Snapchat is a vertical-first platform — its native format is 9:16 (1080×1920 pixels). Videos not in this format are cropped, letterboxed, or pillarboxed in ways that reduce visual impact in the feed. Encoding your video to H.264 MP4 at 1080p before uploading ensures maximum quality in Stories and Spotlight, giving Snapchat's own compression the best source material to work with.
Try a Snapchat-ready H264 MP4 encode at 720p. Create a free account for up to 8K/120fps and production workflows.
Snapchat accepts MP4 and MOV. The ideal format is MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio at 1080×1920 (9:16 vertical). Horizontal or square videos will be cropped or padded, reducing visual impact.
Stories: 32 MB per snap. Spotlight: 1 GB. For Stories, keep videos short (under 10 seconds) and encode at 720p or 1080p H.264 to stay within 32 MB.
Shoot in portrait mode on your phone (9:16), or crop a landscape video to 9:16 before encoding. Use a video editor to crop to 9:16 before uploading if your source is landscape.
Snapchat compresses all uploaded videos regardless. For best results, upload the highest quality H.264 MP4 within the file size limit. For Stories (32 MB max), aim for 8–10 Mbps at 1080p or 4–5 Mbps at 720p.
Yes. Snapchat Ads use the same 9:16 vertical format. Snapchat Ads Manager requires H.264 MP4, 1080×1920, AAC audio, 15 seconds max for most ad formats. Use the public encoder for a capped preview, or create an account for full vertical production output.
The public encoder is useful for quick previews. For larger files, up to 8K/120fps output, bulk jobs, API access, storage outputs, and webhooks, create an account and run production workflows with predictable NEU estimates.