MiniMax H3 and H3 Max for TikTok ads: 5 to 15 seconds, priced by tier

MiniMax H3 and H3 Max both accept 9:16 and 5 to 15 seconds, so they cover TikTok's recommended vertical ratio and a normal ad length in one job. A 15-second H3 Max clip at 768p costs $1.50 on Sume, and $3.00 at 1080p. H3 at 768p is $1.13 for the same 15 seconds.

What the catalog does not give you is the pixel size of the 768p tier. TikTok's non-Spark spec asks for at least 540x960 in vertical, so measure a test clip before you buy a batch.

What the TikTok page requires

TikTok's help page for in-feed video ads lists, for non-Spark ads, three ratios with minimum sizes: 9:16 at 540x960 or larger (recommended), 16:9 at 960x540 or larger, and 1:1 at 640x640 or larger. It also lists MP4, MOV, MPEG, 3GP and AVI files, a duration of up to 10 minutes, a file size of 500 MB or less and a bitrate of at least 516 kbps.

None of those limits constrain a 5 to 15 second clip except the pixel minimum. File size and duration have a lot of room, so the real question for an H3 clip is whether its vertical frame is at least 540 wide and 960 tall.

What H3 and H3 Max offer on Sume

The catalog lists minimax-h3 at native 480p and 768p for 5 to 15 seconds, with ratios from 21:9 to 9:16 plus adaptive. Sume describes 768p as the first-class tier for H3, not 720p, and only bills 2K or 4K upscales if your request includes them. minimax-h3-max is the faster 768p variant. It adds 1080p, which is a latent refinement from native 768p, and returns native stereo audio.

Both bill list times 1.25. H3 lists at $0.05 per second at 480p and $0.06 at 768p. H3 Max lists at $0.05, $0.08 and $0.16 per second at 480p, 768p and 1080p.

Reading the ladder

Between 768p and 1080p on H3 Max, the price doubles: $1.00 against $2.00 for 10 seconds. The 480p tier is the same price on both models, so the choice there is only about the look. At 768p, H3 Max costs a third more than H3 ($1.50 against $1.13 at 15 seconds), and in return it is the faster variant.

A 15-second test of three takes at H3 Max 768p is 3 x $1.50 = $4.50. A single 15-second H3 Max take at 1080p is $3.00, which is two 768p takes.

The check before a batch

Treat the result as a measured fact, not as an assumption from the resolution label. Sume's docs state the labels, and the platform's help page states the minimum, but the pixel size of a given tier is not published in the repo docs.

• Generate one 9:16 clip at the tier you plan to use, with duration between 5 and 15.
• Import it and run Sume video inspect, then read the probe for the frame width and height.
• Compare the numbers against 540x960. If the tier falls short, move up a tier or use another model whose sizes are documented, such as Seedance at 720p (720x1280).
• Keep the file as MP4. Sume's trim and Timeline jobs return MP4, which is on TikTok's accepted list.

When H3 is the right pick

The 5-second floor is the practical limit for H3: the catalog rejects shorter clips, so a 3 or 4 second hook needs another model. For clips of 5 to 15 seconds with sound, H3 Max is the model to test first. For anything longer than 15 seconds in one job, switch to Seedance 2.5 or Wan 3.0, which take up to 30.