Free Video Aspect Ratio & Safe Zone Checker
A safe zone is the part of a video frame that stays visible behind a platform's UI like captions, like buttons, and account handles. Preview your image or video across TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and more, with each platform's safe zones overlaid, before you publish. Files stay in your browser, nothing is uploaded.
1. Choose your image or video
Drop an image or video here, or click to choose. Files stay in your browser.
2. Pick a platform
Choose a file to preview
TikTok preview, target 1080x1920
3. Adjust the crop
4. Export
Video files cannot be re-encoded in the browser. Use the JSON crop coordinates inside your editing software (Premiere, DaVinci, CapCut) to apply the same crop.
Need this video produced?
ThinkEnvy produces vertical and horizontal video for brands of every size. Send a quick brief and get a free quote inside one business day.
Frequently Asked Questions
A video safe zone is the central region of a video frame that stays visible after the platform overlays its UI elements like captions, like buttons, account handles, and the navigation bar. Designing important content inside the safe zone ensures the audience sees it, no matter which platform plays the video.
TikTok covers roughly the top 8 percent of the frame with the For You and Following tabs, the right 15 percent with the like, comment, share, and profile buttons, and the bottom 20 percent with the caption, username, and audio link. Keep critical visuals and text inside the remaining safe zone.
Instagram Reels covers roughly the top 12 percent, the right 12 percent, and the bottom 22 percent of the frame with UI. Reels has slightly more bottom UI than TikTok because of the longer caption preview and the audio attribution row.
YouTube Shorts covers roughly the top 10 percent, the right 12 percent, and the bottom 20 percent of the frame. The bottom area includes the channel name, video title, and subscribe button.
Use 9 by 16 for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. Use 4 by 5 for Instagram portrait feed posts. Use 1 by 1 for square Instagram feed posts. Use 16 by 9 for YouTube horizontal videos and Twitter video.
Most cropping issues come from uploading a video shot in one aspect ratio to a platform that displays a different one. The platform crops the difference automatically, often cutting off heads, logos, or captions. Previewing the crop before upload avoids the problem.
Not always. If your subject and key text live inside the union of all platform safe zones, the same 9 by 16 master can work for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts. For platforms with different aspect ratios like YouTube horizontal or Instagram feed, a recut or crop is required.
Yes, all three use 9 by 16 vertical video. Just keep your important visuals and text inside the smallest combined safe zone, which is roughly the top 12 percent, right 15 percent, and bottom 22 percent. This tool overlays each platform's exact safe zone so you can verify the master before export.