720p vs 1080p — which quality should you download?
What the numbers on the quality rows mean, why vertical videos are labelled by their short side, how size relates to sharpness, and which row to pick.
By Videospeichern editorial team5 min read
When a post has more than one version of its video, Videospeichern lists them as rows: 1080p, 720p, 480p and so on, each with an estimated size. Most of the time the top row is the right choice. This guide explains what the labels mean, when a lower row makes more sense, and why you sometimes see only one option.
What the numbers mean
The "p" numbers describe how many lines of pixels the picture has.
- 1080p (Full HD) is 1920 × 1080 pixels for a landscape video.
- 720p (HD) is 1280 × 720 pixels.
- 480p and 360p are standard-definition versions with far fewer pixels.
A 1080p picture has 2.25 times as many pixels as a 720p picture. More pixels allow more detail, but only if the video was recorded and uploaded with that detail in the first place.
Vertical videos and the short side
Many social videos are vertical: filmed on a phone held upright. A vertical Full HD video is 1080 pixels wide and 1920 pixels high. Calling that "1920p" would be misleading, so Videospeichern follows the convention of labelling a video by its shorter side. A vertical 1080 × 1920 video is listed as 1080p, and a vertical 720 × 1280 video as 720p. The label then means the same level of detail whatever the orientation.
Where the versions come from
Videospeichern never scales or re-encodes a video. Every row on the result card is a version the platform itself created and stores. Platforms make several versions of each upload so that their players can switch to a smaller one on a slow connection. You are simply offered the same choice explicitly.
That also explains why some posts show only one row. Snapchat Spotlight, for example, publishes a single version per Snap. Some older or very short uploads also exist in one size only.
It also means no row can be better than the original upload. If someone uploaded a 720p clip, there is no 1080p version, and no tool can add the missing detail.
Size is about bitrate, not only pixels
The estimated size next to each row depends on the video's length and its bitrate, the amount of data used per second of video. Higher resolutions usually get higher bitrates, so they are larger. As a rough guide, the top row of a short clip is often a few megabytes, while a long video in full resolution can reach hundreds.
Two videos with the same resolution can differ a lot in size: a static talking-head video compresses far better than a fast sports clip or confetti falling in front of the camera.
Which row to pick
Pick the top row when:
- you want the best picture and have the space,
- you will watch on a large screen such as a laptop, monitor or TV,
- you plan to edit the video or cut clips from it,
- you are archiving something and want the best version that exists.
Pick a lower row when:
- your phone is short on storage,
- you are on limited mobile data,
- you only need the clip for a quick reference or to send in a chat, where the messaging app will compress it again anyway.
On a phone screen held at arm's length, the difference between 720p and 1080p is small for most content. On a large monitor it is easy to see.
What "HD" means on the card
Some rows carry an HD badge. It marks versions with at least 720 lines on the short side. It is a label, not an extra processing step: the file is the same one the platform stores.
4K and higher
A few platforms keep versions above 1080p for some uploads, such as 1440p or 2160p (4K). When a post has them, they appear at the top of the list. They are much larger files. Unless you watch on a 4K screen or need the detail for editing, 1080p is usually the more practical choice.
When the size is "up to"
Sometimes the platform does not state the exact size of a version in advance, and Videospeichern shows an upper estimate. The real file can be smaller. Very large files may be refused if they exceed the service's size limit; in that case choose a lower row.
Sound is the same in every row
Changing the video quality normally does not change the sound. The audio track is shared between the versions on most platforms. If you only want the audio, the MP3 row is the smaller option; the guide on MP4 vs MP3 compares the two.
Try it
Paste a link into the X video downloader or the Vimeo video downloader, both of which usually offer several qualities, and compare the rows. For how streaming platforms deliver those versions behind the scenes, read HLS and DASH explained.
About the author
Videospeichern editorial team
The Videospeichern editorial team writes and maintains these guides. Each one is checked against the product as it works today and updated when something changes.
About Videospeichern