aspect-ratio-strategylisted

# Aspect Ratio and Safe Areas APImage supports **1:1, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, 3:4, 21:9 and 9:21**. Picking the wrong one costs a re-render; ignoring safe areas costs you the part of the frame the platform covers with its own interface. The second is the more common and more expensive mistake, because the output looks fine in a preview and wrong in the feed. ## Platform to ratio | Destination | Ratio | Notes | |---|---|---| | TikTok | **9:16** | Full-screen vertical | | Instagram Reels | **9:16** | Same | | YouTube Shorts | **9:16** | Same | | Instagram feed post | 4:5 (use 3:4) | 3:4 is the closest supported. Crops slightly | | Instagram carousel | 1:1 or 3:4 | 1:1 is safest across a carousel | | YouTube standard | **16:9** | Horizontal | | Facebook feed | 1:1 or 3:4 | Square performs well | | LinkedIn | 1:1 or 16:9 | Square gets more feed height | | X / Twitter | 16:9 or 1:1 | | | Pinterest | 3:4 or 9:16 | Tall wins | | Website hero | 16:9 or 21:9 | 21:9 for a cinematic band | | Email | 16:9 or 1:1 | Keep it short in the vertical | **Generate native, don't crop.** A 9:16 clip cropped from a 16:9 render loses two thirds of the frame and the composition was never designed for it. Generating at the target ratio costs the same and produces a composition that works. ## The vertical safe area This is the part people miss. On a 9:16 feed video, the platform's own UI covers a substantial band at the top and bottom, and a strip down the right side. ``` ┌─────────────────────┐ │ ~1