Video Export Settings Generator
Select your platform and quality level to get the exact export settings — codec, bitrate, resolution, frame rate, audio — all in one place. Copy and apply directly in your editor.
What Do Video Export Settings Mean?
Every time you finish editing a video, you face a wall of export settings. Each one affects the final quality, file size, and compatibility of your video with different platforms. Here's what each setting means and why it matters.
Resolution
Resolution is the pixel dimensions of your video: width × height. Higher resolution means more detail, but also larger file sizes and longer render times. The most common resolutions are:
- 1280 × 720 (720p): Minimum acceptable quality for modern uploads
- 1920 × 1080 (1080p / Full HD): The standard for most platforms in 2026
- 2560 × 1440 (1440p / 2K): Enhanced quality, YouTube shows improved quality badge
- 3840 × 2160 (4K / UHD): Highest quality for cinematic work and future-proofing
Exporting at a higher resolution than your source material doesn't add quality — it only increases file size. If you shot in 1080p, export in 1080p.
Frame Rate
Frame rate (fps) determines how many individual still images are shown per second. Higher frame rates produce smoother motion. The key frame rates are:
- 24fps: The cinematic standard. Movies, drama, YouTube narrative content.
- 25fps: European broadcast standard (PAL). Good if distributing to European TV.
- 30fps: US broadcast standard. YouTube, vlogs, talking head content.
- 60fps: Sports, gaming, action. Visibly smoother, more "video" feel.
Always match your export frame rate to your shooting frame rate unless you are intentionally creating slow motion. Mismatched frame rates cause playback speed issues.
Video Codec
A codec compresses the video data for storage and delivery. Different codecs make different trade-offs between quality, file size, and compatibility:
- H.264 (AVC): The universal standard. Supported by every platform and device. Good quality-to-file-size ratio. The safe default for delivery.
- H.265 (HEVC): 50% smaller files than H.264 at equal quality, but requires more CPU to encode/decode. Increasingly supported across platforms in 2026.
- VP9:Google's open codec. Used by YouTube. Similar efficiency to H.265. Less common in editing software export menus.
- AV1: The next-generation codec. Best compression, slowest encoding. Supported by YouTube and Netflix, growing platform support.
Video Bitrate
Bitrate is the amount of data used per second of video, expressed in Mbps (megabits per second). Higher bitrate = better quality but larger files. Each platform has a recommended bitrate range:
- 5 Mbps: Minimum for 1080p delivery (acceptable for simple content)
- 8–12 Mbps: Standard for 1080p — recommended for most YouTube and social uploads
- 16–25 Mbps: High quality 1440p delivery
- 35–50 Mbps: 4K delivery — required for HDR and high-motion content
Platforms re-encode your video after upload using their own settings. Uploading at higher bitrate gives the platform more information to work with, resulting in better final quality even after their compression.
Audio Codec and Bitrate
AAC-LC (Advanced Audio Coding, Low Complexity) is the standard audio codec for video delivery. It provides excellent quality at low file sizes and is supported everywhere. The recommended bitrate for audio is 320 kbps for music-heavy content and 256 kbps for speech/dialogue.
Audio sampling rate: Use 48,000 Hz (48 kHz) for all video work. This is the broadcast standard. 44.1 kHz is the music CD standard and can cause sync issues in video workflows.
Container Format
The container wraps the video and audio streams together with metadata. For delivery:
- MP4 (.mp4): Universal. Every platform accepts it. Use this for all delivery.
- MOV (.mov):Apple's container. Required for ProRes on most platforms. Larger files than MP4 at equivalent quality.
- MKV (.mkv): Open container, excellent for archival. Not accepted by all social platforms.
Color Space
Color space defines the range of colors and tones in your video:
- Rec.709: The standard color space for HD video. All standard platforms use it. If in doubt, export Rec.709.
- Rec.2020: The HDR color space. Wider color gamut and higher dynamic range. Supported by YouTube HDR uploads and Vimeo.
- sRGB: The web color standard. Close to Rec.709 but technically different. Not typically used in video workflows.
Platform-Specific Export Notes
YouTube
YouTube re-encodes every upload. Uploading a higher-quality source file gives YouTube's encoder more to work with, resulting in better output. For the best YouTube quality: upload at minimum 8 Mbps 1080p H.264. YouTube applies its own VP9 or AV1 encoding after upload; you can't control the final streaming quality, only influence it with upload quality.
TikTok and Instagram
These platforms apply aggressive compression after upload. To maintain quality, export at the maximum supported settings before uploading. Avoid uploading compressed files that have already been re-encoded — double-compression significantly degrades quality. Always export directly from your timeline, never re-upload a downloaded video.
Vimeo
Vimeo preserves your upload quality much better than YouTube or social platforms. For archival and client delivery, Vimeo Pro is excellent. You can upload ProRes 422 or even ProRes 4444 files and Vimeo will re-encode but preserve more of the original quality than YouTube.