Video ads by channel / Snapchat
Video ads for Snapchat.
A six-second film that is complete when it is locked, and a Snap that lands in the inbox like a friend sent it.
The medium
Snapchat is a camera that people open, by Snap's own US figure, more than thirty times a day, and 971 million of them used it each month in the second quarter of 2026. Ads arrive full screen and vertical between Stories and in Spotlight, where a tap or a swipe moves on at once, so most units can be skipped from the first frame.
Two units are not like that. Commercials run inside Snap's curated shows and cannot be skipped for their first six seconds: a Standard Commercial of three to six seconds is locked all the way through, while an Extended Play runs up to three minutes with only the opening six held. Sponsored Snaps go further and arrive in the Chat inbox, opened like a Snap from a friend, with room for a reply and an automatic text or video answer.
Snap's own interface sits over every ad: a brand name of 25 characters and a headline of 34 at the top, the call to action at the bottom, which is why its clear zones change from unit to unit.
The specs
Quoted from the platforms' own pages. The source and the date each was read are under the table.
| Placement | Ratio | Resolution and file | Length | Sound and captions | Safe zone and rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single Image or Video (Stories and Spotlight) | 9:16 | 1080 x 1920 canvas in the API (720 x 1280 on the format pages); MP4 or MOV; up to 32 MB, 1 GB by chunked upload | 3 to 180 seconds (the API allows longer) | Not stated; Snap's older guidance says most ads are viewed with sound on | Brand name up to 25 characters, headline up to 34; graphics kept out of the top 150 px and bottom 330 px (search snippet of official page) |
| Commercials (curated shows) | 9:16 | MP4 or MOV, H.264 | 3 to 180 seconds, first 6 non-skippable; Standard 3 to 6 seconds fully locked, Extended Play 7 to 180 | Not stated | No logos or graphics within 150 px of the top and bottom (search snippet of official page) |
| Sponsored Snaps (Chat inbox) | 9:16 | MP4, MOV, JPG or PNG; optional chat background 1080 x 1920 | Up to 180 seconds; under 10 recommended | Not stated | Headline 25 to 28 characters recommended, 34 maximum; chat message up to 500 characters; auto-response as text or video |
| Collection ads | 9:16 | MP4, MOV, JPG or PNG | 3 to 180 seconds; 10 maximum for a Dynamic Collection hero video | Not stated | Messaging and legal copy kept out of the bottom 450 px, where the product tiles sit (search snippet of official page) |
| Story ads | 9:16 | MP4, MOV, JPG or PNG | 3 to 180 seconds per Snap | Not stated | A branded tile opens a tap-through sequence; number of Snaps not stated |
| Sponsored AR Lenses and Filters | Camera native | Static filter PNG 945 x 2048; animated GIF 720 x 1560, 1 to 3 seconds | Played by the user | Lens audio not specified | Visible logo or brand name required on Face and World Lenses; the Sponsored label shows for 2 seconds |
- Snapchat for Business, ad specs, read October 27, 2026
- Snapchat for Business, ad formats, read October 27, 2026
- Snap Marketing API, media, read October 27, 2026
- Snapchat Business Help, Top Snap specs (search snippet), read October 27, 2026
- Snap, advertising policies, read October 27, 2026
- Snapchat for Business, pricing, read October 27, 2026
- Snapchat for Business, audience figures (home page), read October 27, 2026
Snap's Business Help Center shows nothing to automated reads, so the safe-zone pixel figures come from search snippets of its official articles. Snap's own pages disagree on resolution (720 x 1280 on the format pages, 1080 x 1920 in the API) and on maximum length; we deliver 1080 x 1920, which satisfies both. Snap's newest public sound-on figure dates from 2019.
How we build an ad for it
Directed by people, made with AI, finished by hand. You approve the script and the sound before any footage is made.
A six that is whole
A Standard Commercial is locked for its entire three to six seconds, so we write it as a complete film with a beginning and a brand, not a teaser. The Extended Play cut from the same shoot puts the brand and the offer inside the six seconds that are guaranteed and lets the rest earn its time.
Framed around Snap's own interface
The brand name and headline sit at the top and the attachment at the bottom, and the clear zones change by unit: 150 pixels at the top, 330 at the bottom for single video, 450 for Collection ads. Each unit is composed against its own overlay rather than one generic vertical safe area.
A Snap that feels sent
A Sponsored Snap is opened from the Chat inbox like a message from a friend. It is shot at selfie height, spoken to one person, kept under the ten seconds Snap recommends, and paired with a short video auto-response for the people who reply.
The top two thirds for Collection ads
A row of product tiles covers the bottom of a Collection ad, so the hook and the product live in the upper two thirds of the frame. A Dynamic Collection hero is held to ten seconds, the limit Snap sets for an uploaded Top Snap in that format.
Stories as chapters
People tap forward fast, so each Snap in a Story ad has to read on its own, with a cover tile that earns the open. We plan the sequence as chapters, each a few seconds and a single idea, rather than one long film chopped into pieces.
Sound designed, words burned in
Snap's own data leans toward sound on, so the film gets a real sound design, but the words are burned in so it reads with the phone on silent. Nothing opens on a sudden loud sting, the kind of noise Snap's policies reject even on landing pages.
Films that fit
Finished Filmito films, labeled with what each one is. Hover or tap to play.
What to order
Snapchat wants several shapes from each idea, a locked six, a longer Extended Play, a Sponsored Snap and its reply, so a monthly flow of different angles fits better than one film.
15 seconds. One idea, one hook, one clear ask. First cut in 3 days, 2 revision rounds, 16:9 and 9:16 included.
Launch on the pricing page4 unique ads every month. Different angles, not shorter cuts.
Growth on the pricing pageQuestions about Snapchat ads
Can people skip a Snapchat Commercial?
Only after six seconds. A Standard Commercial of three to six seconds cannot be skipped at all; an Extended Play Commercial runs seven to 180 seconds with only the first six locked. Every other Snapchat unit can be tapped past at once.
What is a Sponsored Snap?
An ad delivered into the Chat tab that opens like a Snap from a friend. The viewer can reply, and the brand can add a chat message of up to 500 characters and a text or video auto-response. It can run 180 seconds, but Snap recommends under ten.
Where should text sit on a Snapchat ad?
Out of the top 150 pixels and the bottom 330 on single image or video ads, out of the bottom 450 on Collection ads, and 150 from the top and bottom on Commercials, according to Snap's help articles. We compose each unit against its own zone.
What does Snapchat advertising cost to start?
Snap's minimum is five US dollars a day, and it recommends twenty to fifty. That budget is yours, spent in your own Ads Manager; Filmito's price covers the films, delivered to Snap's specs for each unit you run.
How long does Snapchat ad review take?
Snap gives two answers: its blog says typically within 24 hours and suggests submitting 24 to 48 hours ahead, while its help center says most ads are reviewed within 8 hours. Editing a live ad can send it back to review, so we deliver finals early.
Do you build Snapchat AR Lenses?
A Lens is built in Lens Studio as an interactive 3D piece, a separate craft from film. We make the video Snaps that show the Lens in use and promote it, with the logo top left or right under Snap's interface, since a visible brand is required on Face and World Lenses.
Keep planning
Other screens, the craft behind the films, and the public prices.
Other channels
Craft and proof
Plan your ad
Filmito
Tell us the screen. We build the film.
Six short questions about your brand and where the ad will run. A person replies within one business day with the idea, the price and the date.
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