The median cut delivered through UGC Editing runs 1 min 49 s, and 28% of delivered cuts are under a minute. Most of those format calls are made in the brief, not in the edit. Below are the platform specs, quoted at source, and what the delivery data says about length.
The short answer
- Vertical frame: 9:16, per TikTok Ads Manager video ad specifications
- Median delivered cut: 1 min 49 s
- Cuts under a minute: 28%
- Median starting price among editors who list podcast: $5
The platform specs, at source
Platform specs change, so these are quoted with their source named. The TikTok Ads Manager video ad specifications recommend a 9:16 vertical frame at 1080 x 1920. The Meta Business Help Center, Reels ads specifications list 9:16 for Reels placements. YouTube Help, Upload YouTube Shorts describes Shorts of up to 3 minutes.
A good editor delivers to the spec of the placement you buy, not to the spec of the app you film in. If one cut has to run on all three, ask for a master in the vertical frame with safe margins for each platform's interface, then platform specific exports from it.
How long a first draft takes
The median first draft among editors who list podcast arrives in 36 hours. The fastest editors quote 12 hours and the slowest 4 days, and 42% quote a first draft within a day. Across the whole marketplace the median is 36 hours, so this group sits level with the marketplace as a whole.
Turnaround here means the first draft, not the final file. Revision rounds add time after that, which is why a realistic schedule counts the round trip rather than the first upload. If a launch date is fixed, ask for the first draft early enough that a full round of notes still fits before it.
How long delivered cuts actually run
Across the cuts delivered through the platform, the median length is 1 min 49 s, 28% run under a minute, and the shortest is 19 seconds. Short is the norm, not the exception.
Length is a creative decision, but it is also a budget one: a shorter cut needs a tighter hook and more decisions per second, which is why short form editing is rarely priced by the minute. Brief the length you want and the platform it will run on, and let the editor tell you if the footage supports it.
What moves the price up or down
Two briefs with the same word count can cost very different amounts. These are the things that move a quote, roughly in the order editors weigh them:
- The state of the footage. Organized selects with clean audio cut quickly. A folder of unlabeled phone clips means hours of logging before the first decision.
- How many cuts you need. Variations of one ad share most of the work, so a batch usually costs less per cut than ordering them one at a time.
- Finishing. Captions, sound design, a color pass and motion graphics are each a separate skill, and each adds time.
- The delivery window. A rush job displaces other work, and editors price that in.
- Revision rounds. Every round included up front is time the editor has to reserve.
If a quote looks high, ask which of these is driving it. Trimming finishing you do not need is usually a better saving than hunting for a cheaper editor.
Questions to ask before you fund an order
A short exchange before funding saves a revision round later. These are the questions experienced buyers ask.
- Have you cut this format before? Ask for one example that is close to your brief, not the best piece in the reel.
- What do you need from me to start? The answer tells you how organized the editor's process is.
- Which files will I get back? Exports for each placement, a caption file, and whether the project file is included.
- How do you want feedback? Timestamped notes on the video are faster for both sides than a list in a message.
- What happens if the footage does not support the brief? A good editor will say so early rather than deliver something that technically follows the brief and does not work.
None of these are tests. They bring forward the conversations that would otherwise happen during revisions.
How the prices spread
The lowest starting price among editors who list podcast is $3 and the highest is $8. The spread is wide for a reason: one starting price can describe very different work. A caption pass on footage someone already cut sits near the bottom; a graded, sound designed ad with motion graphics sits near the top. 100% of these editors start at $200 or less.
| Point in the range | Starting price |
|---|---|
| Lowest | $3 |
| Lower quartile | $5 |
| Median | $5 |
| Upper quartile | $6 |
| Highest | $8 |
A starting price is the floor of an editor's basic package, not a quote for your project. Read it as the price of entry: what the smallest useful job with that editor costs. Anything with more cuts, more versions or heavier finishing moves up from there, and the package table below shows by how much.
Where to go from here
The fastest way to use these numbers is against real profiles. Find a short-form editor, filter to the format you need, and shortlist editors whose package already covers your brief. Funding an order through escrow means you only pay once you approve the cut.
How we worked this out
Every figure on this page was computed from UGC Editing marketplace data as of Oct 15, 2026. The editor figures cover 19 profiles in scope out of 64 on the platform. Medians are lower medians, so each one is a value an editor or a brief actually listed rather than an average of two. Fees come from our own published fee schedule. Platform specifications are quoted from TikTok Ads Manager video ad specifications, Meta Business Help Center, Reels ads specifications, YouTube Help, Upload YouTube Shorts, named where they appear.
Nothing here comes from a survey, a study or an industry estimate. Where the data could not answer part of the question, the page does not guess.