YouTube dynamically adjusts your video to fit the viewer’s device without stretching or cutting off your content. This article will give you recommendations on how to build your video ad for optimal video performance.
Specs for all YouTube formats and campaign types
Recommended
Can also accept
Callouts
Resolution
1080p (Full HD)
Recommended pixels (px) for HD:
- 1920 x 1080px (horizontal)
- 1080 x 1920px (vertical)
- 1080 x 1080px (square)
720p (Standard HD)
Minimum px:
- 1280 x 720px (horizontal)
- 720 x 1280px (vertical)
- 480 x 480px (square)
Minimum px for SD:
- 640 x 480px (horizontal)
- 480 x 640px (vertical)
- 480 x 480px (square)
For optimal quality, we don’t recommend using SD
Aspect ratio
- 16:9 for horizontal
- 9:16 for vertical
- 1:1 for square
- 4:3 (SD) for horizontal
- 2:3 for vertical
For optimal quality, we don’t recommend using SD
Format
.MPG (MPEG-2 or MPEG-4)
.WMV, .AVI, .MOV and .FLV .MPEG-1, .MP4, .MPEGPS, 3GPP, WebM, DNxHR, ProRes, CineForm and HEVC (h265)
Can't accept audio files like MP3, WAV, or PCM files on YouTube
File size
≤256 GB
Length
Search for specific format or campaign type in the Google Ads Help Center
as this varies by format and campaign type. Or view the full list
.
Specs for YouTube thumbnails and companion banners
Thumbnails
| Recommended | Can also accept | |
|---|---|---|
|
Resolution
|
1280 x 720px |
1280 x 640px (minimum) |
|
Aspect ratio
|
16:9 | |
|
Format
|
.JPG, .GIF or .PNG | |
|
File size
|
<2MB for videos; <10MB for podcasts |
Companion banners (for desktop only)
| Recommended | |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 300 x 60 |
| Format | JPEG, GIF, PNG |
| File size | 150kb (maximum) |
Universal safe zones for video ads on YouTube
Overlays, call-to-actions, and buttons may appear in different places depending on the format, campaign type, and screen.
Use these images as a reference to ensure important elements like your logo, product, supers, and others are within the red safe area to avoid risk of elements being covered within certain inventory.
