Free YouTube Shorts Safe Zone Checker

Quick answer: On a 1080×1920 canvas, keep key text and graphics at least 180px from the top, 360px from the bottom, 40px from the left and 140px from the right for YouTube Shorts. These are measured estimates, last reviewed 2026-09-28, and can shift if the app updates its layout.

YouTube Shorts keeps its interface lighter than TikTok's, but its 100-character title limit is the shortest of any short-form platform, and the like, dislike, comment, share and remix stack on the right edge runs the full height of the screen. Shorts also draws heavily on reposted TikTok and Reels content, so a layout that was never designed for YouTube's specific margins in the first place is one of the more common reasons a repost underperforms the original.

YouTube Shorts safe-zone dimensions

Canvas	1080×1920 (9:16)
Top margin	180 px
Bottom margin	360 px
Left margin	40 px
Right margin	140 px
Profile grid crop	1080×1350 — 285 px trimmed top and bottom
Caption limit	100 characters
Caption cut-off	1 line
Recommended hashtags	3
Max duration	60 s
Max file size	2,000 MB

What Shorts covers

Shorts places a search icon near the top of the frame, a tall stack of like, dislike, comment, share and remix buttons down the right edge, and the channel name, title and subscribe button across the bottom. Keep logos, prices, links and any other call to action clear of all three regions, and remember the right-edge stack runs higher up the frame than the equivalent column on TikTok or Reels.

Title and caption length

A Shorts title is capped at 100 characters and shows on a single line before it's cut off — the shortest limit covered on this site. Put your main keyword and hook in the first 40 characters so it survives on every device, and use the caption studio above to see the exact cut-off point.

Length and cross-posting

Shorts can run up to 60 seconds, shorter than TikTok's six-minute allowance and Reels' 90 seconds. Many creators repost one edit across all three apps; if that's the plan, trim to 60 seconds first and use the "Compare TikTok/Reels/Shorts" view to find a single set of margins that clears all three platforms' safe zones at once.

Vertical framing and letterboxing

Shorts uses the same 1080×1920, 9:16 canvas as TikTok and Reels. Footage shot horizontally gets letterboxed with black or blurred bars on the sides, and a full-bleed crop can crop out a subject standing at the edge of a wider shot. Use Fill frame in the tool above to preview a full-bleed vertical crop, or Fit inside to see exactly how much of a horizontal shot survives as-is with bars added, and pick whichever keeps the subject and any on-screen text fully visible before you commit to a final export.

Where Shorts differs from Reels and TikTok

Because YouTube's own subscribe and title bar sit lower and thinner than TikTok's caption block, Shorts is usually the most forgiving of the three at the bottom of the frame — but its top search icon and tighter title limit make it the least forgiving at the top and in your written hook.

Common mistakes worth fixing

Because Shorts has the tightest title limit of the three platforms, the most common mistake is writing a title for the video description first and reusing it as-is — it gets cut mid-word at 100 characters. Write the title itself, separately, with the keyword in the first 40 characters. Another frequent issue is placing an end-card or subscribe graphic low on the right side, where it collides with Shorts' own subscribe button and remix icon; keep any custom subscribe prompt centered instead. Finally, since Shorts often surfaces reposted TikToks and Reels, watch for their platform-specific caption bars or watermarks bleeding into Shorts' own safe area — re-export a clean version rather than reposting a screen recording.

A quick pre-export checklist

Before you upload, confirm your title reads naturally within the first 40 characters, since that's what survives on the widest range of devices even though the hard limit is 100. Check that no graphic or subtitle sits under the right-edge button stack, which runs taller on Shorts than the equivalent column on TikTok. If the clip started life as a TikTok or Reels export, look closely for a leftover watermark or caption bar baked into the footage near the bottom edge — it's easy to miss in a quick preview and it reads as low effort to both viewers and YouTube's own recommendation system. Finally, if you're publishing the same cut everywhere, use the comparison view to confirm it still clears TikTok's wider bottom margin before you call it final.

Frequently asked questions

What are the YouTube Shorts safe zone dimensions?

On a 1080×1920 canvas, keep key text and graphics at least 180px from the top, 360px from the bottom, 40px from the left and 140px from the right for YouTube Shorts. These are measured estimates, last reviewed 2026-09-28, and can shift if the app updates its layout.

How long can a YouTube Shorts caption be?

Up to 100 characters, but only the first 1 line show before the "more" button truncates it.

What's the maximum length for a YouTube Shorts video?

60 seconds, with a maximum file size around 2,000 MB.

Does FrameGuard upload my video or image?

No. Every file is read and drawn to a canvas inside your browser. Nothing is uploaded to a server, so your unreleased content stays private.

Are these safe zone numbers official?

No platform publishes exact pixel values for its interface. These are measured estimates, checked directly against the live apps, and each page shows the date they were last reviewed.

Is FrameGuard free?

Yes. The visualizer, caption studio, comparison view and PNG export are free with no account or sign-up.

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Last reviewed 2026-09-28. Found a margin that looks off? Tell us.