How long should a video ad be? Lengths by platform

Most video ads should run 15 to 34 seconds, with a 6-second cut for YouTube bumpers. The platforms allow far more, but their own advice is shorter: TikTok recommends 21 to 34 seconds, Instagram Stories plays ads under 16 seconds in full, and YouTube bumpers last 6 seconds. Make one film, then cut it to each placement's length.

That is the short answer. The rest of this post takes the questions that follow it one at a time: where the numbers come from, why the limit and the recommendation differ, how to cut one film into three lengths without losing its point, and what goes wrong when you do it.

Why does video ad length matter so much?

Length decides two things at once: how much of your film people actually see, and where the film is allowed to run. A viewer in a feed owes you nothing. Every second you add is a second in which they can scroll on, so a longer film is only better if each extra second earns its place.

Length also sets the rules of the placement. Some formats cut you off, some let the viewer skip after a few seconds, and some split a long ad into pieces.

On YouTube, Google's help page says viewers of skippable in-stream ads can skip the ad after 5 seconds. On YouTube Shorts, the same page says users can immediately skip the ad by swiping up or down. In both cases, the only seconds you can count on are the first few, which is why length and the opening are one question, not two.

This matters to anyone who makes their own marketing video: a founder posting a launch film, a marketer running a product explainer as an ad, a small team turning one shoot into a month of social posts. The choice of length comes before the script, because it decides how many ideas the script can hold.

How long should a video ad be on each platform?

Each platform publishes two kinds of number: the limit, which is what it accepts, and the advice, which is what it thinks works. Plan from the advice. The limits are generous enough that they rarely constrain an ad.

YouTube

Google's page on YouTube video ad formats lists each one with its length:

• Skippable in-stream ads have no maximum length, with under 3 minutes recommended, and can be skipped after 5 seconds.
• Non-skippable in-stream ads run 15 to 60 seconds, depending on the campaign subtype.
• Bumper ads are 6 seconds, with 5 seconds as the minimum, and cannot be skipped.
• Ads in YouTube Shorts are recommended at under 60 seconds.

TikTok

TikTok's ad specifications allow video duration of up to 10 minutes for non-Spark ads, and no restrictions for Spark Ads, which run from an existing organic post. Its own advice is far shorter. TikTok's video advertising guide says that TikTok recommends 21–34 seconds for most ads, and asks you to hook viewers in the first three seconds.

Instagram

Meta's Ads Guide gives Instagram Reels ads a range of 0 seconds to 15 minutes. Stories are where length changes how the ad plays. Meta's spec for Instagram Stories says that video ads shorter than 16 seconds play in full, and ads of 16 seconds or longer may be split into separate Stories cards, with Instagram showing one, two or three cards depending on the viewer. A 15-second cut avoids the question.

Why do the limits and the advice differ so much?

The limits exist so the platform can accept anything an advertiser uploads: a 10-minute product demo, a full webinar, a long brand film. The advice exists because the platform wants ads people watch, since an ad people scroll past is a worse experience for its users and a worse result for the advertiser.

So treat the limit as a wall you will almost never touch, and the advice as the starting point for your first cut. Then let your own results move you. If a 30-second film holds viewers to the end, try 45. If most of them leave by second eight, the fix is usually not a shorter film but a better opening, which is the subject of our post on the first second.

There is one more reason the advice is short: the viewer has not chosen your ad. A person who clicks a product page will watch two minutes of explainer. A person scrolling Reels gave you nothing yet. Length should match how much attention the placement hands you at the start.

What should go in each second of a short ad?

A short ad is a short story with five parts: a hook that stops the scroll, the problem the viewer recognises, the product doing its job, a proof that it works, and a call that says what to do next. In a 30-second film each part gets a few seconds. In a 6-second film, three of them survive.

The hook goes first in every version, because that is where skippable formats and feeds decide whether anyone stays. TikTok's guide says to skip long intros or logo animations, which means the brand name belongs later, or on the product itself, not in a title card that costs the first two seconds.

The call goes last, and it stays in every cut. A film that ends without saying what to do is a film that worked and still lost the click.

Worked example: 30 to 15 to 6 seconds

Take a 30-second launch film for a new app. Its timeline has five parts:

• Hook: 3 seconds
• Problem: 5 seconds
• Product: 12 seconds
• Proof: 6 seconds
• Call: 4 seconds

3 + 5 + 12 + 6 + 4 = 30 seconds. This is the cut for TikTok and Reels, and it sits inside TikTok's 21 to 34 second range.

For Instagram Stories and YouTube in-stream, cut it to 15. The problem goes, because the hook can carry it. The product keeps its best 7 seconds, the proof keeps 2, and the call shrinks to 3. That is 3 + 7 + 2 + 3 = 15 seconds, one second under the 16 at which Instagram may split a Stories ad into cards.

For a YouTube bumper, cut it to 6: a 2-second hook, one 2-second shot of the product, and a 2-second call. 2 + 2 + 2 = 6 seconds, the bumper's length.

Look at what this arithmetic says about the skippable placements. On a YouTube skippable ad, the first 5 of 30 seconds are the only ones every viewer sees: 5 ÷ 30 is one sixth of the film. If the product does not appear until second 8, a viewer who skips at second 5 never sees it. That is why the hook and an early glimpse of the product matter more than the total length.

The Crumb & Co croissant pre-order ad shows how much fits in 8 seconds when the film has one product, one offer and one action. The Ritual Coffee film shows one pour reworked into four ad formats, which is the same idea applied to the frame instead of the clock.

How do you cut one film into several lengths?

Plan the lengths before you write, not after you edit. A film written as 30 seconds and then squeezed into 6 tends to lose its sense. A film written with its 6-second core marked from the start can grow to 15 and 30 without changing its spine.

1. Write the 6-second version first. If the film cannot be told as hook, product and call, it does not yet know what it is about.
2. Grow it to 15. Add a longer product moment and one proof: a number from your own page, a review you are allowed to quote, the product working.
3. Grow it to 30. Add the problem and a fuller product scene. Keep the order: hook, problem, product, proof, call.
4. Cut each length for its frame. A 30-second film for TikTok is 9:16; a 15-second in-stream cut is usually 16:9. Our guide to the sizes that matter lists them.
5. Test two lengths against each other. Run the 15 and the 30 to the same audience and keep the one that holds viewers to the call.

FoxyLab can do this part for you. You paste a link or write a line, and the studio writes, voices and animates the film, renders it in 9:16, 1:1, 4:5 and 16:9, and changes it from your notes, including a note like "make a 15-second cut". That holds for a launch film, an explainer or a social clip as much as for an ad.

What are the common mistakes with ad length?

• Treating the limit as a target. Ten minutes is allowed on TikTok. That does not make it a plan. Fix: start from the platform's advice, then test.
• Opening on the logo. A title card spends the seconds that skippable formats guarantee. Fix: open on the product or the problem, and put the name on the product or at the call.
• Trimming the ends instead of the middle. Shortening by cutting the last seconds removes the call. Fix: cut from the problem and proof, keep the hook and call.
• Running a 20-second ad in Stories. At 16 seconds or more, Instagram may split it into cards. Fix: make a 15-second cut for Stories.
• One length for every placement. A 30-second film in a 6-second bumper slot does not run at all. Fix: plan three lengths from the start.
• Filling time with voice. A longer film with the same idea is just slower. Fix: if a cut feels long, take a scene out rather than slowing the read.

A checklist before you pick a length

• Which placements will this film run in, and what does each platform advise?
• Can the film be told in 6 seconds: hook, product, call?
• Does the product appear in the first 5 seconds?
• Does every cut end on the call?
• Is the Stories cut under 16 seconds?
• Is the TikTok cut close to 21 to 34 seconds?
• Is each cut rendered in the right frame for its placement?
• Are two lengths running against each other, so the results decide?

Quick answers

What is the best length for a video ad?

For most social placements, 15 to 34 seconds, with a 6-second cut for YouTube bumpers. TikTok recommends 21 to 34 seconds for most ads, and Instagram Stories plays ads under 16 seconds in full. Test from there.

How long can a TikTok ad be?

Non-Spark ads can run up to 10 minutes, and Spark Ads have no length restriction. TikTok's own advice for most ads is 21 to 34 seconds, with the hook in the first three seconds.

How long is a YouTube bumper ad?

Six seconds, with 5 seconds as the minimum. Bumpers cannot be skipped, so the whole film is seen, which makes them a good test of whether your idea works in its shortest form.

Is a 60-second ad too long?

Not always. It suits warm viewers, product demos and YouTube placements that allow it. For a cold feed, start with a 15 or 30-second cut and use the 60 where people have already chosen to watch.

What to do next

Pick the placements your next film will run in, write its 6-second core, and grow it to 15 and 30 seconds from there. If you would rather not cut each version by hand, paste your product link into the FoxyLab studio and ask for a 30-second film with 15 and 6-second cuts in every size.