9:16 Aspect Ratio Calculator

What is the 9:16 aspect ratio?

The 9:16 aspect ratio is a vertical format that is 9 units wide and 16 units tall. In pixels, that is most often 1080 wide by 1920 tall, which matches the shape of a phone held upright and explains why it became the standard vertical aspect ratio for short videos.

Think of 9:16 as 16:9 turned on its side, because a 16:9 frame is wide, like a television, while a 9:16 frame is tall, like a phone. If you also work in landscape, the 16:9 aspect ratio calculator handles the wide version.

As a decimal, 9 ÷ 16 = 0.5625, which means the height is about 1.78 times the width. You will also see it written as the 9 16 aspect ratio, 9x16 or simply portrait aspect ratio, and they all describe the same shape. It is the usual vertical video aspect ratio for any 9:16 video you make for a phone.

What size is 9:16 in pixels?

9:16 in pixels has no single size, because a ratio describes a shape rather than a measurement. Any width and height that reduce to 9 and 16 make a 9:16 frame, but the most common 9:16 size is 1080 × 1920, also called vertical Full HD.

A higher 9:16 resolution gives you a sharper picture but a bigger file, while lower resolutions upload faster but can look soft on a large phone. The table lists the five 9:16 dimensions you will come across most often.

The 9:16 4K resolution, 2160 × 3840, is best kept for master files you plan to edit. Our guide to aspect ratio vs resolution explains why the shape and the pixel count are two separate settings. For other video shapes, try the video aspect ratio calculator.

Is 1080x1920 a 9:16 ratio?

Yes, 1080x1920 is an exact 9:16 ratio. Divide both sides by 120 and you get 1080 ÷ 120 = 9 and 1920 ÷ 120 = 16. It is the same Full HD frame as 1920 × 1080 rotated 90 degrees, so if a brief asks for vertical 1080p, this is the size it means.

What is the best 9:16 image size?

The best 9:16 image size for most uses is 1080 × 1920 pixels, which works for Stories, phone wallpapers and vertical posts. If you plan to print or crop later, start bigger at 2160 × 3840 and scale down when you export. The same 9:16 photo size rule applies at any scale, so as long as the width and height keep a 9 to 16 relationship, the picture will not stretch or squash.

Which AI image sizes are 9:16?

Few AI image sizes are exactly 9:16, although the tall options come close. DALL·E 3 offers a tall size of 1024 × 1792 ^[7], which works out to 4:7, or 0.571, while a true 9:16 frame is 0.5625.

The difference is small, so trimming 16 pixels off the width gives you 1008 × 1792, an exact 9:16 frame. Newer GPT Image models list 1024 × 1536 as their portrait size, which is 2:3 ^[8]. That shape is wider, so you need a bigger crop of 160 pixels to reach 864 × 1536.

How do you calculate 9:16 dimensions?

To calculate 9:16 dimensions, multiply the width by 16 and divide by 9 to get the height. To go the other way, multiply the height by 9 and divide by 16, which is exactly what the 9:16 ratio calculator at the top of this page does for you.

Here are four worked examples:

• Width 1080: 1080 × 16 ÷ 9 = 1920, so the size is 1080 × 1920.
• Width 720: 720 × 16 ÷ 9 = 1280, so the size is 720 × 1280.
• Height 1600: 1600 × 9 ÷ 16 = 900, so the size is 900 × 1600.
• Width 1000: 1000 × 16 ÷ 9 = 1777.8. Round to 1778, so the size is 1000 × 1778.

Pixels have to be whole numbers, which is why the last example rounds. A width that divides evenly by 9 always gives a clean height, and other widths leave an error of less than one pixel that nobody will ever notice.

To check whether a size is already 9:16, divide both numbers by their greatest common divisor (GCD). For 1080 and 1920 the GCD is 120, which leaves 9 and 16, and any other pair means the frame is a different shape.

Which platforms use the 9:16 aspect ratio?

TikTok, Instagram Reels and Stories, YouTube Shorts, Facebook Stories and Snapchat all use the 9:16 aspect ratio for full-screen vertical video. Their official guides list different sizes, from a 540 × 960 minimum on TikTok ^[1] to 1440 × 2560 in Meta's ad specs ^[2]. A 1080 × 1920 export sits comfortably in the middle and is the size most people work with. Platform specifications change, so check each help page before a big launch, because this table only reflects the official guidance at the time of writing.

The Reels aspect ratio is 9:16, and Meta recommends 1440 × 2560 for Reels ads ^[2], although a Full HD export keeps the same shape with a smaller file for everyday posts. Instagram Stories use the same 9:16 shape and the same recommended ad size ^[3].

What is the 9:16 safe zone?

The 9:16 safe zone is the middle part of the frame that app buttons and captions do not cover. On TikTok, Reels and Shorts, the account name usually sits near the top, while the caption, likes and share buttons run along the bottom and right side.

Meta suggests keeping about 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% of each side free of text ^[2]. On a Full HD frame, that is roughly 270 pixels at the top and 670 at the bottom. Snapchat asks you to keep the top 150 pixels and the bottom 330 pixels clear ^[6], and TikTok shares its own safe zone files inside Ads Manager ^[1].

What is the difference between 9:16 and 16:9?

The difference between 9:16 and 16:9 is orientation, because they are the same shape rotated 90 degrees. 16:9 is landscape at 1920 × 1080, designed for YouTube, televisions and monitors, while 9:16 is portrait at 1080 × 1920, designed for phones held upright.

Problems start when you show one inside the other. A 16:9 video on an upright phone gets black bars above and below, which is called letterboxing, and a 9:16 video on a television gets bars down both sides, which is called pillarboxing. The other option is to crop, but cutting a 9:16 frame out of 16:9 footage throws away about two-thirds of the picture, so it pays to plan your shots with that in mind.

And yes, 1920 × 1080 is a true 16:9 resolution, just as its rotated twin is a true 9:16 one. Going from 9:16 to 16:9 is the same problem in reverse, so use the 16:9 aspect ratio calculator for landscape sizes.

Is 9:16 the same as 4:5?

No, 9:16 is not the same as 4:5. A 4:5 frame has a width-to-height value of 0.8, so it is only a little taller than a square, while a 9:16 frame is 0.5625 and therefore far taller.

At 1080 pixels wide, a 4:5 image is 1350 tall, while a 9:16 image is 1920 tall. Use 4:5 for feed posts that need a little extra height, and 9:16 for full-screen formats like Reels and Stories. The 4:5 calculator works out those sizes the same way.

How do you convert a video or image to 9:16?

To convert a video or image to 9:16, you crop it, reframe it or pad it until the width and height sit in a 9 to 16 relationship. The right choice depends on what is in the shot and how much of it you can afford to lose. These are the three methods:

• Crop: cut the sides off a wider image until it reaches a 9:16 image size. It is fast, but you lose whatever was at the edges.
• Reframe: crop a 16:9 clip, but move the frame shot by shot so the subject stays in the center. It takes longer and gives the best result.
• Pad: keep the whole picture and fill the space above and below with a color, a blurred copy or a 9:16 template background.

Most editors let you set a 9:16 canvas before you start:

• Canva: create a design with a custom size of 1080 × 1920 px.
• CapCut: set the project ratio to 9:16.
• Premiere Pro: set up a vertical sequence of 1080 by 1920 pixels.

My tip is to shoot with the vertical crop in mind, so I keep the subject near the center of my landscape footage, and that lets me pull a clean 9:16 cut later without chasing them across the frame. It saves a lot of fiddly keyframing!

Going from 9:16 to 16:9 uses the same three methods in reverse. If a platform wants a square instead, the 1:1 calculator gives you exact sizes, and for any unusual size you can use the 9:16 size converter at the top of this page.

What is 9:16 in inches and centimeters?

9:16 in inches or centimeters has no fixed size, just like in pixels. Any print where the height is 16/9 of the width is 9:16, so pick a width, multiply by 16 and divide by 9 to find the height. The table shows 9:16 in inches and 9:16 in cm for four common print sizes.

Standard sheets like A4 and US Letter are wider than 9:16, so you will need to trim them. The paper sizes calculator shows the exact ratio of each sheet.

Looking for 9/16 of an inch instead? That is 14.29 mm.