Short answer: most video ads running on Meta are longer than 30 seconds, and the longest-lived ones are a little shorter than the rest. Across 635 active US video ads, the median length was 46 seconds and 72% ran past half a minute. Video ads live for 180 days or more had a median length of 39 seconds, against 46 seconds for videos under 30 days old. Very short videos (10 seconds or less) had the longest median life, but they are a small group.
Median days live, by video length
| Video length | Ads | Median days live | Share live 180+ days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 10 seconds | 31 | 166 | 45% |
| 11 to 20 seconds | 66 | 120 | 30% |
| 21 to 30 seconds | 82 | 130 | 34% |
| 31 to 60 seconds | 260 | 112 | 25% |
| Over 60 seconds | 196 | 78 | 26% |
The 10-seconds-or-less group holds 31 ads, so its lead is suggestive, not settled.
What stands out
- Short videos are rare, and they last. Only 15% of the video ads were 20 seconds or shorter. Those that exist had a longer median life than any other length.
- Long videos are common, and they turn over. Videos over a minute were 31% of the sample and had the shortest median life (78 days). Many are explainer or sales-letter style ads that advertisers rotate.
- Long runners lean a little shorter. 14% of the video ads live 180+ days were 15 seconds or less, against 10% of the newest ones.
Median video length, by category
What to do with this
There is no single right length, and this data does not say shorter always wins. It says advertisers who found a short video that works tend to leave it running, while long videos are tested and replaced more often. A practical rule: make the short cut of every video ad, not just the long one, and give it a fair test. With AI video that is cheap. Hermoso can make a 6, 15 and 30 second version of the same idea, and the newest models hold a 30 second take in one go, see 30 second ads in one take. For sizes and specs per platform, see video export settings for social.
How we collected the data
On October 26, 2026 we searched Meta’s public Ad Library for 80 product and service keywords, eight in each of ten categories (beauty, health and supplements, fashion, home, food and drink, consumer apps, business software, financial and home services, education, travel and local), with the country set to the United States and only active ads. We kept the first page of results Meta returned for each keyword: 2,360 ads. Ads that Meta groups as versions of the same ad were counted once, which left 2,073 ads from 1,179 advertisers. “Days live” is the number of days from the start date Meta shows to October 26, 2026.
What this data can and cannot say. Every ad here was still running on the day we looked, so the numbers describe which ads survive, not which ones sell. An advertiser usually keeps paying for an ad that works, which is why run length is the most useful public signal there is, but some long runners are simply forgotten. Meta decides which ads appear first for a keyword, so this is a large sample, not a census. Nothing here was extrapolated or modelled: every figure is a count or a median of the ads in the file.
Download the data (CSV): one row per ad with its category, format, days live, number of versions, copy length, first-line features, button and, for videos, length in seconds. It holds no advertiser names and no ad copy, so it can be shared freely; please cite “Hermoso Research, October 26, 2026”.
Video length was read from each video file’s own metadata. 21 of the 656 video ads could not be measured and are left out. Ads in Meta’s flexible format that contain video are not included here.
More from this dataset
Which ad formats run longest · The copy of long-running ads · All research
Frequently asked questions
How long is the average Facebook video ad?
In our sample of 635 active US video ads, the median length was 46 seconds, and 72% were longer than 30 seconds.
Do shorter video ads run longer?
Somewhat. Video ads live for 180 days or more had a median length of 39 seconds against 46 seconds for new ones, and videos of 10 seconds or less had the longest median life, though that group is small.
What length should my video ad be?
Make more than one. Long videos are common and get rotated; short videos that work tend to be left running. Test a short cut of every video idea.
Where is the data from?
Meta's public Ad Library, active US ads found through 80 keyword searches on 2026-10-26. Lengths come from each video file's metadata. The CSV is free to download.
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