📐 Video Aspect Ratio & Resolution Reference

A quick-reference guide to common video resolutions and aspect ratios, and where each is typically used across platforms.

Where the ratios in the table come from

An aspect ratio is just the pixel dimensions reduced by their greatest common divisor:

ratio = width : height, both divided by gcd(width, height)

1920 : 1080  ÷ 120  =  16 : 9
1080 : 1350  ÷ 270  =   4 : 5
1080 : 1920  ÷ 120  =   9 : 16

The cinema row is the awkward one: 2048 ÷ 1080 is 1.896, which reduces to 256:135 and is normally written 17:9 or simply DCI 2K, so treat the 19:9 label as shorthand rather than a ratio you can divide.

Resolution is pixels, ratio is shape

Two rows can share a ratio and differ enormously in size. 3840×2160 holds 8,294,400 pixels against 1080p's 2,073,600 - exactly four times as many, which is why a 4K export is so much larger a file at the same length.

Mismatched ratios get bars. A 1:1 square uploaded to a 16:9 player is pillarboxed with black down both sides; 16:9 in a 9:16 feed is letterboxed into a thin strip.
Shoot wider than you publish. Framing a 16:9 recording with the centre 9:16 kept clear lets one shoot serve both a long video and its vertical cut.
Do not upscale. Exporting 1080p footage as 4K adds file size and nothing else.
1440p is 3,686,400 pixels, 1.78 times 1080p - a common middle ground for gaming uploads.

These are commonly used sizes noted when the page was written, not a live feed from any platform. Recommended upload specs change - check the current guidance before a final export.

Frequently asked questions

What resolution is a vertical video?

1080×1920 is the standard 9:16 size used for Shorts, Reels and TikTok. It is 1080p turned on its side, so the same camera settings apply - only the framing changes.

Is 4K really four times 1080p?

In pixels, yes: 3840×2160 is double the width and double the height, so four times the area. The name refers to the roughly 4,000-pixel width, not to a fourfold jump in anything you can see on a phone.

What aspect ratio should I upload to YouTube?

16:9 for the main player, at the highest resolution you actually filmed. Vertical clips go up separately at 9:16; uploading a square or vertical file to the standard player leaves bars on both sides.