Twitter/X Video Specs: The Creator's Guide to Uploading Video That Looks Great

Knowing X's video specifications before you upload saves you from a clip that looks soft, gets cropped wrong, or hits an upload error at 99%. Here's everything that matters.

File format and size limits

• Supported formats: MP4 and MOV.
• Maximum file size: 512 MB for standard accounts; up to 8 GB for X Premium subscribers.
• Maximum length: 2 minutes 20 seconds for standard; up to 3 hours for X Premium.
• Maximum resolution: 3840×2160 (4K UHD).
• Frame rate: up to 60 fps.

Aspect ratios and how X crops them

X displays video in the feed at a maximum of 16:9 (landscape) or 1:1 (square), and supports 9:16 (portrait/vertical) which fills the full screen on mobile. Upload in one of these ratios to avoid unexpected letterboxing.

Why your video looks compressed after uploading

X transcodes every upload to its own H.264 MP4 variants. To minimize quality loss: upload the highest bitrate source you can, use H.264 as your export codec (not H.265/HEVC, which X sometimes struggles with), and avoid uploading a file already compressed once.

Recommended export settings

• Codec: H.264, High profile.
• Resolution: 1920×1080 (1080p) or 3840×2160 (4K) if your content supports it.
• Bitrate: 5–8 Mbps for 1080p; 20–40 Mbps for 4K.
• Audio: AAC, 128–320 kbps, stereo.
• Frame rate: match your source (24, 30, or 60 fps).

Study what already works

Find posts whose video quality you admire and download them with the HD downloader or 4K downloader to inspect the source. Understanding what X outputs helps you optimize what you input. See Twitter video formats explained for a full breakdown.