After Effects export

After Effects export settings for MP4, YouTube and social

Updated 2026-11-03 · by the mouzeclick team

For YouTube, export from After Effects as H.264 in an MP4 container, at the frame rate you recorded. Use High Profile, progressive scan, variable bitrate, 4:2:0 chroma and Fast Start. YouTube suggests 8 Mbps for 1080p at 24, 25 or 30 fps, 12 Mbps at 48, 50 or 60 fps, and 35–45 Mbps for 4K at standard frame rates. For audio, use AAC-LC stereo at 48kHz and 384 kbps.

YouTube's upload spec: H.264 in MP4, High Profile, progressive, variable bitrate, 4:2:0, moov atom at the front (Fast Start).
1080p: 8 Mbps at 24/25/30 fps, 12 Mbps at 48/50/60 fps. 4K: 35–45 Mbps, or 53–68 Mbps at high frame rates.
Audio: AAC-LC, 48kHz, stereo at 384 kbps.
Adobe names two ways out of After Effects: the Render Queue inside the app, or Adobe Media Encoder outside it.
Multi-Frame Rendering uses multi-core CPUs for previews and export.
mouzeresize, our extension for Windows and Mac, turns one comp into 9:16, 1:1, 4:5 and other sizes and sends them to the Render Queue.

What are the best After Effects export settings for YouTube?

Export H.264 in an MP4 container, at the frame rate you recorded. Use variable bitrate and AAC-LC stereo audio at 48kHz. These values come from YouTube's recommended upload encoding page, which we checked on 3 November 2026.

None of the Adobe After Effects pages we read publishes a YouTube preset. That makes YouTube's own list the target to match, whichever exporter you use.

Setting	YouTube recommends	What to do in your export
Container	MP4	Make the upload copy an .mp4 file.
Fast Start	moov atom at the front of the file	Turn on a fast-start option if your exporter shows one.
Edit lists	None	YouTube warns that a file with edit lists might not be processed correctly.
Video codec	H.264	Choose an H.264 output.
Scan	Progressive, no interlacing	Deinterlace interlaced footage first. For example, 1080i60 becomes 1080p30.
Profile	High Profile	Set the H.264 profile to High.
B-frames	2 consecutive B frames	Set 2 if the exporter exposes B-frames.
GOP	Closed GOP, half the frame rate	That is 12 frames at 24 fps, 15 at 30, 25 at 50 and 30 at 60.
Entropy coding	CABAC	Pick CABAC if the option is there.
Bitrate mode	Variable bitrate. No bitrate limit is required.	Use VBR with the targets in the next section.
Chroma subsampling	4:2:0	Keep the upload copy at 4:2:0.
Frame rate	Same as recorded	Common rates are 24, 25, 30, 48, 50 and 60 fps. Other rates are also acceptable.
Audio codec	AAC-LC, Opus or Eclipsa Audio	AAC-LC covers a normal stereo mix.
Channels and sample rate	Stereo, Stereo + 5.1 or Stereo + Eclipsa Audio, at 48kHz	Export stereo at 48kHz unless you mixed surround.
Audio bitrate	Mono 128 kbps, stereo 384 kbps, 5.1 512 kbps	Use 384 kbps for stereo.

We don't quote Adobe's field labels here, because Adobe's H.264 export page wasn't part of what we verified. Find the field that controls each value in the Render Queue or in Media Encoder, and set it to the number above.

The values are the same when you cut the final film in Premiere Pro. Our Premiere Pro export settings for YouTube guide covers that side.

What bitrate should I export at for 1080p, 1440p and 4K?

For 1080p SDR, use 8 Mbps at 24, 25 or 30 fps, and 12 Mbps at 48, 50 or 60 fps. For 4K SDR, use 35–45 Mbps at standard frame rates and 53–68 Mbps at high frame rates.

YouTube gives these recommended bit rates for reference and says no bitrate limit is required. Here is its full table, with SDR and HDR side by side:

Resolution	SDR, 24/25/30 fps	SDR, 48/50/60 fps	HDR, standard	HDR, high frame rate
8K	80–160 Mbps	120–240 Mbps	100–200 Mbps	150–300 Mbps
2160p (4K)	35–45 Mbps	53–68 Mbps	44–56 Mbps	66–85 Mbps
1440p (2K)	16 Mbps	24 Mbps	20 Mbps	30 Mbps
1080p	8 Mbps	12 Mbps	10 Mbps	15 Mbps
720p	5 Mbps	7.5 Mbps	6.5 Mbps	9.5 Mbps
480p	2.5 Mbps	4 Mbps	Not supported	Not supported
360p	1 Mbps	1.5 Mbps	Not supported	Not supported

What those numbers mean for file size

Bitrate × duration ÷ 8 gives you megabytes. Variable bitrate moves around the target, so treat these as estimates:

1080p30 at 8 Mbps, plus 384 kbps stereo audio: about 63 MB a minute, or about 630 MB for a 10-minute video.
1080p60 at 12 Mbps: about 93 MB a minute.
4K30 at 45 Mbps: about 340 MB a minute, or about 3.4 GB for 10 minutes.

If a 1080p render comes out far smaller than this, the bitrate is probably well under YouTube's reference. Motion graphics with gradients, fine type or particles show low bitrate first.

Pick the row for the resolution you render, not the resolution you shot. A 1080p comp exported at 4K bitrates only makes a bigger file.

How do I export an MP4 from After Effects?

Send the finished comp to one of the two exporters Adobe names: the Render Queue inside After Effects, or Adobe Media Encoder outside it. Then set the output to H.264 in MP4 with the values in the tables above.

Adobe's rendering and exporting basics page covers both routes and lists the supported output formats. Adobe's H.264 page wasn't part of what we verified, so check that list to see which route writes H.264 MP4 in your version.

Check the comp first. Its frame rate should be the one you recorded at, because YouTube asks for the upload at the recorded rate. Its frame size should be the size you want to publish.
Deinterlace any interlaced footage. YouTube asks for progressive scan. Its own example turns 1080i60 into 1080p30.
Check the length. Confirm the start and end of what you're about to render, so you don't export black frames or a stray tail.
Pick the route. Use the Render Queue to render inside After Effects. Use Media Encoder when you want presets or watch folders (see the next section).
Set the video. Where the route offers H.264 in MP4, choose it with High Profile and variable bitrate. Take the target from the bitrate table: 8 Mbps for 1080p at 30 fps, 12 Mbps at 60 fps, 35–45 Mbps for 4K. If there is a keyframe or GOP field, set it to half the frame rate.
Set the audio. Choose AAC-LC, stereo, 48kHz, 384 kbps.
Render and check the file. Play it back from start to end before uploading. Check the duration, that the sound is in sync, and that the frame rate matches the comp.

If you finish your edit in Premiere Pro instead, the same YouTube values apply there. For templates built in After Effects, see our guide to using After Effects templates in Premiere Pro.

Should I render with the Render Queue or Adobe Media Encoder?

Use the Render Queue when you want the file straight out of After Effects. Use Media Encoder when you want saved presets, watch folders, or loudness and LUT corrections at the export stage.

Adobe describes Media Encoder as a tool to ingest, transcode, create proxies and output to almost any format. It integrates with Premiere Pro, After Effects and other applications.

What you need	Render Queue	Adobe Media Encoder
Where it runs	Inside After Effects	Outside After Effects, as its own app
Presets, watch folders, destination publishing	Not published in the pages we checked	Yes, all three
Loudness corrections and LUTs	Not published in the pages we checked	Yes, applied without re-opening the project
Changing duration	Not published in the pages we checked	Time Tuner adjusts duration invisibly
Multi-Frame Rendering	Updated Render Queue with remote notifications	Export via Media Encoder is supported
How you get it	Part of After Effects	Available only in Adobe Creative Cloud

Watch folders and presets matter when you deliver the same comp many times, for example a weekly series with fixed settings. Save one YouTube preset with the values above and reuse it.

Loudness correction in Media Encoder is useful when the comp carries a voice-over. You can fix levels at export without going back into the project.

How do I export from After Effects with a transparent background?

Render to a format that stores an alpha channel, and make sure nothing in the comp fills the frame. Confirm the format on Adobe's supported output formats list before you build a job around it.

Adobe's alpha-channel page wasn't part of what we verified. So we don't name the exact channel setting here, and we don't promise which codecs carry transparency. What we can say:

Clear the background. Turn off or delete any full-frame solid, gradient or footage layer behind your graphics. If a layer covers the frame, every pixel renders opaque.
Pick a format with alpha. Use the output formats list on Adobe's rendering basics page to find one that keeps transparency, and set the output to include it.
Know the CineForm option. Adobe documents the GoPro CineForm codec for creating, using and exporting QuickTime files in After Effects and Media Encoder. Check its settings page for alpha before you rely on it for overlays.
Test the file. Import the render over a different clip in your editor. Look at soft edges, glows and shadows: they should blend into the clip below, not show a dark or light fringe.
Make a separate upload copy. YouTube's spec asks for H.264 in MP4 at 4:2:0. That is a finished picture for viewers, not an overlay file. Render the transparent master for editing and a flattened MP4 for the upload.

Lower thirds, logo bugs and caption plates are the usual transparent deliverables. For logo work from start to finish, see our After Effects logo animation guide.

What export settings should I use for Shorts, Reels and TikTok?

Keep the same codec choices (H.264 in MP4, the recorded frame rate, 48kHz AAC-LC audio) and change the frame size. YouTube says the standard on a computer is 16:9, and that its player adapts itself to vertical or square uploads.

We didn't verify Instagram's or TikTok's own specs, so we give no resolution, length or bitrate numbers for them here. YouTube's bitrate table is organised by 1080p, 4K and so on, and the page we checked doesn't give a separate figure for vertical frames.

The slow part is usually rebuilding the layout, not the export. A 16:9 title card won't fit 9:16 by scaling, because type and logos end up under the app's buttons. Two tools of ours help:

mouzeresize makes the other sizes from one finished comp (more in the mouzeclick section below).
If you finish in Premiere Pro, the safe zone guides in Premiere Pro put 65 platform presets over the picture, on Windows and Mac. Hidden guides are never exported. Its TikTok preset, for example, keeps 130 px clear at the top, 484 px at the bottom, 140 px on the right and 44 px on the left.

For the editing side of short vertical videos, see Reels and Shorts editing in Premiere Pro.

Why does my After Effects export look wrong or fail on YouTube?

Start by comparing the file with YouTube's spec: frame rate, interlacing, bitrate and container settings. Go through this list before you re-render:

Motion stutters. Check that the export frame rate matches the recorded rate. Set the comp and the output to the rate you shot at, such as 24, 25, 30, 48, 50 or 60 fps.
Combing lines on movement. The footage is interlaced. Deinterlace to progressive first, for example 1080i60 to 1080p30.
Blocky gradients and smeared type. The bitrate is likely too low. Compare it against the table: 8 Mbps is the reference for 1080p at 30 fps, and 12 Mbps for 1080p at 60 fps.
The upload doesn't process correctly. YouTube asks for MP4 with the moov atom at the front (Fast Start), and warns that a file with edit lists might not be processed correctly. Check both.
Your 4K upload doesn't play in 4K. YouTube says that to watch new 4K uploads in 4K, you need a browser or device that supports VP9. Test on a second device before you re-export.
An HDR export at 480p or 360p. YouTube lists HDR at those resolutions as not supported. Use 720p or higher for HDR.
Audio doesn't match the spec. Export at 48kHz, stereo AAC-LC at 384 kbps, which is YouTube's recommendation.
A transparent file has a black background. The format you chose doesn't keep alpha, or a layer fills the frame. See the transparency section above.

If a third-party plug-in or panel stops a render, check what kind of add-on it is. Our page on plugins, scripts and extensions in After Effects explains where each one installs.

How do I make After Effects render faster?

Use Multi-Frame Rendering. Adobe says it lets After Effects use multi-core CPUs for faster export and preview rendering. It covers previews, export through Adobe Media Encoder, and an updated Render Queue with remote notifications.

The pages we checked don't give the steps for turning it on or tuning it, or any CPU and RAM thresholds. Nor do they cover cache, RAM or GPU preferences. We've left those out rather than guess.

Two habits save render time whatever your hardware:

Render once at the right size. Don't export 4K from a 1080p comp "just in case". It costs time and file size and adds no detail.
Send repeat jobs to Media Encoder presets. Several deliverables from one comp then reuse the same settings, without hand-checking every field.

For more on speed, see how to make After Effects run and render faster.

Where mouzeclick fits (we make it)

We make mouzeclick, so read this section as ours. It doesn't export files and doesn't replace the Render Queue or Media Encoder. It helps with the jobs around the export: making the other sizes, and getting to the commands faster.

mouzeresize: one comp, every format

mouzeresize takes one finished comp and makes it in 9:16, 1:1, 4:5, 4:3, 16:9, 21:9 or a size you type in. It has layer rules and safe areas. When the master changes, you update the sizes and send them to the Render Queue. From there you export each one with the YouTube values above.

It is one of the 15 After Effects extensions and lists 41 items in the feature library. It runs on Windows and Mac. See all 22 on the extensions page.

On Windows: Comp resizer in the workspace

The mouzeclick workspace for After Effects has a Comp resizer in its Motion lab. It also has a Project downgrader, and an SRT importer with a Subtitle editor. The workspaces are part of mouzeclick on Windows; the Mac app does not include them.

Export commands on your mouse

The mouse app runs on Windows and Mac. It puts any shortcut on Mouse 4, Mouse 5, a gesture or the Options wheel (F8, 48 favourites per app). Buttons work per app, so the After Effects profile takes over the moment you switch to After Effects.

Record the shortcut you use to add a comp to the Render Queue and put it on a side button. The built-in library holds 309 shortcuts on Windows; see the After Effects keyboard shortcuts list.

mouzerun makes your own one-click buttons in After Effects: a script, an expression, an animation preset, a menu command or a keyframe ease.

On a Mac, see installing mouzeclick on macOS 12+. The trial is 3 days, with no card, and every Premiere Pro and After Effects tool works fully. Plans are in the pricing section.

Turn one After Effects comp into every format, free for 3 days. One plan with everything included, $25 a month, or $249 for a year.

See the price

Questions people ask

What is the best render setting in After Effects for a 1080p YouTube video?

Export H.264 in MP4 at High Profile with variable bitrate. Target 8 Mbps if the video runs at 24, 25 or 30 fps, or 12 Mbps at 48, 50 or 60 fps. Keep it progressive, 4:2:0, with a closed GOP of half the frame rate and the moov atom at the front. Audio is AAC-LC stereo at 48kHz and 384 kbps. These come from YouTube's upload page, checked 3 November 2026.

Should I export at 60 fps if my After Effects comp is 30 fps?

No. YouTube asks for content to be encoded and uploaded at the frame rate it was recorded at. A 30 fps comp exported at 60 fps only repeats frames and needs the higher-bitrate row: 12 Mbps instead of 8 Mbps at 1080p. Export at 60 fps only when the footage or animation was made at 60. YouTube lists 24, 25, 30, 48, 50 and 60 as common rates.

Does YouTube accept HEVC or ProRes files from After Effects?

YouTube's recommended upload settings name H.264 in an MP4 container. The page we checked doesn't recommend other codecs, so we won't say how YouTube handles them. For a predictable upload, render the H.264 MP4 described on this page. If you keep a higher-quality master for archive or re-editing, export it separately; Adobe's rendering basics page lists the formats After Effects can write.

Can an After Effects MP4 have a transparent background?

We couldn't confirm that from the Adobe pages we checked, so don't plan on it. YouTube's spec treats the MP4 as a finished 4:2:0 H.264 picture for viewers, not an overlay. For transparency, pick a format that Adobe's supported output formats list shows with an alpha channel, clear any full-frame background layers, and test the file over another clip before delivery.

Is Adobe Media Encoder included with After Effects?

Adobe says Media Encoder is available only in Adobe Creative Cloud. Its pages don't say whether the After Effects single-app plan includes it, so that is not published. Adobe also names Media Encoder as one of two ways to render from After Effects; the other is the Render Queue inside the app. If you already have Creative Cloud, check your account's app list.

How much does After Effects cost?

As shown on 3 November 2026, the After Effects single app costs US$22.99/mo on the annual, billed monthly plan in the US, and ₹733.96/mo including GST in India. Creative Cloud Pro was US$34.99/mo for the first 3 months, then US$69.99/mo, for new subscribers. After Effects is sold only as part of a Creative Cloud membership. The trial runs on Windows, macOS and iPadOS.

Why is my After Effects export file so large?

File size is bitrate times duration. At 8 Mbps video plus 384 kbps audio, a 1080p file is about 63 MB a minute. At 45 Mbps, a 4K file is about 340 MB a minute. If your file is much bigger, check that you didn't pick a 4K or high-frame-rate bitrate for a 1080p, 30 fps comp. YouTube says no bitrate limit is required, but extra bitrate only adds size and upload time.

Does mouzeresize work on a Mac, and what does it cost?

Yes. mouzeresize is one of the After Effects extensions, and they run on Windows and Mac. The Comp resizer inside the mouzeclick workspace is Windows only, because the workspaces aren't in the Mac app. mouzeresize comes with the one mouzeclick plan: $25 a month, $249 a year, or $499 once for one of the first 100 lifetime keys. There is a 3-day trial with no card.

Sources

Checked on 2026-11-03. Prices and features change: each link goes to the maker's own page.