Facebook Ad Sizes and Specs by Placement (2026)

Getting Facebook ad sizes right keeps creative from being cropped, pillarboxed, or compressed across the dozen-plus places Meta can serve it. The specs vary by placement, but most campaigns only need two assets:

• 1:1 (1080 × 1080) — the universal square; covers Feed, carousel, Marketplace, and right column.
• 9:16 (1080 × 1920) — full-screen vertical; covers Stories and Reels.

A third ratio, 4:5 (1080 × 1350), takes about 20% more vertical space on mobile feed and often outperforms square for single-image or single-video feed ads. Since Meta owns Facebook and Instagram, there is no separate "Meta" size — designing to 1:1, 4:5, and 9:16 covers both platforms.

Facebook ad sizes by placement

Recommended dimensions for each Facebook placement in 2026:

One important exception: never use 4:5 in a carousel. Meta crops carousel cards to 1:1, so a 4:5 image loses its top and bottom. Default to 1:1 for carousels and reserve 4:5 for single-asset feed ads.

File requirements

Across placements, the technical limits are consistent:

• Images: JPG or PNG, up to 30 MB. At least 1080 pixels on the shortest side; there is no maximum resolution.
• Video: MP4 or MOV, H.264 codec, up to 4 GB.
• Reels length: up to 90 seconds, with 15–30 seconds the performance sweet spot. Reels are often watched with sound on, so design for audio.

The 1080-pixel floor matters more than it used to. A vertical asset rendering at a low resolution looks soft and tends to lose the auction, so shipping full-resolution creative protects both quality and delivery.

Text recommendations

Facebook recommends keeping ad copy short so nothing is truncated. The current guidance:

• Primary text: around 125 characters.
• Headline: around 27–40 characters.
• Description: around 30 characters.

These are recommendations rather than hard caps — longer copy is allowed but may be cut off with a "See more" link, especially on mobile.

Safe zones for vertical ads

Stories and Reels share the same 9:16 dimensions, but Meta's interface overlays parts of the screen, so key elements need to stay clear of it. A practical rule: keep logos, text, faces, and calls to action out of roughly the top 14% and the bottom 20% (Stories) to 35% (Reels) of the frame. Anything placed there can be hidden behind the profile icon, caption sticker, or CTA button.

Common ad formats

The main Facebook ad formats and the size each uses:

• Image ads: a single image with a call to action. Use 1:1 or 4:5 for feed.
• Video ads: feed video at 1:1 or 4:5; vertical 9:16 for Stories and Reels; 16:9 for in-stream.
• Carousel ads: two to ten images or videos, each with its own link, at 1:1.
• Collection ads: a mobile format pairing a primary image or video with a product grid, leading into a full-screen Instant Experience.
• Stories and Reels ads: full-screen vertical 9:16, best suited to native-feeling, fast-hook creative.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Facebook ad size?

For a single, versatile asset, 1:1 (1080 × 1080) works across Feed, carousel, Marketplace, and right column. For the placements where spend is growing — Stories and Reels — use 9:16 (1080 × 1920). Between those two, most campaigns are covered.

What size is a Facebook feed ad?

Feed ads use 1:1 (1080 × 1080) or 4:5 (1080 × 1350). The 4:5 vertical takes more screen space on mobile and often performs better for single-image or single-video feed ads.

Are Facebook and Meta ad sizes the same?

Yes. Meta is the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, so the specs are shared. Designing to 1:1, 4:5, and 9:16 covers placements across both platforms.

What size works across the most placements?

A 9:16 (1080 × 1920) asset covers Stories and Reels and is auto-fit to feed, while a 1:1 (1080 × 1080) asset covers feed, carousel, Marketplace, and right column. Building both is enough for the large majority of campaigns.

Next steps

Specs change at the edges each year, but the core sizes — 1:1 and 4:5 for feed, 9:16 for Stories and Reels — are stable, and Meta's Ads Guide is the source of truth for any placement-specific detail. First Pier is an ecommerce agency in Portland, Maine that builds and optimizes Shopify storefronts and runs the paid social that grows them. For help with Facebook and Instagram advertising, get in touch.