TikTok 540x960 minimum vs 720P best practice: which size to render
Two TikTok pages give two numbers: 540 by 960 as the non-Spark minimum and 720P or more as best practice. Timeline's 1080 by 1920 default clears both.
TikTok's In-Feed spec page lists 540 by 960 as the minimum for vertical non-Spark video, while its creative best-practices page asks for 720P or higher. They are different kinds of statement: one is a floor, the other advice. Sume Timeline 1.0 renders 1080 by 1920 by default, which clears both.
The two statements
Both pages were read on 2026-10-05.
| Page | Statement | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| Auction In-Feed Ads | 9:16 recommended, at least 540 x 960 | Minimum |
| Creative best practices | 9:16, at least 720P | Best practice |
What to render
Use the default. Timeline 1.0 produces 1080 by 1920 unless you set output.width and output.height (even integers, 256 to 2160). A larger frame costs nothing extra in Timeline: pricing is per output minute, not per pixel, at $0.10 per ceil minute in the docs.
The limit that bites is file size: 500 MB for non-Spark. A short vertical ad at 1080 by 1920 is far under that, but check after rendering.
When a smaller frame makes sense
If an upstream clip is only 720p, upscaling it to 1080 by 1920 adds no detail. Render at 720 by 1280 instead and say so in your notes. Video models list their own resolutions in GET /v1/catalog, so read that before you choose.
- Floor: 540 x 960.
- Advice: 720P or higher.
- Default Sume output: 1080 x 1920.
Check
Run video inspect on the final file and confirm the dimensions and size before you upload it to Ads Manager.
Sources
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Written by Sume