01
How much does vertical video actually need?
Less than wide video at the same height, because a tall frame contains fewer pixels than a wide one of the same vertical resolution. A 1080 high vertical frame holds roughly a third of the pixels of a 1080 high wide frame, so the same visual quality needs proportionally less data.
02
Why a tall frame needs less
A vertical frame at the same height contains roughly a third of the pixels of a wide one, so the same visual quality needs proportionally less data.
| Shape at 1080 high | Pixels per frame | Relative data needed |
|---|---|---|
| 16:9 wide | About 2.07 million | Most |
| 1:1 square | About 1.17 million | Around half |
| 4:5 | About 0.93 million | Under half |
| 9:16 vertical | About 0.66 million | About a third |
03
A sensible starting point
For a 1080 by 1920 vertical clip at a standard frame rate, a moderate bitrate in the range most editing tools suggest for 1080 video is plenty. Higher settings mostly increase file size without visible improvement after platform processing.
Use your editor's standard high-quality preset as a baseline.
04
When to go higher
Footage with lots of fine detail or fast motion, such as sports, confetti or foliage, benefits from a higher bitrate. Talking heads against plain backgrounds need much less.
Adjust based on content rather than using one number for everything.
05
Source files versus finished clips
Source recordings used for making clips benefit from generous bitrates, because they will be processed again. Finished clips need only enough to look good after the platform's own compression.
Keep sources high quality and finished clips reasonable.
06
Constant versus variable bitrate
Variable bitrate spends more data on complex scenes and less on simple ones, usually giving better quality for the same file size. Most modern export tools use it by default.
Keep the default unless you have a specific reason.
07
Checking the result
Upload a test clip privately and watch it on a phone. If fast movement breaks into blocks, raise the bitrate slightly. If it looks clean, the setting is sufficient.
Save the setting as a preset once it works.
08
Avoiding repeated compression
Each time a clip is compressed again, some quality is lost. Export finished clips once from the best source.
Avoid re-uploading downloaded clips.
09
Enough data, and no more
- Judge by the hardest section. Fast movement is where a low setting shows first.
- Stop raising it when nothing changes. Past a point more data buys nothing you can see.
- Remember the platform will compress anyway. Whatever you deliver gets processed again after upload.
Run a clip and look at the busiest second of it.
Questions people ask
- Is a higher number always better?
- No. Above the point where the picture stops improving you are only making the file bigger and the upload slower.
- Does it matter what I upload as source?
- Enough that the picture is clean. A heavily compressed source cannot be improved later, which is the one direction that matters.
- Why does my clip look worse after posting?
- Every platform processes what it receives, so some loss there is unavoidable. Sending a clean file is what limits how much.
- Do different shapes need different settings?
- They do, because they contain different numbers of pixels. A 16:9 clip needs more than a 9:16 one at the same height.
- And the finished clips themselves?
- Up to 1080p with no watermark on paid plans. The free video renders at 720p with a small corner mark.