What bitrate should I use for 1080p on YouTube?

YouTube Help recommends about 8 Mbps for 1080p at 24–30 fps and 12 Mbps at 48–60 fps for SDR video. A bit higher is fine; much higher only slows your upload.

MP4 or MOV for YouTube?

YouTube recommends MP4 with H.264. MOV works too, but keep ProRes .mov files for overlays and editing; they're far heavier than you need for an upload.

Should I export at 60 fps?

Only if you recorded at 60. YouTube's advice is to upload at the same frame rate you recorded.

Are these settings the same for Shorts?

Yes, with a vertical 1080 × 1920 frame. Shorts can be up to 3 minutes long, according to YouTube Help.

YouTube export settings for CapCut, Premiere, DaVinci and Final Cut

Pick your editor, resolution, frame rate and video length. You get the settings YouTube itself recommends for uploads, an estimate of the file size and where each setting lives in that editor — plus how to bring a transparent .mov overlay in, or export one out.

ResolutionFrame rate you recorded atVideo length (mm:ss)HDR footage

Recommended settings

Container: MP4 (Fast Start, moov atom at the front)
Video codec: H.264 · High Profile · 4:2:0
Resolution: 1920 × 1080
Frame rate: 30 fps (same as recorded)
Video bitrate: 8 Mbps · VBR
Keyframes: Closed GOP, every 15 frames (half the frame rate)
Audio: AAC-LC · 48 kHz · stereo 384 kbps
Estimated file size: ≈ 628.8 MB

Source: YouTube Help — Recommended upload encoding settings, checked Nov 6, 2026. File size is bitrate × length, an estimate.

Where to set it in CapCut

Click Export in the top-right corner of CapCut on desktop.
Set Resolution to 1080p (1920×1080) and Frame rate to 30 fps — the same rate you recorded at.
Choose Format MP4 and Codec H.264. For Bit rate, pick the recommended or higher option; if you can type a value, use 8 Mbps.
On the phone app, tap the resolution label next to Export and choose 1080p (1920×1080) and 30 fps before exporting.

Transparent overlays (.mov)

To put an animation with transparency on top of your clip, import our .mov on a track above it (desktop) or with Overlay → Add overlay (phone).
If your CapCut shows black instead of transparency, export the animation «with your clip» from our editor and use that MP4 as your video.

Menu names can move between versions; if yours looks different, look for the same setting nearby.

Next step: overlays that drop straight in

What YouTube recommends

YouTube Help lists its recommended upload encoding: an MP4 container with the index at the front of the file (often called Fast Start), H.264 video in High Profile with 4:2:0 color, variable bitrate, and AAC-LC audio at 48 kHz. For standard (SDR) video it suggests about 8 Mbps at 1080p and 24–30 fps, 12 Mbps at 1080p and 48–60 fps, 16–24 Mbps at 1440p and 35–68 Mbps at 4K, depending on the frame rate.

Those numbers are a recommendation, not a limit: YouTube re-encodes every upload anyway. Going a little higher keeps fine detail — text, gradients, fast motion — from turning blocky after YouTube compresses it again. Going far higher only makes the upload slower.

The two settings people get wrong

Frame rate: export at the rate you recorded. Turning 30 fps footage into 60 fps doesn't add smoothness, it duplicates frames; turning 60 into 30 throws motion away. If your timeline mixes rates, set the project to the one most of your footage uses.

Resolution: export at your footage's real resolution. Upscaling 1080p to 4K doesn't add detail, although some creators do it because they find YouTube streams 4K uploads with better quality. If you try it, compare both versions on a phone and a TV before making it your default.

File size, before you wait for the export

File size is roughly bitrate × length. A 10-minute 1080p video at 8 Mbps with stereo audio is about 630 MB; the same video at 4K and 45 Mbps is around 3.4 GB. The calculator above does this sum for your length, so you know if the upload fits your connection before you start.

Overlays with transparency

Animated lower thirds, subscribe buttons and counters work best as a separate file with a transparent background, placed on a track above your footage. Our templates export as ProRes 4444 .mov with transparency in Full HD, and the steps for each editor are under the settings above.

Questions

What bitrate should I use for 1080p on YouTube?: YouTube Help recommends about 8 Mbps for 1080p at 24–30 fps and 12 Mbps at 48–60 fps for SDR video. A bit higher is fine; much higher only slows your upload.
MP4 or MOV for YouTube?: YouTube recommends MP4 with H.264. MOV works too, but keep ProRes .mov files for overlays and editing; they're far heavier than you need for an upload.
Should I export at 60 fps?: Only if you recorded at 60. YouTube's advice is to upload at the same frame rate you recorded.
Are these settings the same for Shorts?: Yes, with a vertical 1080 × 1920 frame. Shorts can be up to 3 minutes long, according to YouTube Help.

Want a different style? See all transparent lower third templates

Your export settings