Use case
LinkedIn video ads: specs, cost and how to make one
LinkedIn video ads are videos you pay to show in the LinkedIn feed. LinkedIn recommends 15 to 30 seconds, and a captioned video of a real person talking is easy to make on a phone.
In short
- LinkedIn video ads are videos you pay to show in the LinkedIn feed. They can be landscape (16:9), square (1:1), 4:5 or vertical (9:16), as an MP4 of up to 500 MB.
- LinkedIn recommends videos of 15 to 30 seconds, so the ad can run in every placement.
- LinkedIn charges per click, per 1,000 impressions or per video view, and the smallest daily budget it allows is $10.
- Captions matter, because LinkedIn says a large share of members watch video ads with the sound off.
- Cutroom turns one phone video of you talking into a captioned 9:16 ad, and your first video is free. It does not make square, 4:5 or landscape versions.
- LinkedIn's recommended ad length
- 15–30 s
- Largest video file LinkedIn accepts
- 500 MB
- LinkedIn's minimum daily budget
- $10
LinkedIn video ad specs
LinkedIn accepts landscape, square and two vertical shapes, and it marks 4:5 as its recommended shape. Cutroom exports only the tallest one, 9:16.
- If you want LinkedIn's recommended 4:5 shape, or a square or landscape version, make it in an editor such as VEED.
What LinkedIn accepts, next to what Cutroom exports
From LinkedIn's video ad specifications, read 21 September 2026.
Shape
- LinkedIn video ads accept
- Landscape (16:9), square (1:1), 4:5 (recommended) and vertical (9:16)
- Cutroom exports
- Vertical 9:16 only, 1080×1920
Length
- LinkedIn video ads accept
- 3 seconds to 30 minutes; 15 to 30 seconds recommended
- Cutroom exports
- As long as your video, up to 3 minutes, or shorter if you delete lines
File
- LinkedIn video ads accept
- MP4, up to 500 MB
- Cutroom exports
- MP4 with captions burned into the picture
| LinkedIn video ads accept | Cutroom exports | |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Landscape (16:9), square (1:1), 4:5 (recommended) and vertical (9:16) | Vertical 9:16 only, 1080×1920 |
| Length | 3 seconds to 30 minutes; 15 to 30 seconds recommended | As long as your video, up to 3 minutes, or shorter if you delete lines |
| File | MP4, up to 500 MB | MP4 with captions burned into the picture |
What makes a LinkedIn video ad work
A good LinkedIn video ad is short, captioned and opens on the buyer's problem.
- Put captions in the picture, because LinkedIn says a large share of members watch video ads with the sound off.
- Open with the buyer's problem, not with your company.
- Show a real person the buyer may later meet on a sales call, like the founder or an expert.
- Keep it close to LinkedIn's advice of 15 to 30 seconds.
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
Three kinds of LinkedIn video ad you can film yourself
All three start as one video of a person talking to camera.
- In a founder video, the founder makes one point, backs it with one example or number, and tells viewers what to do next.
- In a problem video, you describe the buyer's problem in the words they use, over short clips that show it.
- In a customer story, you tell how one client solved the problem, and you name them only with their permission.
A founder video in three parts
Each part is one or two sentences. The whole video fits inside 30 seconds.
The point
The one point you want buyers to remember, in one sentence
The example
One number, one customer result or one example from your own work
What to do next
Book a call, read the guide or try the product
What are LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads?
A Thought Leader Ad is a post from an employee's or expert's own profile that the company pays to promote. LinkedIn supports video posts for it.
- It suits a founder video, because the ad shows a person's name and face instead of a logo.
- The founder posts the video from their own profile, and the company sponsors that post in Campaign Manager.
- Cutroom makes the video. The sponsoring happens inside LinkedIn.
From a founder video to a Thought Leader Ad
Film
One video of you talking, up to 3 minutes
Edit
Cutroom returns a captioned 9:16 MP4
Post
The founder posts it from their own profile
Sponsor
The company sponsors that post in Campaign Manager
What LinkedIn video ads cost to run
LinkedIn has no fixed price. You set a budget in Campaign Manager. LinkedIn charges per click, per video view or per 1,000 impressions, depending on your bid.
- That money goes to LinkedIn, not to Cutroom.
How LinkedIn charges for a video ad
From LinkedIn's help pages on bidding and budgets, read 21 September 2026.
| What you set | What LinkedIn says |
|---|---|
| How you pay | Per click, per 1,000 impressions or per video view |
| Who sets the bid | LinkedIn sets it for you, you set a cost cap, or you set it by hand |
| Smallest daily budget | $10 a day, for any ad format |
| Smallest total budget | $100 for a new campaign |
What you set: How you pay
- What LinkedIn says
- Per click, per 1,000 impressions or per video view
What you set: Who sets the bid
- What LinkedIn says
- LinkedIn sets it for you, you set a cost cap, or you set it by hand
What you set: Smallest daily budget
- What LinkedIn says
- $10 a day, for any ad format
What you set: Smallest total budget
- What LinkedIn says
- $100 for a new campaign
How to launch a LinkedIn video ad
You launch the ad in LinkedIn Campaign Manager. You need admin or Sponsored Content poster access to your company's LinkedIn Page.
From video file to live ad in Campaign Manager
From LinkedIn's help page on creating video ads, read 21 September 2026.
Pick a goal
Brand awareness, website visits, engagement, video views, website conversions or leads
Set budget and bid
A daily budget of at least $10
Create the ad
Click Create new ad(s), add your intro text and upload the MP4
Add the link
A headline, the page to send people to and a button
Launch
LinkedIn reviews the ad and shows it once it is approved
Tools for making LinkedIn video ads
Here are three tools, each for a different starting point.
- VEED is a browser editor. Its LinkedIn Ad Generator cuts short ads from webinars, demos and testimonials.
- Agent Opus, from the makers of OpusClip, makes a whole ad from a prompt, a script or a link, with an AI voiceover.
- Cutroom turns one video of a person talking into a captioned vertical ad.
- If nobody will go on camera, Agent Opus is the better choice.
Three ways to make a LinkedIn video ad
Prices as each company publishes them on the day shown. Plans change, so check before you buy.
| Tool | Best for | Editing approach | Platform | Pricing from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cutting short ads from webinars and demos | A browser timeline with auto subtitles and AI tools | Browser, mobile app | Free plan; Creator $10/user/month, yearly | |
 Agent Opus | Ads with nobody on camera | A prompt, script or link in; a video with an AI voiceover out | Web | Free plan (60 credits a month); Pro $29/month, yearly |
| Cutroom | Turning a video of the founder talking into a captioned vertical ad | Upload your video; it adds captions, b-roll and a hook | Web | First video free; Lite $19.99/month |
VEED
- Best for
- Cutting short ads from webinars and demos
- Approach
- A browser timeline with auto subtitles and AI tools
- Platform
- Browser, mobile app
- Pricing from
- Free plan; Creator $10/user/month, yearly
- Agent Opus
- Best for
- Ads with nobody on camera
- Approach
- A prompt, script or link in; a video with an AI voiceover out
- Platform
- Web
- Pricing from
- Free plan (60 credits a month); Pro $29/month, yearly
Cutroom
- Best for
- Turning a video of the founder talking into a captioned vertical ad
- Approach
- Upload your video; it adds captions, b-roll and a hook
- Platform
- Web
- Pricing from
- First video free; Lite $19.99/month
Prices and plans read from each vendor's own pricing page on 21 September 2026.
How to make a LinkedIn video ad in Cutroom
You film one video, Cutroom edits it, and you change it by editing the transcript. The edit comes back in about a minute.
- Film yourself talking, up to 3 minutes, on a phone or a laptop camera.
- Cutroom cuts it, adds captions timed to your voice, puts b-roll on the words you pick and adds a hook.
- Highlight a phrase to put a clip on it, or delete a line and the video is re-cut without it.
- Delete lines until the video is 15 to 30 seconds long, then export the 9:16 MP4.
The Cutroom editor
The transcript on one side, the finished video on the other. Delete a line and the video is re-cut.
B-rolls · 5
1
2
3
4
5Most face serums make one big promise, then quietly do nothing. This one has three ingredients, works in ten days, and costs less than your coffee habit. If your skin doesn’t change, you get every cent back.
highlight = b-roll · struck out = already cut
▸ 0:07 / 0:26 · shot 1 of 5
- 1B-roll on the exact wordsReal footage, placed where showing beats telling.
- 2The opening headlineWritten from what you said. Pick one it drafted, or write your own.
- 3Captions in 40 themesPick a theme, then its font and colour.
- 49:16, ready to exportExport renders one vertical MP4.
What a LinkedIn video ad costs to make in Cutroom
A 30-second video costs 110 credits: 100 to edit and 20 per minute of export.
- Your first video is free, with no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark, and Lite removes it.
Cutroom plans
| Plan | Price | Credits | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| First video | Free, no card | 600 | 7 days to make it; a Cutroom mark across the middle |
| Lite | $19.99 a month | 1,250 | No Cutroom mark |
| Basic | $39.99 a month | 2,500 | Adds avatars and generated music |
| Premium | $79.99 a month | 5,000 | Everything in Basic, with twice the credits |
Plan: First video
- Price
- Free, no card
- Credits
- 600
- What you get
- 7 days to make it; a Cutroom mark across the middle
Plan: Lite
- Price
- $19.99 a month
- Credits
- 1,250
- What you get
- No Cutroom mark
Plan: Basic
- Price
- $39.99 a month
- Credits
- 2,500
- What you get
- Adds avatars and generated music
Plan: Premium
- Price
- $79.99 a month
- Credits
- 5,000
- What you get
- Everything in Basic, with twice the credits
Questions people ask
- Does LinkedIn accept 9:16 vertical video ads?
- Yes. LinkedIn's video ad specs list 9:16 next to 16:9, 1:1 and 4:5, as an MP4 of up to 500 MB. Cutroom exports 9:16 at 1080×1920, so it fits the vertical option.
- How long should a LinkedIn video ad be?
- 15 to 30 seconds. LinkedIn accepts anything from 3 seconds to 30 minutes, but recommends 15 to 30 seconds so the ad can run in every placement.
- How much do LinkedIn video ads cost?
- LinkedIn has no fixed price. You pay per click, per 1,000 impressions or per video view, and the smallest daily budget is $10. A new campaign needs a total budget of at least $100. That money goes to LinkedIn.
- Can a Cutroom video run as a Thought Leader Ad?
- Yes. The founder posts the finished 9:16 MP4 from their own profile, and the company sponsors that post in Campaign Manager. Cutroom makes the video; the sponsoring happens inside LinkedIn.
- Do I need a script to record a LinkedIn ad?
- No. Three notes are enough: the point you want to make, one example that proves it, and what viewers should do next. Say them the way you would on a sales call, then delete the lines you do not want in the transcript.
- Will the captions show when the sound is off?
- Yes. Cutroom burns the captions into the picture, timed to each word, so they show with the sound off. You can pick one of 40 caption styles and move the captions up or down.
- Who should not use Cutroom for LinkedIn video ads?
- Teams that need square, 4:5 or landscape ads, webinar highlights, or videos with nobody on camera. Cutroom only exports a 9:16 MP4. VEED makes the other shapes and cuts webinars, and Agent Opus makes ads with nobody on camera.
Record the point you made on your last sales call and get it back as a finished ad. Your first video is free.