What each platform allows
YouTube Shorts: up to three minutes, vertical or square. Instagram Reels: up to three minutes. TikTok: much longer uploads are allowed, but most of its feed is still under a minute.
These limits change often, so check each app's upload screen if you're near the edge.
Why shorter usually wins
Feeds reward videos that people watch to the end and watch again. A 20-second video watched twice beats a 90-second one abandoned halfway.
Every extra second is a chance to swipe. Cut anything that doesn't move the story forward.
A rough guide
10–20 seconds: one fact, one joke, one surprising picture. Easiest to get rewatched.
30–60 seconds: a short story or a list of three. The most common length for faceless channels.
60 seconds to three minutes: a full story with a beginning, middle and end. Only when the story needs it and every part earns its place.
How to choose
Write the script first and read it aloud. If it drags anywhere, cut there. Then let the length be what's left.
TallClip sets the length to the platform you pick (Quick, Shorts, TikTok, Reels and others) and times the script so the voice fits it.
Loops and rewatches
A video that ends where it began invites a second watch, and feeds count rewatches. Some creators write the last line so it leads straight back into the first.
Don't force it - an awkward loop is worse than a clean ending. But for very short videos (under 20 seconds) it's worth trying.
Pace matters as much as length
A 45-second video with a new picture every two or three seconds feels shorter than a 30-second one that lingers. Change the shot when the line changes.
Slow pacing works for calm channels - sleep stories, relaxing nature - where viewers want to settle in. Match the pace to what people come for.
When to go long
If your Shorts keep getting comments asking for more, that's a sign to make a longer video on the same topic, or a series of Shorts in parts.
Longer videos on YouTube's main feed earn differently from Shorts and count toward watch hours rather than Shorts views. Many channels use Shorts to find viewers and long videos to keep them.
Questions
Do longer Shorts earn more?
Not directly. Shorts earn from a shared ad pool by views, so a video that's watched more often tends to earn more than a longer one watched less.