YouTube Shorts max resolution is 1080p: render 1080x1920, not 2160

Short answer

YouTube's Shorts help page says Shorts can be up to 3 minutes and lists a maximum resolution of 1080p, in vertical format. Sume Timeline accepts width and height up to 2160, but a Short does not benefit from more than 1080x1920. Keep the default size and spend nothing on extra pixels.

Pixels above the platform's maximum do not become sharper on screen. They add file size and upload time.

What each side says

The numbers from YouTube's two help pages and the Sume docs.

Does render size change the price

Timeline's billing is by output minute at $0.10, not by pixel count, per the docs. A 2160-wide render is not priced higher than a 1080 one in the documentation, but it still adds file size and transfer time, so the saving is in bandwidth and time rather than the render fee. Cost for a 3-minute Short is $0.30 either way, since three output minutes at $0.10 is $0.30.

The rate card on your plan is the final authority, so run the unbilled plan call; it returns estimated_cost_usd_micros for the exact request you plan to send.

• Leave output width and height unset to get 1080x1920.
• If you set them, keep width 1080 and height 1920 for a 9:16 Short.
• Check the file size against YouTube's 8 Mbps 1080p recommendation: about 180 MB for 3 minutes, our arithmetic.

When higher resolution helps

For other YouTube formats, such as a 16:9 long video, YouTube's page lists higher tiers like 4K at 35 to 45 Mbps for SDR at 24 to 30 fps. That is a different upload from a Short. If you render a long video at 3840x2160, note that Sume stops at 2160 on a side, so a 3840 pixel width is out of range for Timeline.

For Shorts, the sensible target is the maximum YouTube lists: 1080p. Stay there. For the full assembly, see the three-minute Short build and the Shorts length dates.

Quick checklist

Leave size at the default. Keep the total under 3 minutes. Probe the output for duration and size. Upload. If the platform later raises its Shorts ceiling, you can re-render at the new size from the same slots, since Timeline keeps your inputs as media URLs in your workspace.

The point is to match the delivery to the platform's own maximum, not to the largest number a tool accepts. That keeps files smaller, uploads faster and cost predictable.

Budget and time

Render time and transfer time grow with pixel count, even where the render fee does not. A team producing dozens of Shorts a week feels that in the queue and in upload minutes. Keeping every Short at the platform maximum rather than above it is a simple standard to put in a style guide, and it makes every file predictable.

If you want a tighter size check, probe each render for bitrate and compare it with YouTube's 8 Mbps recommendation for 1080p SDR, and re-render at a lower fps if a file is unexpectedly large.