Lengths by where the video plays
| Where it plays | Aim for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Landing page, near the top | 60 to 90 seconds | Visitors are deciding whether to read on; show the outcome and two or three moments. |
| Sales follow-up email | 1 to 2 minutes | The viewer asked about a workflow and will give it more time. |
| Social feed post | 15 to 45 seconds | People are scrolling; the first two seconds decide whether they stop. |
| Paid social or video ad | 6 to 15 seconds | Ad slots are short, and YouTube lets viewers skip most in-stream ads after 5 seconds. |
| Product Hunt gallery | 30 to 90 seconds | Visitors compare many launches in a day; see our launch video guide. |
| App Store app preview | 15 to 30 seconds | Apple's limit: previews must be at least 15 and at most 30 seconds. |
| Google Play preview | Put the point in the first 30 seconds | Only the first 30 seconds play on their own; people must tap for the rest. |
| Tutorial or help video | One task, as long as the task | A how-to viewer wants the answer to one question, often in under two minutes. |
| Full product walkthrough | 3 to 10 minutes | For evaluators comparing tools in detail, usually linked from a demo or pricing page. |
These are starting points, not rules. A product with one striking feature can say everything in thirty seconds; a data-heavy tool, like the analytics app in the example above, may need ninety seconds just to show what its screens mean.
What the data says about attention
The most widely cited evidence comes from Wistia, a video hosting company, which looked at more than half a million business videos and 1.3 billion plays in 2016. Engagement held steady for videos up to about two minutes, so a ninety-second video kept its viewers about as well as a thirty-second one. Beyond two minutes, the share of people who kept watching fell quickly up to about six or seven minutes, and more slowly after that.
Two lessons follow. First, there is little penalty for going from thirty seconds to ninety if the extra time shows something useful. Second, crossing two minutes costs real attention, so a longer video has to be for an audience that already cares, such as a prospect who asked to see the product.
Whatever the length, a video's audience graph almost always falls fastest in its first few seconds. A slow intro, a long logo animation or "Hi, I'm the founder and today I want to show you" loses people before the product appears. Put something from the product on screen within the first two or three seconds.
Count words, not seconds
The easiest way to control length is to count words before you make anything. A calm narration runs at about 150 words a minute, so:
- a 15-second ad holds about 35 to 40 words, usually one or two sentences;
- a 30-second video holds about 75 words;
- a 60-second demo holds about 150 words;
- a 90-second demo holds about 225 words.
Each screen needs time for the viewer to find the thing the line talks about, so plan four to seven seconds per screen, and one line of eight to fifteen words for each. If the script is longer than its budget, cut a moment rather than speeding up the voice; a rushed voice makes the product feel complicated.
Make one video and cut several lengths
Because different places want different lengths, plan the long version and the short version together. The long version shows every moment you chose. The short version keeps the strongest two or three screens and one line that states the whole point, with the closing card at the end.
In practice the short cut is not a trimmed copy of the long one. It needs its own line, because "Here is how you set up your first report" makes no sense without what came before it. Write the short line so it works on its own: what the product is, what it does for the viewer, where to get it.
ShotDemo makes both from one project: the full tour, and a fifteen-second cut fitted to the exact length, each in every shape. The example on this page shows both side by side.
Signs your video is too long
- The first product screen appears after five seconds or more.
- The script explains settings, options or pricing tiers.
- You show the same feature from two angles.
- The video is trying to serve both new visitors and existing customers.
- There is a stretch where the voice talks and the screen does not change.
- You needed a second call to action halfway through.
Any one of these is a place to cut. The goal is not the shortest possible video; it is the shortest video that still shows why someone should try the product.
Signs it is too short
It happens less often, but it happens. If viewers finish the video and still cannot say what the product does, the video skipped the moment that makes it clear. This is common with fifteen-second cuts made by trimming the end off a long demo: they show a logo and a dashboard and never the result. Add one screen that shows the outcome, even if it means dropping the intro card.
Onboarding and help videos follow different rules
A video inside your product, or in a welcome email, is watched by someone who has already signed up and wants to get something done. Length matters less there than focus: one task per video, starting from the screen the user is looking at, ending when the task is done. A two-minute video that walks through exactly one setup step is better than a thirty-second overview, because the viewer will pause it and follow along. Title each one with the task it teaches, so people can find the right one without watching the others.
Platform limits worth knowing
Some limits are rules, not advice, and a video that breaks them is rejected or cut.
- YouTube Shorts: up to three minutes, in a vertical or square shape. Longer uploads are treated as ordinary videos.
- Instagram Reels: up to three minutes since early 2025.
- X: most accounts can post up to 2 minutes 20 seconds; paid accounts can post longer.
- LinkedIn: up to 15 minutes, and at least 3 seconds.
- App Store previews: 15 to 30 seconds, at most 30 frames per second, and made only of screen captures of the app itself.
- Google Play: a YouTube link; the first 30 seconds play on their own.
Limits change, so check the platform's help pages before a launch. The lengths suggested above sit comfortably inside all of them, which is one more reason to keep a demo under two minutes.
The short version of this guide
Sixty to ninety seconds for your landing page. Fifteen seconds for ads and feeds. Up to two minutes when someone asked to see more. Count the words, show the product in the first seconds, and make the short cut its own small video rather than an offcut of the long one.