If you’re confused about TikTok video length, you’re far from the only one.
When you think of TikTok, you likely think of short-form videos (and even shorter attention spans) — it was 15-second videos that helped the social media platform skyrocket to 1 billion users in a few short years, after all.
But shorter no longer equals better when it comes to growing a following on TikTok.
The app has slowly been inching into YouTube’s territory by allowing users to upload longer videos. In 2024, the app started rolling out the ability to upload videos of up to 30 minutes, a big departure from its original offering.
If you’re wondering how long TikTok videos can be, the answer is not quite as simple as it used to be. Perhaps a better question, too, would be, “How long should TikTok videos be?” This is where things get interesting!
In this article, we’ll unpack all of the above and dig into some fascinating data from millions of TikTok videos sent through Buffer to understand how to optimize your TikTok video length for video views and watch time.
How long can a TikTok video be?
TikTok videos can be anywhere from 3 seconds to 30 minutes in length. When filming a video within the app, users will be able to choose from various specific durations — 15 seconds, 60 seconds, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, or 30 minutes.
Note that 15-minute and 30-minute video options might not be available in all regions just yet.
That said, videos don’t need to be exactly those lengths. Technically, you can film for or upload a video of any duration between 3 seconds and 30 minutes.
Where things get a little confusing is filming within the app. If you choose the 15-second option (see no. 1 in the screenshot below), you will be cut off at 15 seconds.
You won’t be able to film additional clips, but you can upload clips from you camera roll to make the video longer.
To do so, tap the check icon on the bottom right of the screen (2), then the square edit icon on the top left (3), and the + button on the bottom right.
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