Posting Video on Facebook: Limits and Specs
Facebook has the most generous video ceiling of any major platform: 4GB and 60 minutes. Generous limits do not mean lazy specs — muted autoplay and platform re-encoding still decide how the final video looks.
Hard limits and entry points
Standard accounts allow 4GB per file and 60 minutes of runtime, with some entry points widened to 240 minutes — go by the upload page. Reels (vertical short video), timeline video and Page video share the ceiling; the difference is presentation: Reels is full-screen 9:16, timeline video adapts to aspect ratio in the feed.
Generous limits mean long content does not need to be split: tutorials, interviews and event recordings go up whole. Whole is not unprocessed — feed distribution still measures completion by the second, so the first 10 seconds carry the video.
Encoding and covers
H.264 + AAC at 1080p 30fps with an 8–12 Mbps source is the reliable combo. Vertical content at 1080×1920, horizontal at 1920×1080. Cover frames are customizable (defaulting near the first frame) — in the feed, cover and title together decide the click, so pick the most informative frame.
Re-encoding exists here too: a generous source bitrate is the universal defense. Facebook treats high-bitrate sources kindly — 8–12 Mbps survives transcoding with detail intact, while already-compressed secondhand files degrade faster here than on Instagram.
Playing for muted autoplay
The feed autoplays muted: the first 3 seconds of visual hook — big captions, motion, contrast — decide whether viewers stay. Captions must be burned in; in silence, external subtitle files do not exist.
Groups and Pages share the same specs, so one master serves all entries: vertical for Reels, horizontal for timeline, each compressed locally. Facebook content also lives longer than short-video platforms — solid long-form keeps earning distribution through search and shares.