Real Estate Video Specs for MLS, Zillow and Instagram

There is no single real estate video spec. Zillow Showcase takes one uploaded file of up to 120 seconds with no persistent logos. The MLSs we checked take no file at all, only a link to an unbranded hosted video, and they disagree about whether the agent may appear in it. Instagram takes a vertical file of up to 3 minutes. So one shoot needs at least three exports.

Below is what the platforms and three sample MLSs actually publish, checked on 23 September 2026, plus the Zillow limits still reprinted from a page Zillow retired. An unbranded listing video, in MLS terms, shows only the property, on a hosting page that adds no name, logo, contact detail or link away either.

What does each platform accept for a listing video?

Every cell traces to a source linked below. Where a cell defers to the MLS, there is no national rule.

Destination | File or link | Length limit | Branding | Agent on camera

Zillow Showcase listing | File, uploaded by the listing photographer through Aryeo | 120 seconds, one video per listing | No persistent logos, watermarks or ads | Allowed, may introduce self and brokerage

Zillow standard listing | Link, pulled from the MLS Virtual Tour field | Set by the host | Whatever your MLS allows, usually none | Whatever your MLS allows

Realtor.com | Link, from the MLS feed or the listing dashboard | Set by the host | Unbranded when it arrives by MLS feed | Whatever your MLS allows

Doorify MLS (North Carolina) | Link | Not stated | None of any kind | Not allowed

SmartMLS (Connecticut) | Link to a public page, no login | Not stated | None | Allowed, may narrate, may not be named

Hawaii Information Service MLS | Link | Not stated | None | Pictures of persons prohibited

Instagram Reels | File | 3 minutes in the app, 15 minutes and 300 MB via the API | Allowed | Allowed

YouTube Shorts | File, square or taller | 3 minutes | Allowed | Allowed

Can you upload a video to Zillow in 2026?

Only one route is documented by Zillow itself. Since late September 2025, a Zillow Showcase listing can carry one short video in its media carousel, and Zillow's Showcase editing guide sets the rules:

• Maximum length 120 seconds, and only one video displays per listing.
• It must be made by the same photographer who supplied the listing's other Showcase media, and uploaded by that provider through Aryeo.
• It appears as the second item in the carousel and autoplays on mute.
• Personal branding such as the agent introducing themselves is allowed. Persistent agent or brokerage logos, watermarks and advertising are not, and violating videos may be flagged and removed.

The Aryeo requirements, republished by a Showcase photographer in October 2025, add that the video may be horizontal or vertical and must be a file, not a link.

On a standard listing, put an unbranded video link in your MLS Virtual Tour field and Zillow pulls it from the feed, usually as a tour link rather than a video in the carousel. Some agents report a direct Add Video option on standard listings; Amplifiles, in a guide updated July 2026, notes Zillow does not document it. Treat it as unconfirmed.

Where do the 500 MB and 10 minute Zillow numbers come from?

From Zillow's old video upload guidelines page. Zillow retired native video upload at the end of 2022, and its own FAQ at the time said it was doing so to prioritise Zillow 3D Home, as quoted in an October 2022 write-up. Today the old guidelines URL redirects to the Zillow 3D Home app page. We followed it on 23 September 2026.

The limits on that retired page still circulate as current. Reel-E's upload guide, dated 16 March 2026, lists Zillow direct upload at 250 MB and 10 minutes with branding allowed and recommends uploading the branded version to Zillow. None of that matches the one video route Zillow currently documents, which caps at 120 seconds and rules out persistent logos.

What does an MLS mean by unbranded?

Every MLS writes its own rules, so read yours. The published ones are broader than most agents expect. Hawaii Information Service's Rules and Regulations section 3.05 b is unusually explicit:

• Only the physical characteristics of the property and its immediate vicinity.
• No phone numbers, emails or web addresses for the agent, seller, owner or any other entity.
• No for-sale signs and no pictures of persons.
• No active links or URLs to pages carrying marketing, contact details or banned images.

Doorify MLS adds that branded QR codes count as a link away, and that the hosting site itself may not carry branding or promotion.

Can you host an MLS video on YouTube?

Not on either MLS above. Doorify rejects YouTube and Facebook because of their marketing links. Hawaii Information Service rejects YouTube even embedded, rejects Dropbox and Google Drive because the account name can display, rejects agent websites because the URL identifies you, and accepts Vimeo only on a paid plan set to a clean page.

The Reel-E guide above recommends an unlisted YouTube link as the most common MLS method. On some boards that works. On these two it is a violation.

Can the agent appear in the MLS version of the video?

This rule has the widest spread. Four published positions:

Source | Agent on camera | Agent named

Zillow Showcase | Yes | Yes, in the introduction only

SmartMLS | Yes, and may narrate | No, not the agent or the office

Doorify MLS | No, nor firm representatives or occupants | No

Hawaii Information Service | No pictures of persons at all | No

SmartMLS changed its rules to allow agents on camera if they never identify themselves or their office. Doorify frames its ban partly as a fair housing measure, the same logic behind the fair housing words to avoid in listing videos. If a video may touch more than one board, deliver a version with no people in it.

How does video reach Realtor.com?

Mostly through the MLS feed, if syndication is on for that media type, with the listing dashboard as a fallback, per CloudPano's walkthrough from August 2025. We found no public Realtor.com video spec, so treat any file size quoted for it as unverified.

What are the Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts limits?

Both moved in the last two years, and older numbers are still everywhere. Instagram raised the in-app Reels limit to 3 minutes in January 2025. Meta's IG User Media reference allows a Reel of 3 seconds to 15 minutes, up to 300 MB, with 9:16 recommended and a maximum of 1920 horizontal pixels. YouTube raised Shorts to 3 minutes for square or taller videos on 15 October 2024.

The same Reel-E table lists Reels at 90 seconds and Shorts at 60. Both figures were correct before those changes and are not now.

Which exports does one listing shoot need?

Four, from the same footage. This is our production default, not a platform rule, built to satisfy the strictest source above.

Export | Frame | Length | Branding and people | Goes to

MLS cut | 16:9, 1920 by 1080 | Under 120 seconds | None, no people | MLS Virtual Tour field, via a compliant host

Showcase cut | 16:9, 1920 by 1080 | Under 120 seconds | Agent introduction allowed, no persistent logo | Zillow Showcase, uploaded by your photographer

Branded tour | 16:9, 1920 by 1080 | Any | Full branding | Your website, YouTube, email to the seller

Vertical | 9:16, 1080 by 1920 | 30 to 45 seconds | Full branding | Reels, Shorts, TikTok

Under 120 seconds, the MLS edit also qualifies for Showcase with only the intro added. The single H.264 preset in our video export settings reference clears every platform here, and vertical text belongs inside the checked vertical video safe zones.

Shoot horizontal and frame for a centre crop, as the listing video shot list, room by room does. If you are weighing doing the edits yourself, compare against what real estate video editing costs per deliverable. Real estate agents and brokerages shooting weekly should template all four exports once.

Frequently asked questions

What is the maximum video length on Zillow?

120 seconds, on a Zillow Showcase listing, which is the only video upload route Zillow currently documents. On a standard listing, video arrives as a link from your MLS Virtual Tour field and the length is whatever the host allows. The widely quoted 10 minute limit comes from Zillow's native upload feature, retired at the end of 2022.

Can I use a YouTube link for my MLS virtual tour?

It depends on your MLS, and at least two published rulebooks say no. Doorify MLS does not accept YouTube or Facebook videos, and Hawaii Information Service rejects YouTube even when embedded, because the player links away. Check your board's virtual tour rules before choosing a host, not after a fine.

Can I appear in my own MLS listing video?

On some boards. SmartMLS lets the listing agent appear and narrate provided they never name themselves or their office. Doorify MLS bars agents, firm representatives and occupants, and Hawaii Information Service bars pictures of persons entirely. When in doubt, deliver a version with no people in it.

Key takeaways

• Zillow documents one video route in 2026: Showcase, 120 seconds, uploaded by your photographer through Aryeo, no persistent logos.
• The 250 MB, 500 MB and 10 minute Zillow limits still in circulation come from a native upload feature Zillow retired at the end of 2022.
• At least two published MLS rulebooks reject YouTube as a host, so the common advice to use an unlisted YouTube link is not safe everywhere.
• Whether the agent may appear ranges from yes on Showcase and SmartMLS to no on Doorify and Hawaii Information Service.
• Reels and Shorts both allow 3 minutes now. The 90 and 60 second figures are out of date.
• One shoot, four exports: an MLS cut and a Showcase cut under 120 seconds, a branded tour, and a vertical.

If four exports per listing is the part that stalls

The shooting is rarely the problem. The problem is producing four correctly stripped versions of every listing before it goes live. EchoPulse Media edits listing video to a written export spec on a 48-hour standard turnaround per deliverable. Related: 20 listing video scripts by property type, for the voiceover side of the same shoot.