16:9 vs 9:16 Video: Which Format Should Your Brand Order?

The short answer

Use 16:9 for YouTube, websites, presentations and TVs. Use 9:16 for Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Stories. If you post on social media at all, you will probably want both.

What aspect ratio actually means

Aspect ratio is the relationship between a video's width and its height. 16:9 means sixteen units across for every nine up, the shape of a TV, a laptop screen and the YouTube player. 9:16 is that same rectangle stood on its end, which matches a phone held upright.

Resolution is a separate setting. A 16:9 video can be 1920x1080 (HD) or 3840x2160 (4K). A 9:16 video is normally 1080x1920 in HD. If you are weighing HD against 4K, read when 4K is worth paying for.

Where each format belongs

• YouTube long-form videos
• Website hero videos and embeds
• PowerPoint and Keynote presentations
• Event screens and TVs
• Instagram Reels and Stories
• TikTok
• YouTube Shorts
• Snapchat and vertical ads

Platform by platform

• YouTube long-form: 16:9
• YouTube Shorts: 9:16
• Instagram Reels and Stories: 9:16
• Instagram feed posts: 1:1 or 4:5
• TikTok: 9:16
• Facebook feed: 1:1 or 4:5, and Facebook Stories: 9:16
• LinkedIn: 16:9 or 1:1
• Websites and presentations: 16:9

What about 1:1 and 4:5?

Square (1:1) and portrait (4:5) clips still turn up in Instagram and Facebook feed posts. They claim more room than 16:9 in a scrolling feed, but less than full vertical. If the Instagram grid is your main channel, ask for a 1:1 or 4:5 version alongside the vertical one.

Why not just crop?

Because it rarely works. Trim a horizontal animation down to a tall frame and the logo is either sliced at the edges or shrunk to a small strip in the middle. A proper vertical version recomposes the whole scene so the mark sits in the center and reads clearly on a phone.

“Design for the screen people actually hold.”

How we build a vertical version

We rebuild the layout for a tall, narrow frame. The logo is scaled to be legible on a small screen, effects are rearranged to use the full height, and any text moves into the safe zone where platform buttons will not sit on top of it. Timing normally stays identical, so both files feel like one animation.

Some effects suit one shape better than the other. A wide light sweep looks dramatic in 16:9, while a rise or drop feels more natural in 9:16. We adjust those details so each version looks native on its screen. If you want to see this applied to a mark like yours, our logo animation service page has examples.

Safe zones on vertical platforms

Vertical apps lay buttons, captions and profile names over your video. On TikTok and Reels, the bottom 20% and the right edge are often covered. A well-made 9:16 file keeps the logo and any text inside the central area, so nothing important ends up behind the interface.

That is a second reason cropping fails. A horizontal composition has no reason to respect a vertical safe zone.

Why vertical took over

Most people hold their phones upright, and most social video is now watched on phones. Platforms answered by building full-screen vertical feeds: Stories, Reels, TikTok and Shorts. A vertical video fills the display. A horizontal one in the same feed shows up as a thin strip with empty space above and below, and that difference in size has a direct effect on attention.

Horizontal is far from dead. Long-form YouTube, streaming, websites, presentations and TV all remain 16:9. The real shift is not from one format to the other. It is toward needing both.

Which resolution for each format

A standard HD 16:9 file is 1920x1080 and an HD 9:16 file is 1080x1920. Moving up to 4K doubles both dimensions. For vertical social content, HD is nearly always enough, because platforms limit playback quality on phones. For horizontal content that will land on big screens or on YouTube, 4K can justify the upgrade.

Ordering both formats

When you order a template, pick the format you need. For both, add the template to your cart twice: once as 16:9 Horizontal and once as 9:16 Vertical. Each version is composed for its own screen. Every format is one video at the same price, with the same optional rush, 4K and text add-ons, and you can see the numbers on the pricing page.

Planning a consistent rollout

If you are launching across several channels, decide the formats together. Order horizontal for YouTube, your website and presentations, and vertical for Reels, TikTok, Shorts and Stories. Then place the same animation at the start or end of every piece of content, in both shapes, so viewers meet the same brand wherever they find you.

Our recommendation is to order the format for your main platform first. If you publish on YouTube and Instagram alike, order the pair together so the motion stays matched. You can browse styles in the template shop and check the full list of what goes into a good order in the animation brief checklist.

Frequently asked questions

Key takeaways

Match the format to where people will watch. 16:9 suits wide screens, 9:16 suits phones, and 1:1 or 4:5 suit feed posts. If you are active on more than one platform, plan for more than one format from the start instead of cropping later.