TikTok Ad Specs 2026: Size, Video Length, Ad Text, Macros

A TikTok ad can go wrong in small ways: a file in the wrong ratio, ad text cut behind “See more”, a hashtag in a caption that does not support hashtags.

This page gathers TikTok ad specs for auction In-Feed ads: ratio, resolution, file size, video length, ad text, images, identity, CTAs, URL macros and attribution. Every TikTok value comes from TikTok’s Business Help Center (ads.tiktok.com/help), read on November 5, 2026. When two TikTok pages disagree, the table near the end says so.

Which size and ratio for a TikTok video ad?

TikTok’s auction In-Feed spec lists three orientations for non-Spark ads, the ones built from a file you upload:

540 x 960 px is a floor. TikTok’s creative best practices ask for vertical 9:16 at 720p or more, so a 720 x 1280 px export is the practical minimum.

Spark Ads use an existing organic TikTok post instead of an uploaded file. The spec gives them no dimension requirement: the post is used as it was published.

What are the TikTok video ad specs?

A 10-minute cap does not make a 10-minute ad a good idea. TikTok’s best practices give no ideal length. They ask for the content proposition (what the video is about) in the first 3 seconds and the hook in the first 6 (see the creative section below).

What is the TikTok ad character limit?

TikTok’s auction spec gives no character limit for the ad text of a non-Spark ad. It sets three rules: white text, one font you cannot change, and no clickable links, @ mentions or hashtags.

The length that matters is the one people see. TikTok’s reservation In-Feed spec shows up to 4 lines, then hides the rest behind “See more”. To keep the text from being cut, it suggests staying within about 100 characters (50 in Chinese, Japanese and Korean).

The ad text also eats into the screen: TikTok says the safe zone depends on the video’s orientation, the length of the ad caption and any extra format used.

Can you run image ads on TikTok?

Not as a single image on TikTok’s own placement, meaning the TikTok app feed, as opposed to TikTok Ad Network (a network of partner apps, formerly Pangle) and Global App Bundle (a placement in other apps such as CapCut and Fizzo). TikTok’s exemption list, its macro table and Apogee’s interface still use the name Pangle for TikTok Ad Network.

TikTok’s ad creation page offers three formats, single video, carousel and collection, and says TikTok supports video ads. The carousel is the format that brings images to the TikTok feed.

A standard carousel follows its own spec:

The catalog version is the Video Shopping Ads carousel: it shows 2 to 20 images and can send each product image to its own product page.

One trap: music from TikTok’s Commercial Music Library does not play on TikTok Ad Network. A carousel that uses it runs silent there. Upload your own music if the ad group covers both placements.

Single-image ads do exist on Global App Bundle, with their own spec: JPG or PNG, and a description of 1 to 100 Latin characters.

A static Meta winner cannot run in the TikTok app feed as is. It has to become a video, or a carousel of at least two images with music.

Which identity can a TikTok ad use?

TikTok is phasing out custom identities, the ads with a custom profile picture and display name. Since January 2026, every new campaign must be linked to a TikTok account. You can still run your own creatives, posts from the linked account or authorised creator posts.

Five campaign types are exempt for now, with no end date given:

• the Branded Mission objective;
• the Sales - TikTok Shop objective;
• campaigns with “Use Smart Creative to create ads” switched on;
• manual campaigns that use a catalog;
• Pangle or Global App Bundle placements only.

If you do not want ad posts on your organic profile, TikTok points to the “Show through ads only” setting. It applies to Spark Ads created in Ads Manager, and TikTok’s help center says it is on by default for new ads.

Which call-to-action buttons?

TikTok’s ad creation page lists standard and dynamic CTAs. Learn More is in both lists. The standard list also includes Shop Now, Sign Up, Order Now, Book Now, Apply Now, Contact Us, Subscribe and Download, among others. The dynamic list adds variants such as Buy Now, Get it Now and Order Here.

On Snapchat, website ads have no Learn More: the closest labels are covered in our Snapchat ad specs.

Which URL parameters and macros?

In TikTok Ads Manager, URL parameters are set in the ad details: enter the destination URL, click Edit under Preview, then Build URL parameters. TikTok’s macros fill in names and IDs at click time:

__AID_NAME__ returns the ad group, not the ad. One template that keeps each level apart:

utm_source=tiktok&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=__CAMPAIGN_NAME__&utm_term=__AID_NAME__&utm_content=__CID_NAME__

TikTok’s URL auto-attach can add source (TikTok) and medium (Paid) by itself: check the preview so they are not added twice. How to build the rest of a UTM convention is in our guide to UTM parameters.

Which safe zone and creative rules?

TikTok’s auction spec gives no safe zone in pixels or percentages. It offers downloadable safe zone files instead: Standard, Standard with Anchor, and Arabic versions for right-to-left layouts. Use the file that matches your format and check the preview, which TikTok warns can differ slightly from the live ad.

TikTok’s creative best practices add rules for the video itself:

1. Sound or music, vertical 9:16, at least 720p, key content inside the UI safe zone.
2. The content proposition (what the video is about) in the first 3 seconds, the hook in the first 6. If you use on-screen text, show 5 to 10 words per second.
3. People on screen, such as creators, employees or customers, and a DIY look that is not overly polished.
4. 3 to 5 creatives per ad group, as different from each other as possible, and 3 to 5 diversified ad groups per campaign. An ad group holds up to 50 ads, outside a few exceptions such as split tests.
5. At refresh time, new creatives go into an ad group that already delivers rather than a new ad group, to extend its lifetime.

Which attribution windows?

TikTok sets attribution at the ad group level:

The window cannot be changed once the ad group is published. To use another one, TikTok says to create a new ad group. Set it before you publish. To compare TikTok with Meta, which counts 1 or 7 days after a link click, a like-for-like setting is 7-day click with view-through off.

Where do TikTok’s own pages disagree?

TikTok has one spec page for auction ads and an older one for reservation buying (Reach & Frequency). Both come up when you search for TikTok video specs, and they do not say the same thing:

For an auction campaign, the auction page applies. The safe choice covers both: a 9:16 video at 720p or more, ad text within about 100 characters, no @ and no hashtag.

How do you launch TikTok ads to spec with Apogee?

Apogee’s TikTok Ads bulk upload, from the Pro plan, turns a folder of videos into a campaign, ad groups and ads through the TikTok API, with no spreadsheet:

• it accepts vertical 9:16 videos in mp4, mov and avi, up to 500 MB per file, the same cap as TikTok;
• it reads concept, iteration and format in each file name, and offers four test structures;
• you can enter up to 5 texts, and each text gives one ad on the same video;
• it only creates single video ads: no carousel, and an image file does not become a TikTok ad;
• it covers the Sales / Web conversions objective only.

To move an ad that already wins on Meta, the Bridge, also from the Pro plan, recreates it in a TikTok ad group, an existing one or a new one cloned from a template, up to 50 ads per launch:

• the Meta ad needs a vertical 9:16 variant, which is re-hosted and never cropped, and a source image is refused;
• the primary text becomes the TikTok ad text, cut at exactly 100 characters, even in the middle of a word, so review long texts before launch;
• Apogee asks for the TikTok identity and the URL when the source does not provide them;
• the Meta UTMs are removed and TikTok’s tracking is added.

Once the ad runs, the cross-platform stats read TikTok on the ad group’s own window: set that ad group to 7-day click with view-through off if you want its ROAS to compare with Meta’s. The Meta side of the same creative is covered in our Meta Ads specs.