Twitter (X) Video Size, Length, and Codec Limits (2026)

The X/Twitter video upload limit is 512 MB and 2 minutes 20 seconds (140 seconds) for regular accounts, with 1920 x 1200 as the maximum resolution. X Premium and Premium+ subscribers get longer duration and larger file sizes. For codecs, X wants H.264 (AVC) video with AAC-LC audio inside an MP4 or MOV container — anything else usually gets rejected or silently re-encoded.

The short version:

• Max file size (regular account): 512 MB
• Max file size (Premium/Premium+): up to 8 GB–16 GB, tier and platform dependent
• Max duration (regular account): 2:20 (140 seconds)
• Max duration (Premium): up to 4 hours on web/iOS (longer clips over ~2 hours are capped at 720p); Android is commonly capped much lower
• Max resolution: 1920 x 1200 (landscape) / 1200 x 1920 (portrait)
• Recommended resolution: 1280 x 720
• Common aspect ratios: 16:9, 9:16, 1:1
• Frame rate: recommended 30 fps, commonly documented ceiling around 40–60 fps depending on source
• Recommended bitrate: roughly 5,000–12,500 kbps for 1080p, scaled up for higher frame rates
• Codec: H.264 video + AAC-LC audio, MP4 or MOV container

If you only remember one thing: export H.264/AAC MP4, keep it under 512 MB and 140 seconds unless you're on Premium, and don't upload above 1080p expecting it to survive untouched.

Twitter/X Video Specs at a Glance

Treat the Premium numbers as directional — X has changed Premium media limits more than once, and Android limits in particular tend to lag behind web and iOS. When in doubt, the 512 MB / 140-second regular-account limits are the safest baseline to design around.

What Is the Maximum Twitter/X Video File Size?

For a standard (non-Premium) account, the upload limit is 512 MB per video, regardless of whether you're on web, iOS, or Android. That number has been stable for years and is the one worth memorizing if you're searching for "twitter file size limit."

Premium and Premium+ subscribers get a much larger ceiling — commonly documented as 8 GB up to roughly 16 GB on web and iOS, with longer videos (over about 2 hours) required to be encoded at 720p rather than 1080p to stay within processing limits. Android's Premium video ceiling has historically been more conservative than web/iOS, so don't assume parity across apps.

If your export is close to 512 MB and you're not a Premium subscriber, the fix is almost always bitrate, not resolution — see the recommended bitrate section below before you downscale.

What Is the Maximum Twitter/X Video Length?

• Regular accounts: 140 seconds, i.e. 2 minutes 20 seconds
• Premium/Premium+ accounts: up to roughly 4 hours on web and iOS, with the caveat that anything past about 2 hours must drop to 720p to stay under the file-size ceiling
• Android (Premium): typically capped well below the web/iOS maximum

The 140-second limit for free accounts is the one most people hit. If you need to post something longer without Premium, your only real options are splitting the clip into a thread of separate uploads or hosting the full video elsewhere and linking to it.

Which MP4 Codecs Work on X/Twitter?

This is the part most editing software gets wrong by default, and it's the single most common reason an export "won't upload."

What X accepts:

• Video: H.264 (AVC), High profile
• Audio: AAC-LC (stereo or mono)
• Container: .mp4 or .mov

What X does not reliably accept:

• H.265 / HEVC — many editors (Premiere, Final Cut, DaVinci Resolve, and iPhone's default camera export in some settings) default to HEVC for smaller files. X will typically reject the upload outright or fail silently during processing.
• VP9 — a web-video codec, not accepted for direct upload.
• AV1 — increasingly common for web delivery elsewhere, but not an X upload codec.

If your export uses any of those, convert to H.264/AAC first (HandBrake, ffmpeg, or your editor's export preset) before uploading — don't rely on X to transcode it for you, because it often just rejects the file instead.

What codec do downloaded Twitter videos come in?

Videos served back from X's CDN — the ones you get from pasting a link into a downloader — are almost always H.264 video with AAC audio in an MP4 container, matching what was accepted at upload time. That's also why H.264/AAC MP4 is the safest re-upload format if you're pulling a clip down to repost elsewhere: it round-trips cleanly through X, Instagram, TikTok, and most editors without a forced re-encode.

There have been isolated community reports of HEVC-encoded variants showing up in specific streaming URLs, but this isn't the standard or expected behavior — H.264 remains the codec you should plan around for both uploads and downloads.

Why Do Downloaded Twitter Videos Look Lower Resolution Than the Upload?

Even when the original upload was clean 1080p H.264, the file you download isn't always the sharpest version that exists. X re-encodes uploaded video into multiple resolution and bitrate variants (a transcoding ladder, similar to how HLS adaptive streaming works) so playback can adjust to different devices and connection speeds — and downloaders can only grab whichever variant is exposed in the post's metadata.

That's why the same tweet can offer 320p, 480p, 720p, and 1080p versions with very different sharpness, and why picking the wrong one produces a blurrier file than the source ever was. For the full explanation of why those variants exist, see Why Some Twitter Videos Have Multiple Quality Options. For the actual workflow to make sure you grab the sharpest one, see How to Download Twitter Videos in HD.

Recommended Export Settings for Twitter/X Video

If you want a preset that avoids upload failures and re-encoding surprises:

• Container: .mp4
• Video codec: H.264, High profile
• Audio codec: AAC-LC
• Resolution: 1280 x 720 or 1920 x 1080 (stay at or under 1080p — 1920 x 1200 is the hard ceiling, not the target)
• Frame rate: 30 fps for most content; reserve 50–60 fps for motion-heavy footage like gameplay or sports
• Bitrate: roughly 5,000–8,000 kbps for 1080p at 30 fps; scale toward 10,000–12,500 kbps if you're using a higher frame rate, since more frames per second need more bitrate to avoid added compression artifacts
• File size: stay comfortably under 512 MB unless you know the account is on Premium
• Duration: under 140 seconds unless you know the account is on Premium

FAQ

What is the maximum video file size on X?

512 MB for a regular (non-Premium) account. Premium and Premium+ subscribers get a much higher ceiling — commonly documented as roughly 8 GB to 16 GB on web and iOS — though the exact number has shifted over time and Android has historically lagged behind.

Why does my 1080p upload look blurry?

Usually one of two things: either the source file's bitrate was too low for 1080p (X's re-encoding pass compresses it further), or you're comparing the wrong variant — X stores multiple resolution/bitrate versions of the same clip, and the version you're viewing or downloading may not be the highest one available. Export at 5,000–8,000+ kbps for 1080p and check every quality option before assuming the platform ruined your video.

What codec should I export from Premiere/CapCut/DaVinci for X?

Export H.264 (AVC) video with AAC-LC audio in an .mp4 container. Avoid HEVC/H.265 — it's a common default in Premiere and Final Cut exports and is not reliably accepted by X. Avoid VP9 and AV1 as well; both are common web codecs but not supported X upload formats.

Is the Twitter video length limit 2 minutes or 2:20?

Both describe the same number. The limit for regular accounts is 140 seconds, which is 2 minutes 20 seconds — often rounded down to "2 minutes" in casual descriptions, but 140 seconds is the precise figure.

Does X accept 4K video uploads?

X's documented maximum resolution is 1920 x 1200 (landscape) or 1200 x 1920 (portrait), which is below 4K. Uploading a 4K file will get it downscaled and re-encoded by X rather than preserved, so there's little benefit to exporting above 1080p for X specifically.

Final Takeaway

The numbers that matter most are simple: 512 MB, 140 seconds, 1080p-class resolution, and H.264/AAC MP4 as the codec pair. Premium raises the size and duration ceilings substantially, but it doesn't change the codec requirement — HEVC, VP9, and AV1 exports fail the same way on every account tier. Export H.264/AAC, stay under the size and duration limits for your account type, and you'll avoid the vast majority of upload and quality problems on X.