (1280 x 720 pixels). Higher resolutions like 1080p Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) are also supported. Here are the most common video dimensions recommended for Facebook:
- 720p HD (1280 x 720 pixels)
- 1080p Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels)
- 1:1 (600 x 600 pixels)
- 4:5 (600 x 750 pixels)
- 9:16 (720 x 1280 pixels)
Square 1:1 and vertical 4:5 or 9:16 videos have become popular on Facebook, especially for mobile viewers. Landscape 16:9 videos (1280 x 720) also perform well on Facebook.
What are the recommended video formats for Facebook?
Facebook supports the following video formats:
- MP4
- MOV
- AVI
- WMV
- MPEG4
- 3GPP
- WebM
MP4 is the most commonly used video format on Facebook. Uploading videos in H.264 codec with AAC audio encoding is recommended. This provides great quality and compression for sharing videos on Facebook.
What are the recommended video specs for Facebook?
In addition to resolutions and formats, video files must meet certain specifications to look and play well on Facebook:
- File size: Up to 4GB
- Aspect ratios: 1:1, 4:5, 16:9, 9:16
- Frame rate: 30fps
- Bitrate: 4,000 Kbps – 8,000 Kbps
- Audio codec: AAC
- Container: MP4, MOV, or WebM
Facebook compresses and processes videos during upload, so having well-compressed source files will ensure quality is maintained. The recommended bitrate range allows fast upload speeds while providing excellent HD video quality.
What are the recommended video lengths for Facebook?
Facebook has the following recommended video lengths:
- Less than 90 seconds for auto-play videos
- Under 20 minutes for all other videos
Shorter videos under 90 seconds have the best chance of auto-playing as users scroll through Facebook. Videos over 90 seconds will require the viewer to click to play.
For longer videos up to 20 minutes, creating clips and trailers optimized for Facebook is recommended. Videos over 20 minutes may be downscaled in quality or truncated when uploaded.
Best practices for optimal Facebook video quality
Here are some top tips to ensure your videos look great on Facebook:
- Upload the highest resolution source file available
- Use MP4 video codec with AAC audio
- Optimize video bitrate for 4000 – 8000 Kbps
- Use landscape and square aspect ratios
- Keep videos short for auto-play
- Add captions and titles for sound-off viewers
Testing your videos before publishing is also recommended. Review both the audio and video quality across devices to ensure proper playback. Compressing oversized files or re-encoding improperly formatted videos before uploading is advised.
Facebook video formats comparison
Here is a comparison of the most common Facebook video formats and specifications:
| Format | Resolution | Aspect Ratio | Max Bitrate | Audio Codec |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MP4 | 720p, 1080p | 16:9, 1:1, 9:16 | 8,000 Kbps | AAC |
| MOV | 720p, 1080p | 16:9, 1:1, 9:16 | 8,000 Kbps | AAC |
| AVI | 720p | 16:9 | 6,000 Kbps | MP3 |
| WMV | 720p | 16:9 | 6,000 Kbps | WMA |
| WebM | 720p | 16:9 | 4,000 Kbps | Vorbis |
This table summarizes the key attributes, showing the strengths of top formats like MP4 and MOV compared to alternatives. MP4 offers both high quality and flexible aspect ratios for all types of Facebook videos.
Facebook vertical video specifications
Vertical videos optimized for mobile have become very popular on Facebook. Here are the recommended specs:
- Resolution: 720 x 1280 pixels (9:16)
- Aspect Ratio: 9:16 vertical
- Bitrate: 4,000 – 6,000 Kbps
- Frame Rate: 30 fps
- Audio Codec: AAC
- Max Length: 90 seconds (for auto-play)
With a 9:16 aspect ratio tailored to mobile devices, vertical videos take advantage of the entire phone screen. A resolution of 720p ensures the video is crisp and clear on both iOS and Android devices.
What video codec does Facebook use?
Facebook uses the H.264 video codec to encode and process videos uploaded to its platform. Here are some key facts on Facebook’s H.264 implementation:
- Advanced video compression technology
- Reduces file sizes significantly compared to predecessors
- Supports HD resolutions up to 1080p
- Standard codec across Facebook apps and services
- Enables accelerated encoding and streaming speeds
The H.264 codec allows Facebook to store and deliver video content at scale while maintaining quality, speed, and reliability for its billions of users.
Benefits of H.264 codec
Here are some of the top benefits Facebook gains by using the H.264 standard:
- Highly optimized for streaming and mobile
- Improved compression efficiency over older codecs
- Supports modern video resolutions and aspect ratios
- Reduced storage and bandwidth costs
- Faster encoding and decoding speeds
In summary, H.264 provides Facebook with an advanced, modern codec to deliver HD video experiences efficiently across its massive global platform.
Compatibility with H.264
The H.264 codec provides ubiquitous compatibility and support:
- Nearly universal device and browser support
- Backwards-compatible with older H.264 decoders
- Supported by all major encoding tools and software
- Standardized and licensed across the industry
This ensures videos encoded with H.264 will play smoothly for all Facebook users, regardless of their device, browser, or operating system.
Conclusion
Optimizing your video content for Facebook requires selecting the ideal resolution, aspect ratio, bitrate, and file format based on their recommendations. Following Facebook’s best practices for 1080p or 720p resolution, MP4 or MOV format, an optimal bitrate, and vertical dimensions will help your videos look great and drive engagement across all types of viewers and devices.