How long can YouTube Shorts be? The current limit
The limit is three minutes. Here are the dates, which videos count as a Short, how to choose a length, the size and music limits, and how to check a length.
- 01A YouTube Short can be up to three minutes long, as long as it is square or vertical and was uploaded on or after 15 October 2024. Before that date the limit was 60 seconds.
- 02Music is the catch. A Short over one minute with an active Content ID claim of any type is blocked on YouTube, so keep a Short built on claimed music to 60 seconds or under.
- 03YouTube publishes no recommended length. Choose the shortest length your idea needs, and check a draft's word count against its runtime before you film.
A YouTube Short can be up to three minutes (180 seconds) long. The video has to be square or vertical, and it has to have been uploaded on or after 15 October 2024. Until then the limit was 60 seconds, which is why so much advice about YouTube Shorts length still says one minute.
Length is one of several conditions. Whether a video is treated as a Short also depends on its shape, its upload date and the type of channel, and whether it can be played at all can depend on the music in it. This guide covers the current rule, how it changed, how to choose a length for a goal, the format limits, the music limits, and how to check a video's length. Each rule links to YouTube's own pages under Sources.
YouTube changes these rules, so everything below is what the pages said on 3 October 2026. Where a figure is our arithmetic or our editorial judgement rather than a YouTube rule, the text says so.
The current YouTube Shorts length limit
The short answer
Up to three minutes (180 seconds), square or vertical, uploaded on or after 15 October 2024. For Official Artist Channels and channels linked to a music Content Owner the date is 8 December 2025.
YouTube Help's page on three-minute Shorts says that on a standard channel, any video uploaded on or after 15 October 2024 with a square or vertical aspect ratio, up to three minutes long, is categorised as a Short. Those Shorts can be monetised in the Shorts revenue-sharing model from the Shorts Feed. Videos uploaded before that date remain long-form videos.
Official Artist Channels, and channels linked to a music Content Owner, follow a later date. For them the same rule applies to videos uploaded on or after 8 December 2025. Videos they uploaded earlier, in the same shape and over one minute, continue to be treated as long-form.
The help pages we read state a maximum but no minimum. Shorts can be very short: NASA's Short “Heart Tissues Beat on the International Space Station”, posted on 14 February 2023, runs 8 seconds.
How the Shorts length limit changed
YouTube announced the change on 3 October 2024. Todd Sherman, the Director of Product Management for YouTube Shorts, wrote on the YouTube Blog that from 15 October 2024 creators could upload Shorts up to three minutes long. The post says the change applies to videos that are square or taller and does not affect videos uploaded before 15 October.
Coverage the same day described the old limit plainly. 9to5Google reported that until then, Shorts had been 60 seconds or shorter. That is the figure to remember for older material: anything written before October 2024 that says a Short is 60 seconds was right when it was published.
We have not dated any earlier change to the limit, because we found no YouTube source that does. The two dates that matter now are 15 October 2024 for standard channels and 8 December 2025 for Official Artist Channels and channels linked to a music Content Owner.
Which videos count as a Short
Three conditions have to hold together, and the channel type decides which date applies.
| Channel | Uploaded | Counts as a Short when |
|---|---|---|
| Standard channel | On or after 15 October 2024 | Square or vertical, up to three minutes |
| Official Artist Channel, or a channel linked to a music Content Owner | On or after 8 December 2025 | Square or vertical, up to three minutes |
| Either type | Before the date that applies to it | Unchanged by the three-minute rule. A long-form video stays long-form |
- Shape. The video has to be square or vertical. A wider shape such as 16:9 is long-form. YouTube's own advice for creators who do not want a video classified as a Short is to use a wider aspect ratio.
- Length. Up to three minutes. The rule names videos up to three minutes, so a vertical video longer than that is not categorised as a Short.
- Upload date. The three-minute rule starts on the dates above. An older upload does not change category because the limit moved.
Which length to choose, by goal
YouTube publishes no recommended Shorts length, and the pages we read do not name a best one. The table below is editorial judgement built on the constraints YouTube does publish. It is not a performance claim, and the right length for your channel is whatever holds your viewers.
| Goal | Length to aim for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One idea, a hook, a loop | 15 to 30 seconds | One idea needs little time. That is about 38 to 75 words at a normal speaking pace. |
| Any Short on popular or claimed music | 60 seconds or under | Over one minute, an active Content ID claim blocks the Short. At 60 seconds or under that rule does not apply. |
| A tip or short tutorial in your own voice | 60 to 90 seconds | Room for a few steps. That is about 150 to 225 words at a normal pace. |
| A mini lesson, story or walkthrough | Up to 3 minutes | The limit allows it. Use it only if every second adds something, and put the hook first. |
| A Short with royalty-free music | Whatever the idea needs | YouTube Audio Library royalty-free music does not receive a Content ID claim. |
How many words fit in a Short?
If you speak over your Short, the length of the script sets the length of the video. The table is arithmetic from the Script Timer's three pace presets, which are 110, 150 and 190 words a minute. It is not a YouTube rule, and pauses, cuts and on-screen text change the real runtime.
| Length | Slow, 110 wpm | Normal, 150 wpm | Fast, 190 wpm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 seconds | 28 words | 38 words | 48 words |
| 30 seconds | 55 words | 75 words | 95 words |
| 60 seconds | 110 words | 150 words | 190 words |
| 90 seconds | 165 words | 225 words | 285 words |
| 180 seconds | 330 words | 450 words | 570 words |
Paste a draft into the Script Timer to see its runtime at all three paces before you film.
If you only have an outline and a word count, the Words to Minutes Converter turns it into a runtime at the pace you speak.
To compare lengths for your own audience, use YouTube Studio's analytics for Shorts. Its Content tab has a metric called How many chose to view, which YouTube defines as the percentage of times viewers viewed your Shorts versus swiped away, and a Shown in feed metric. Two Shorts are an anecdote, not a test, so compare several of similar topic and length before you change your approach.
Size, resolution and aspect ratio
YouTube's upload page for Shorts asks for a file up to three minutes long with a square or vertical aspect ratio. You upload from YouTube Studio, and you can choose up to 15 short videos at a time. You then complete each video's details before publishing. In the YouTube app, the Shorts camera records up to three minutes with its multi-segment camera, and you change the duration in the upper-right corner.
The Shorts guide says you can upload Shorts with a maximum resolution of 1080p, and the title is limited to 100 characters. We found no other required pixel size for Shorts, so the common vertical figure of 1080 by 1920 is arithmetic, not a YouTube requirement: it is what a 9:16 frame is when it is 1080 pixels wide. The Aspect Ratio Calculator returns the matching pixel size for 9:16, 1:1 and other shapes from one dimension.
Do not add your own bars. YouTube's resolution page says that for some combinations of video and device shape, such as 9:16 vertical videos on computer browsers, YouTube may add padding, white by default and dark gray in Dark theme. It advises you to avoid adding padding or black bars directly to your video.
File size follows from length and bitrate. We checked the Shorts help pages for a file-size cap and found none, so this is arithmetic and not a limit. A three-minute Short at a video bitrate of 8 megabits per second is 8 × 180 ÷ 8, or 180 megabytes, before audio. The Video Size Calculator does that sum from length, resolution and bitrate.
Music, copyright and Content ID
Music is where length stops being a free choice. YouTube Help says any Short that is over one minute with an active Content ID claim of any type, including manual claims, is blocked globally on YouTube. The video is not playable or recommended and is not eligible for monetisation. There is no penalty to the channel, and once the claim is resolved the Short is viewable and eligible again. YouTube says the limitations for Shorts under one minute do not change.
You can remove the claimed content from the video, or dispute the claim if you believe it was made in error. YouTube points creators to its music eligibility page for the detail.
On a standard channel you can use any song in the Shorts Audio Library. Most songs can be used for up to 90 seconds in a three-minute Short, and some are limited to 60 or 30 seconds. Royalty-free music from the YouTube Audio Library does not receive a Content ID claim.
Official Artist Channels have a case of their own. An artist channel linked to a music Content Owner can have a Short of one to three minutes blocked by a first-party claim, which a label can create automatically if the Short was uploaded with the label's music synced offline. YouTube says to contact the label to release it.
- Working to a trend or a claimed song: stay at 60 seconds or under. That is our practical reading of the one-minute rule.
- Need more than a minute: use your own audio, or royalty-free music from the YouTube Audio Library, which does not receive a Content ID claim.
- A Short is blocked: YouTube sends a notification. Remove the claimed content, or dispute the claim if you believe it was made in error.
Length, views and monetisation
Shorts that appear in the Shorts Feed are eligible for monetisation, and a blocked Short is not. A change to counting also matters when you compare lengths. From 31 March 2025, YouTube counts a Short view each time it starts to play or replays, with no minimum watch time. The earlier measure is still in YouTube Analytics under the name Engaged views, and YouTube says Partner Program eligibility and Shorts ad revenue sharing are based on Engaged Shorts views.
The practical effect is for your own reporting. When you compare a 20-second Short with a 120-second one, check which view measure you are reading before you decide which length worked.
How to check a video's length
Reading the length of a video
To read a video's length in code, the YouTube Data API returns it as contentDetails.duration in the videos resource. It is an ISO 8601 duration, such as PT1M for one minute, PT59S for 59 seconds or PT15M33S for 15 minutes 33 seconds, and the pattern extends to hours and days. Google's reference says the value may differ slightly from the actual playback duration.
When you are recording rather than reading, set the length first. The Shorts camera lets you change the duration, up to three minutes, before you start.
Whether an upload counts as a Short
Length alone does not decide it. Go through the conditions in order.
- Shape. Is the frame square or vertical? A 16:9 video is long-form whatever its length.
- Length. Is it three minutes or less?
- Upload date. Was it uploaded on or after 15 October 2024, or 8 December 2025 for an Official Artist Channel or a channel linked to a music Content Owner?
- Music. If it is over one minute, does it carry a Content ID claim?
To get the words of a Short as text, the Shorts Transcript Downloader takes a /shorts/ link and returns the caption track YouTube already holds. A Short with no captions returns nothing, and its notes say very short clips often have none.
If you are quoting a Short in an essay or a report, its address and citation work like any other video's. Our guide to how to cite a YouTube video covers APA, MLA and Chicago, with a Short as a worked example.
Questions people ask
How long can YouTube Shorts be?
Up to three minutes (180 seconds). The video has to be square or vertical and uploaded on or after 15 October 2024. For Official Artist Channels and channels linked to a music Content Owner, the date is 8 December 2025.
What is the YouTube Shorts length?
A Short can be as long as three minutes. The help pages we read give a maximum and no minimum, and YouTube publishes no recommended length. Pick the length your idea needs, and keep a Short with claimed music to 60 seconds or under.
Can YouTube Shorts be longer than 60 seconds?
Yes. Since 15 October 2024, a square or vertical video up to three minutes long is categorised as a Short on a standard channel. Before that the limit was 60 seconds. A Short over one minute is blocked if it has an active Content ID claim.
When did YouTube Shorts go from 60 seconds to 3 minutes?
YouTube announced it on 3 October 2024, and the three-minute limit started on 15 October 2024. Official Artist Channels and channels linked to a music Content Owner follow from 8 December 2025.
Why is my video over 60 seconds not showing as a Short?
Check four things in order: the video must be square or vertical, three minutes or less, uploaded on or after 15 October 2024 (8 December 2025 for Official Artist Channels), and not blocked by a Content ID claim. A 16:9 video is long-form. A video uploaded before the date remains long-form.
Does a 16:9 video count as a Short?
No. The rule covers square or vertical videos. YouTube's advice to creators who do not want a video classified as a Short is to use a wider aspect ratio such as 16:9.
What size and resolution should a YouTube Short be?
Square or vertical, with a maximum resolution of 1080p. We found no other required pixel size. A 9:16 frame that is 1080 pixels wide is 1080 by 1920, which is arithmetic and not a YouTube requirement. Avoid adding your own padding or black bars.
How long can the music be in a YouTube Short?
On a standard channel, most songs in the Shorts Audio Library can be used for up to 90 seconds in a three-minute Short. Some are limited to 60 or 30 seconds. Royalty-free music from the YouTube Audio Library does not receive a Content ID claim.
What happens if a Short over one minute has a copyright claim?
An active Content ID claim of any type on a Short over one minute blocks it globally. It is not playable, not recommended and not eligible for monetisation, and there is no penalty to the channel. Once the claim is resolved the Short is viewable again.
How many Shorts can I upload at once?
You can choose up to 15 short videos at a time when uploading from YouTube Studio on a computer. Complete each video's details before you publish.
How long can a YouTube Short title be?
The title has a maximum of 100 characters, according to YouTube's guide to creating Shorts.
How many words is a 60-second Short?
About 150 words at a normal speaking pace. A slow delivery is about 110 words and a fast one about 190. That is arithmetic from the Script Timer's presets, and pauses and cuts reduce it.
Can YouTube Shorts be monetised?
Shorts that show up in the Shorts Feed are eligible for monetisation, and blocked Shorts are not. Since 31 March 2025, Partner Program eligibility and Shorts ad revenue sharing are based on Engaged Shorts views.
How do I check how long a video is?
Through the YouTube Data API, the videos resource returns contentDetails.duration as an ISO 8601 value such as PT1M or PT59S. Google notes it may differ slightly from the actual playback duration.
Sources
- YouTube Help. Understand three-minute YouTube Shorts. support.google.com· Checked 3 October 2026.
- YouTube Help. Upload YouTube Shorts. support.google.com· Checked 3 October 2026.
- YouTube Help. Get started creating YouTube Shorts. support.google.com· Checked 3 October 2026.
- YouTube Help. Music eligibility for YouTube Shorts. support.google.com· Checked 3 October 2026.
- YouTube Help. Video resolution and aspect ratios. support.google.com· Checked 3 October 2026.
- YouTube Help. Content tab analytics tips. support.google.com· Checked 3 October 2026.
- YouTube Blog. Tall updates coming to Shorts, by Todd Sherman, 3 October 2024. blog.youtube· Checked 3 October 2026.
- 9to5Google. YouTube Shorts will soon be up to 3 minutes long, by Abner Li, 3 October 2024. 9to5google.com· Checked 3 October 2026.
- Google for Developers. YouTube Data API: Videos resource. developers.google.com· Checked 3 October 2026.
- NASA. Heart Tissues Beat on the International Space Station (YouTube Short, 8 seconds, posted 14 February 2023). youtube.com· Checked 3 October 2026.
Written by Faisal Ashfaq. Faisal Ashfaq maintains the YouTubeScribe caption extractor at Deeporax AI LTD in Oldham. He writes the under-the-hood notes on timed text.
Reviewed on 3 October 2026. If a line is wrong, email support@youtubescribe.com.