Guide
Start your UGC ad at 15 to 30 seconds, then test a shorter version
Updated
Most advice puts a paid UGC video at 15 to 30 seconds. No published study compares lengths for UGC ads, so make two lengths of the same video and keep the one that works.
In short
- Start a UGC ad at 15 to 30 seconds, and say what it's about in the first three seconds.
- The ranges you see online come from platform advice and agency benchmarks, not from a published UGC study.
- Cutroom's Magic Editor cuts your clip for you, and you make it shorter by asking Jacob, its AI editor, in a chat.
A 75-second sleep-mask review, before and after Cutroom's Magic Editor
One press turned the 75-second clip into a tighter first edit. One message, "Make it about 20 seconds", made a version of about 20 seconds to test.
Drawing of an example clip, not a customer video
Before · the clip as filmed
A 75-second phone video of a creator talking about the sleep mask she uses every night
“Okay, um, I've slept in this mask for two weeks, and uh, it's the first one that doesn't press on my eyes. It's, it's It blocks every bit of light. … (pause) If you sleep badly, try it.”
struck through = what Jacob cuts
After · Jacob's first edit, Poster style
“I've slept in this mask for two weeks, and it's the first one that doesn't press on my eyes. It blocks every bit of light. If you sleep badly, try it.”
- On “mask”: the word mask set big in stacked letters
- On “eyes”: a black-and-white moment on the words about her eyes
- On “light”: the word light set big in your accent colour
- On “try”: your logo closes the video
- Under the whole video: calm music and sound effects under your voice
Then you ask Jacob
- “Make this about 10 seconds shorter”v2the same edit about 10 seconds shorter, with the opening line and the ending kept
- “Make it about 20 seconds”v3a tighter version near 20 seconds, still opening on the same first line
How long should a UGC video be?
Aim for 15 to 30 seconds for a paid UGC ad. Go shorter if your point fits in one sentence. Go up to about a minute only if you're showing steps people need to see. Then cut any sentence that repeats one before it.
The agency inbeat sorts UGC videos into three groups: 6 to 15 seconds, 16 to 30 seconds and 31 to 60 seconds. Most of the advice you'll find points to the middle group, 16 to 30 seconds.
- 6 to 15 seconds suits one clear point, like a single before and after.
- 16 to 30 seconds suits a short review or a product demo with a reason to buy.
- 31 to 60 seconds suits a walkthrough where people need to see the steps.
- These ranges are ad advice. For normal posts on your own account, run the same test: post two lengths and see which one people watch longer.
What the length ranges are based on
The ranges come from platform advice and agency guides. None of it is a published study. The agency inbeat collected what the platforms say, as of November 2026:
- Meta says videos under 15 seconds tend to do best in the feed. That's why it's worth testing a 15-second version next to your 30-second one.
- TikTok's own guide says 21 to 34 seconds does best. TikTok worked that out from its own data in 2021 and never published the numbers.
- inbeat found no published study of paid UGC that compares short, medium and long videos across Meta, TikTok and YouTube.
- So use these numbers as a starting point, then test two lengths of the same video.
How Cutroom's Magic Editor edits a video like this
Jacob is the AI editor inside Cutroom's Magic Editor: it edits your video for you, then changes it when you ask in a chat.
The 4 styles, as example edits
Steps
Three steps, four angles
Skit
Hook, hard stop, demo card
Verdict
The tester's verdict
Poster
Typography does the talking
Hover or tap an example to play it, without sound. These are example edits of each style; the presenters in them are generated with AI.
- Your take: one video of you talking, up to 3 minutes
- Your style: one of 4: Steps, Skit, Verdict or Poster
- Your files: screenshots, a screen recording or a logo, if you have them
- Your goal: what the video is for, in a few words, if you like
- Jacob makes it: normally 10 to 15 minutes, and you get an email
- Your edit: ask Jacob for changes in a chat, then export
Then you ask Jacob, for example
- “Make this about 10 seconds shorter”
- “Put a clip on the strongest sentence”
- “Change the music to something calmer”
Each change is a new version, and going back is free. First cut 250 credits, each change 40, questions free, export 30 credits per started minute.
How long the hook should be
The hook, the first line that makes people stop scrolling, should land in the first three seconds.
Most people decide in those first seconds whether to keep watching, so the platforms ask you to start with the point. A 30-second video that opens strong can beat a 15-second one that opens with a slow hello, so fix the opening first.
- inbeat reports that Meta asks for the brand and the main message in the first three seconds.
- On YouTube, people can skip most ads after five seconds, inbeat notes.
- Say what the video is about before you say hello or your name.
Cutting one UGC clip to the length you want with Cutroom's Magic Editor
Cutroom's Magic Editor turns one clip of you talking into a finished vertical video. You upload a clip of up to 3 minutes and press "Make my video".
Jacob cuts the ums, the repeats and the slow parts, so the first edit is shorter than what you filmed. If it's still too long, type "Make this about 10 seconds shorter" or name a length.
- It normally takes 10 to 15 minutes, and you get an email when your first cut is ready.
- Jacob trims the weakest sentences and keeps your opening line and your ending.
- Every change Jacob makes is a new version. The earlier versions stay, and going back to one is free.
- A chat message that changes the video costs 40 credits, so a short and a long version of the same clip are easy to test.
- The export is one upright MP4 video, the shape of a phone screen. You post it yourself.
Questions people ask
- How long should a UGC video be for TikTok?
- Start between 21 and 34 seconds. That's the range TikTok's own guide names, inbeat reports. TikTok based it on its own 2021 data, which it never published.
- Is 60 seconds too long for a UGC ad?
- Not always. A minute works when you're showing steps people need to see. For a simple review or one strong point, 15 to 30 seconds is the safer start.
- How long should the hook of a UGC video be?
- Three seconds or less. Say what the video is about in your first sentence, before you say hello or your name.
- Can Cutroom make my UGC video a set length?
- Yes, roughly. Ask Jacob "Make this about 10 seconds shorter" or name a length, and it trims the weakest sentences. Each change costs 40 credits and makes a new version. Your clip can be up to 3 minutes long.
Film one clip, try it at two lengths, and keep the one that works.