As a filmmaker in the modern era, it’s crucial to promote your content on various social media platforms. But you may notice that the way video appears differs between platforms. For example, YouTube displays video as a rectangle, while Instagram is more square-shaped. This is because of a video’s aspect ratio. There are multiple aspect ratios out there, and it can be confusing to keep track of which platform has which aspect ratio. We’re here to help you with exactly that.

So first of all, what exactly is an aspect ratio? Aspect ratio is a ratio of the width to the height of an image. So an image with an aspect ratio of 1.79 to 1, or 16 to 9, will be longer than an image with an aspect ratio of 1 to 1, which will be a perfect square.

1 - 16:9. The 16:9 is the rectangular aspect ratio you have likely seen more than any other. The platforms that use 16:9 include Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and Linkedin.

2 - 9:16. The 9:16 aspect ratio is designed to roughly fit the size of the average smartphone. Sometimes 16:9 videos are put in a 9:16 aspect ratio, with the rest of the space being filled with colour, text, or graphics. Platforms that use 9:16 are Snapchat, Instagram (IGTV), Tiktok, Pinterest and Facebook (Stories).

3 - 1:1. The 1:1 aspect ratio is, as its name would suggest, a perfect square. Platforms that use it include Instagram (Thumbnails) and Facebook.

4 - 4:5. The 4:5 aspect ratio is slightly bigger (taller) than the 1:1 aspect ratio. Platforms that use it include Instagram and Facebook.