Premiere Pro export settings, per platform.

What Premiere Pro lets you set

Bitrate control

Yes, in Mbps

2-pass encoding

Yes

Profile / level

Both

Keyframe interval

Yes, in frames

HEVC (H.265)

Yes

HDR export

Yes

Frame rate

Choose on export

Official export help Release notesLabels checked 2026-10-25

The export, step by step (example: YouTube, 1080p, 30 fps)

1. 1Select the sequence in the Timeline, then open the Export tab at the top of the window (or File > Export > Media, Ctrl+M / Cmd+M).
2. 2In Settings, set Format to H.264 and pick a Match Source preset as the starting point.
3. 3Set the file name and Location. The container is .mp4.
4. 4Open Video. Untick Match Source where needed and set Frame Size to 1920 x 1080 and Frame Rate to 30.
5. 5Under Encoding Settings set Profile to High and Level to 4.0. Software encoding tracks the target bitrate more closely than hardware encoding.
6. 6Under Bitrate Settings set Bitrate Encoding to VBR, 2 pass, Target Bitrate to 8 Mbps, Maximum Bitrate 12 Mbps.
7. 7Under Advanced Settings tick Key Frame Distance and enter 15 frames (0.5 s at 30 fps).
8. 8Open Audio: Audio Format AAC, Sample Rate 48000 Hz, Channels Stereo, Bitrate 384 kbps.
9. 9Check the estimated file size at the bottom, then click Export (or Send to Media Encoder to queue it).

For HDR

• Work in a Rec. 2100 HLG or Rec. 2100 PQ sequence colour space so the grade is HDR from the start.
• In Export choose Format HEVC (H.265) and a 10-bit Main10 profile; start from one of Adobe's built-in HDR presets.
• Make sure the export colour space matches the sequence ({colorLabel}) before you click Export.

Premiere Pro pitfalls

• Key Frame Distance is hidden under Advanced Settings and is off by default; Premiere then picks the keyframe interval itself.
• Hardware-encoded HEVC usually offers only CBR and VBR, 1 pass. Use software encoding if you need VBR, 2 pass.
• Match Source presets inherit the sequence size. A vertical 9:16 export needs a 9:16 sequence, or the picture is letterboxed.
• Premiere has no AV1 export. Pick H.264 or HEVC.

Shinel Studios

Rather send the footage and get upload-ready edits back?

Our editors cut, caption, colour and export to each platform's spec, with 2 revision rounds. Shorts come back in 48-72 hours, long videos in 5-10 days.