How to do split screen on YouTube Shorts
YouTube has two built-in ways to show two videos at once — Collab and Green Screen — and its free YouTube Create app adds more editing tools. Each is built for a slightly different job. Here's what each one can do, how they compare with a dedicated collage app, and how to post a split screen or video collage as a Short.
YouTube, YouTube Create or a collage app?
| Video Grid Collage | YouTube app | YouTube Create | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Several of your own videos playing at once | Up to 9 at once in 100 layouts, up to 100 clips per collage | Collab: your Short next to an existing YouTube video or Short | Cutout and chroma key: you over another background |
| Trim and sync each clip | Each cell has its own timeline track | Trim segments in the Shorts editor | Timeline editing |
| Captions and text | Auto Captions in dozens of languages, 20 fonts, animations | Text in the Shorts editor | Auto captions in selected languages |
| Background | Remove BG on any clip or photo | Green Screen: a video as your background | Cutout and chroma key |
| Music | Songs from your library or Files, volume and fades | Shorts music library | Shorts music library and sound effects |
| Result | Video file up to 4K at 60 fps with HDR, 9 aspect ratios | Posts straight to YouTube | Video file up to 4K at 60 fps |
| Price | First project free with every feature, then Pro | Free | Free |
| Best for | Grids and split screens in a few taps | Collabs with other Shorts and videos | Quick edits with captions and music |
YouTube and YouTube Create features checked in September 2026. They change often — if something here is out of date, let us know.
When YouTube's own tools are enough
- Singing, dancing or reacting next to another video: Collab (Remix → Collab) records you side by side with it.
- You in front of a video: Green Screen uses it as your background.
- Borrowing a moment or a sound: Cut samples a few seconds of an eligible video, Sound samples its audio.
- Captions, music and a quick edit of one video: YouTube Create does it for free.
- Several of your own videos side by side or in a grid, each trimmed to the right moment: that's the job of a collage app — the steps are below.
Step by step
Pick the Shorts format
Open Video Grid Collage (free on the App Store). In the Format section of the start screen, pick YouTube and then Shorts (9:16) — or start from any vertical or square template.
Add your videos and photos
Choose clips and photos from your library or Files — the grid fills itself. Two to four cells read well on a phone; nine small tiles are for quick montage moments.
Keep it tight
Shorts can run up to 3 minutes, but collages work best short. Trim every clip on the timeline so the whole video gets to the point immediately.
Add a hook
Put a short title in the top half of the frame with Text, or subtitles with Captions — the Shorts title, channel name and buttons cover the bottom.
Export and upload
Export in high quality, then in the YouTube app tap + and upload the video. Vertical or square videos up to 3 minutes are published as Shorts.
Can I post it on YouTube?
Yes. The collage is an ordinary video file in your Photos app, and it's yours: your free first project and every Pro project export without a watermark, and the app doesn't limit where you publish. YouTube accepts videos made in any app.
The only thing to check is what's inside. Your own footage is always fine; songs and other people's clips need the right to use them — a song you add yourself can trigger a copyright claim. The easiest way to handle music is to export the collage without it and add a track from the Shorts music library when you upload.
What performs on Shorts
- Comparisons and before/after grids loop well — end the collage where it started.
- Shorts viewers decide fast: make every frame move in the first second.
- Reuse the same project: export 9:16 for Shorts and 16:9 if the clip also goes into a regular video.
- Avoid text near the very bottom — the Shorts title, channel name and buttons cover it.
Try it yourself — free
Video Grid Collage · 4.9 on the App Store · 100 layouts, up to 100 clips in one collage