Compress Video for TikTok

TikTok caps uploads at Android app 72 MB, iOS app 288 MB, Web (TikTok Studio) 10 GB. VidSmaller compresses any video down to 70 MB so it fits on the first attempt — H.264 MP4 out, no watermark, nothing to install, no account needed to try it. Source files up to 500 MB without an account, 1.5 GB on a paid plan.

TikTok has three different upload limits depending on which device you are posting from, and it publishes none of them clearly. If your upload works on a friend’s iPhone but fails on your Android phone, this page explains why.

TikTok file size limits, and what they really mean

The Android app caps uploads at around 72 MB — a quarter of what the iOS app allows, and by far the tightest limit most creators will meet. The web uploader in TikTok Studio accepts very large files, but anything over roughly 500 MB slows processing down and fails more often. Compressing to 70 MB makes one file that works everywhere.

Plan / upload methodMaximum file size
Android app72 MB

By far the tightest limit of the three, and the one nobody documents. If your upload fails on an Android phone but works on a friend’s iPhone, this is why.

iOS app288 MB
Web (TikTok Studio)10 GB

Accepts very large files, but uploads over ~500 MB slow processing down and fail more often.

Limits verified 2026-09-06. Sources: TikTok Studio — upload

What 70 MB actually buys you

Every other page tells you the limit and stops there. The limit is the easy half. Here is the half that decides whether your video is watchable: at a 70 MB target, this is exactly how much bitrate is left for each duration, and the largest resolution that bitrate can carry without falling apart.

Video lengthBitrate left for videoResolution it carriesVerdict
15s38,236 kbps4KLooks fine
30s19,054 kbps1440pLooks fine
1 min9,463 kbps1440pLooks fine
3 min3,069 kbps720pLooks fine
10 min831 kbps360pLooks fine

Method: the bitrate column is arithmetic — 70 MB spread across the duration, minus 128 kbps for stereo audio and 2% for container overhead. It is a hard ceiling, not an estimate. The resolution and verdict columns are a recommendation, derived from published H.264 bitrate ladders and pulled down about a third, because re-encoding footage that has already been compressed once survives lower bitrates than encoding a clean master does. Deliberately conservative — we would rather under-promise than tell you a video will look fine when it will not.

70 MB across lengths and resolutions

The left column is what you have to spend at each length; the cells are what each resolution needs. Green means you clear it comfortably, amber means it is watchable but soft, grey means pick a smaller frame. Reading down a column tells you how long a clip can get before that resolution stops being worth it on TikTok.

you haveneeds, to look comfortable1080p720p480p360p15s38,23615s at 1080p: 38236 kbps available, 4000 kbps for a comfortable result, 2000 to stay watchable4,00015s at 720p: 38236 kbps available, 2200 kbps for a comfortable result, 1100 to stay watchable2,20015s at 480p: 38236 kbps available, 1000 kbps for a comfortable result, 500 to stay watchable1,00015s at 360p: 38236 kbps available, 600 kbps for a comfortable result, 300 to stay watchable60030s19,05430s at 1080p: 19054 kbps available, 4000 kbps for a comfortable result, 2000 to stay watchable4,00030s at 720p: 19054 kbps available, 2200 kbps for a comfortable result, 1100 to stay watchable2,20030s at 480p: 19054 kbps available, 1000 kbps for a comfortable result, 500 to stay watchable1,00030s at 360p: 19054 kbps available, 600 kbps for a comfortable result, 300 to stay watchable6001 min9,4631 min at 1080p: 9463 kbps available, 4000 kbps for a comfortable result, 2000 to stay watchable4,0001 min at 720p: 9463 kbps available, 2200 kbps for a comfortable result, 1100 to stay watchable2,2001 min at 480p: 9463 kbps available, 1000 kbps for a comfortable result, 500 to stay watchable1,0001 min at 360p: 9463 kbps available, 600 kbps for a comfortable result, 300 to stay watchable6003 min3,0693 min at 1080p: 3069 kbps available, 4000 kbps for a comfortable result, 2000 to stay watchable4,0003 min at 720p: 3069 kbps available, 2200 kbps for a comfortable result, 1100 to stay watchable2,2003 min at 480p: 3069 kbps available, 1000 kbps for a comfortable result, 500 to stay watchable1,0003 min at 360p: 3069 kbps available, 600 kbps for a comfortable result, 300 to stay watchable60010 min83110 min at 1080p: 831 kbps available, 4000 kbps for a comfortable result, 2000 to stay watchable4,00010 min at 720p: 831 kbps available, 2200 kbps for a comfortable result, 1100 to stay watchable2,20010 min at 480p: 831 kbps available, 1000 kbps for a comfortable result, 500 to stay watchable1,00010 min at 360p: 831 kbps available, 600 kbps for a comfortable result, 300 to stay watchable600

Source: Computed, not measured — no encoder was run to produce this figure · Method: 70 MB spread over the duration, minus 128 kbps audio and 2% container overhead. Thresholds from published H.264 bitrate ladders, reduced by about a third for re-encoded source.

How to compress a video for TikTok

  1. Drop your video in

    MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WebM and 33 formats in all. Nothing to install — your browser uploads over a one-time link and the file never touches a third party.

  2. The target is already 70 MB

    We pre-set it below the hard ceiling on purpose: a two-pass encode lands within a couple of percent, and landing two percent over a hard limit means the upload fails. Change it if you want a different number.

  3. Download and upload

    Encoding runs on our servers, so you can close the tab. The result comes back with no watermark on any plan, in an MP4 that TikTok will accept.

TikTok compression FAQs

What is the TikTok file size limit?

Roughly 72 MB from the Android app, about 288 MB from the iOS app, and up to several GB through the TikTok Studio web uploader. TikTok does not document these clearly anywhere, which is why you will see people insist the limit is 500 MB while someone else cannot upload 80 MB.

Why can I upload on iPhone but not on Android?

Because the Android app enforces a much smaller cap — around 72 MB against the iPhone’s 288 MB. Same account, same video, different ceiling. Compressing to 70 MB gives you one file that uploads from either, and at TikTok’s vertical 1080x1920 that is plenty for a three-minute video.

What settings should I export TikTok videos at?

1080 x 1920 vertical, H.264 in an MP4, 30fps, AAC audio at 128 kbps or higher. Use 60fps only for genuinely fast motion. TikTok re-encodes everything it receives, so the goal is not to hand it the biggest possible file — it is to hand it a clean one that needs as little work as possible.

Does compressing hurt TikTok video quality?

Less than you would think, and less than not compressing does. TikTok is going to re-encode your video regardless. Giving it a well-prepared 70 MB file at the right resolution generally survives that process better than giving it a 250 MB file that its encoder has to attack much harder.