720p, 1080p or native: which resolution to screen record at
Higher is not better; higher is bigger. The right resolution is the lowest one that keeps the detail your viewer needs, and for most screen content that is lower than people expect.
The four tiers
Reel offers Low (480p), Medium (720p), High (1080p) and Source (Native). The first three are free; native is Pro. The numbers are the short side of the frame, so 1080p on a portrait iPhone is 1080 pixels wide.
What each is for
- 480p: a quick message or a bug report where the file has to be small and the content is large text or obvious UI.
- 720p: screens with normal-sized text, sent to people who will watch on a phone. Fine for most social posts of text-heavy apps.
- 1080p: the default for anything you publish. Small UI stays readable and platforms have enough to re-encode from. This is the tier to pick when unsure.
- Native: App Store previews, archival, or content with fine detail — thin lines, small type, dense charts — that 1080p visibly softens. The file is several times larger.
Uploads re-encode everything
Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and the rest transcode your upload to their own bitrates. A native-resolution recording does not arrive at the viewer as native; it arrives as whatever the platform serves. Feeding them 1080p gives the encoder a clean source without the upload taking four times as long.
A test that settles it
Record the same ten seconds at 720p and 1080p, watch both on the device the audience will use, and pick the lowest that does not annoy you. It is usually 1080p, and sometimes it is 720p.
Does the camera quality tier need to match?
Roughly. A 1080p screen with a Low camera looks mismatched; Medium or High camera with a 1080p screen looks like one recording.
Is native the only "real" quality?
It is the only lossless-resolution one. Whether the loss at 1080p matters depends entirely on what is on screen.
