Add an overlay to TikTok LIVE
A vertical stream is watched on a phone, with the platform interface on top of your video. The overlay needs a different place and a bigger size than on Twitch.
The short version
- Stream on a 1080 × 1920 vertical canvas.
- TikTok covers the bottom with comments and the right side with buttons: keep the overlay out of both.
- Make the overlay about half the width of the canvas, much larger than on a horizontal stream.
What changes on a vertical stream?
The canvas is portrait, usually 1080 × 1920, and viewers watch on a phone held upright. Your gameplay, which is horizontal, only fills a band of the screen. The rest is space for your facecam, your overlay and the platform interface, which sits on top of everything you send.
Which software should I use?
- TikTok LIVE Studio: add a layer, choose Web Source and paste your overlay link. It works like a Browser Source in OBS.
- OBS with a vertical canvas: set the canvas to 1080 × 1920 and add the overlay as a Browser Source, as in the setup guide.
In both cases, the overlay link is the same one you use on Twitch. Only its position and size change.
Which parts of the screen does TikTok cover?
| Area | Covered by | For the overlay |
|---|---|---|
| Top | Your name, viewer count, close button | Avoid the first strip |
| Right side | Like, share and gift buttons | Keep away from the edge |
| Bottom third | Comments, gifts, input field | Avoid |
| Middle | Nothing | Best place |
The exact layout varies with the app version and the viewer's phone, so treat these as margins, not pixel values.
Where do I put the overlay, and how big?
- Facecam at the top, below the first strip.
- Gameplay in the middle band, full width.
- Overlay right under the gameplay, centered, above the comment area.
Make the overlay about half the width of the canvas, around 500 to 600 pixels on a 1080 pixel wide canvas. On a phone, anything smaller than that becomes hard to read. For horizontal streams, see Place your overlay.
How do I check it before going live?
Start a test stream, or record a short clip, and watch it on your own phone with the TikTok interface visible. Scroll the comments and send a gift from a second account if you can: if anything covers the overlay, move it up.
What does a full vertical layout look like?
An example for Rocket League on a 1080 × 1920 canvas, from top to bottom:
| Element | Position | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Free strip for the TikTok header | 0 to 160 pixels | Nothing important here |
| Facecam | 160 to 600 pixels | Full width, cropped to the face |
| Gameplay | 620 to 1230 pixels | 1080 × 608, the 16:9 image at full width |
| Controller overlay | 1250 to 1560 pixels | About 560 pixels wide, centered |
| Comment area | From about 1560 pixels | Leave empty |
Can I stream horizontal and vertical at the same time?
Yes. With OBS, the Aitum Vertical plugin adds a second, vertical canvas that streams alongside your normal one. Add your overlay link to both canvases: it runs on the same PC, so it counts as one device for your link. Streaming twice costs more upload bandwidth and encoder power, so check the Stats dock during a test.
Design it once for free, then place it in your horizontal and vertical scenes with the same link.
Create my overlay