This is the reference sheet for Instagram image and video dimensions: paid placements first, then organic posts. Every figure below was checked against Meta's Ads Guide and Instagram's current product behaviour in August 2026. Instagram changes these specs quietly and often, so treat any spec sheet older than about a year as unreliable.
Instagram ad sizes at a glance
Meta now recommends uploading at 1440 px on the long edge rather than the older 1080 px standard. Higher-resolution source files render more cleanly on modern phone displays, and Instagram compresses down anyway. The 1080 px figures still work and remain the practical minimum.
| Placement | Recommended resolution | Aspect ratio | Max duration | Max file size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feed – portrait | 1440 × 1800 px (1080 × 1350 minimum) | 4:5 | 60 min | 30 MB image / 4 GB video |
| Feed – square | 1440 × 1440 px (1080 × 1080 minimum) | 1:1 | 60 min | 30 MB image / 4 GB video |
| Feed – landscape | 1080 × 566 px | 1.91:1 | 60 min | 30 MB image / 4 GB video |
| Stories | 1440 × 2560 px (1080 × 1920 minimum) | 9:16 | 60 min allowed; splits into 15-second cards | 30 MB image / 4 GB video |
| Reels | 1440 × 2560 px (1080 × 1920 minimum) | 9:16 | 15 min | 30 MB image / 4 GB video |
| Carousel (per card) | 1080 × 1080 px or 1080 × 1350 px | 1:1 or 4:5, identical across all cards | 2 min per card | 30 MB per image / 4 GB per video |
| Explore | 1080 × 1080 px or 1080 × 1350 px | 1:1 or 4:5 | 60 min | 30 MB image / 4 GB video |
| Collection (cover asset) | 1080 × 1080 px or 1080 × 1350 px | 1:1 or 4:5 | 60 min | 30 MB image / 4 GB video |
| Shopping | 1080 × 1080 px or 1080 × 1350 px | 1:1 or 4:5 | 60 min | 30 MB image / 4 GB video |
Accepted file types are JPG and PNG for images, MP4 and MOV (H.264, 30 fps or lower) for video. The 4 GB video ceiling is far larger than anything you should actually upload — keep exports under about 1 GB so Ads Manager processes them quickly.
Feed ads
Portrait 4:5 is the default worth designing for. It occupies the most vertical space in the feed of any supported ratio, which is the single cheapest way to increase the share of screen your ad holds while someone scrolls. Instagram accepts anything from 1.91:1 landscape through 4:5 portrait in the feed.
- Portrait: 1440 × 1800 px (4:5) — the working default
- Square: 1440 × 1440 px (1:1) — useful when the same asset also runs on Facebook or Explore
- Landscape: 1080 × 566 px (1.91:1) — rarely the right choice on Instagram; it takes the least screen space
Feed video accepts the same dimensions as feed images. Meta's technical ceiling is 60 minutes, which is irrelevant in practice: 15 to 30 seconds is the range that holds attention in a paid feed placement.
Stories and Reels ads
Both are full-screen 9:16 placements at 1440 × 2560 px (1080 × 1920 px minimum). They are not interchangeable, though. Reels is a sound-on environment where ads sit between organic Reels, so creative that reads as a native Reel outperforms creative that reads as a repurposed banner. Stories is a tap-through environment where the exit is one thumb movement away.
Safe zones
Instagram's own interface — profile name, caption, audio attribution, CTA button — overlays the top and bottom of every full-screen placement. Creative that ignores this looks fine in a design tool and broken on a phone.
- Keep the top 14% (roughly 250 px) clear of text, logos and faces
- Keep the bottom 20–35% (roughly 340 px) clear — use the wider figure for Reels, where more UI stacks up
- Leave roughly a 6% margin on each side
- The reliable working area is a centred block of about 1080 × 1420 px within a 1080 × 1920 frame
Feed placements have no UI overlay problem, but note that anything you post also appears cropped to 3:4 on your profile grid, so keep key elements away from the outer edges there too.
Video length by format
| Format | Maximum allowed | Length that actually works |
|---|---|---|
| Feed video | 60 minutes | 15–30 seconds |
| Stories video | 60 minutes (auto-split into 15-second cards) | 15 seconds or less |
| Reels ad | 15 minutes | 15–30 seconds |
| Carousel video card | 2 minutes per card | 6–15 seconds |
| Explore video | 60 minutes | 15–30 seconds |
The Stories behaviour is the one people get caught by. A 40-second Stories ad is not shown as a 40-second ad; Instagram splits it into three sequential cards, and each break gives the viewer a natural moment to swipe away. If the message needs more than 15 seconds, it is usually a Reels brief rather than a Stories brief.
Carousel ads
- 2 to 10 cards per ad (organic carousel posts now allow up to 20 items; ads have not followed)
- 1080 × 1080 px (1:1) or 1080 × 1350 px (4:5) per card
- Every card must use the same aspect ratio — mixing ratios forces Instagram to crop
- Images up to 30 MB per card; video up to 2 minutes and 4 GB per card
- Each card carries its own headline and destination URL
Carousel is the format that rewards sequencing. Card one has to earn the swipe on its own, and the destination URL on each card should match what that card is actually showing.
Explore, Collection and Shopping ads
Explore ads appear when someone taps into a post from the Explore grid. They run at 1:1 or 4:5 and follow feed specs. Because the viewer arrived in discovery mode rather than following mode, the creative has to explain who you are without assuming recognition.
Collection ads pair a cover image or video with a row of catalogue products underneath. Build the cover at 1080 × 1080 px or 1080 × 1350 px; the product thumbnails come from your catalogue automatically. This is the format that does the most work for a store with a well-structured feed.
Shopping ads pull directly from your product catalogue at 1:1 or 4:5. The dimension question matters less here than catalogue hygiene — accurate titles, clean product images on consistent backgrounds, and correct pricing all affect performance more than the crop does.
Ad text limits
| Text element | Limit before truncation |
|---|---|
| Primary text | 125 characters |
| Primary text (Reels) | 72 characters |
| Headline | 40 characters |
| Description | 30 characters |
Anything beyond those counts is hidden behind a "more" link that most people never tap. Write the offer and the reason to care inside the first 125 characters and treat the rest as optional detail. Meta no longer rejects ads for covering more than 20% of the image with text, but text-heavy images still tend to underperform.
Choosing formats by campaign objective
Awareness. Reels and Stories give the widest reach per dollar. Full-screen, sound-on creative works here because the objective is to be noticed rather than clicked.
Traffic and conversions. Feed images and video with a clear call to action are the reliable workhorses. Carousel is strong when the decision involves comparing several products.
Catalogue and shopping. Collection and Shopping formats read directly from your product feed and are built for ecommerce. They are worth the setup effort if your catalogue is in good shape.
Retargeting. Most formats work. Stories tends to hold up well because a full-screen placement is difficult to scroll past, and the audience already knows the brand.
Which formats to run and in what mix is a testing question rather than a spec question. Our notes on creative testing on Meta cover how to structure that without burning budget on inconclusive results.
Organic Instagram post sizes
Most people searching for Instagram post dimensions are not buying ads — they are about to publish something. The organic specs differ from the ad specs, and two of them changed in 2025.
| Post type | Dimensions | Aspect ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feed post – portrait | 1080 × 1350 px | 4:5 | The standard default |
| Feed post – tall portrait | 1080 × 1440 px | 3:4 | Supported since May 2025; matches most phone cameras |
| Feed post – square | 1080 × 1080 px | 1:1 | Still supported; gets cropped on the grid |
| Feed post – landscape | 1080 × 566 px | 1.91:1 | Takes the least screen space |
| Story | 1080 × 1920 px | 9:16 | Up to 60 seconds per clip |
| Reel | 1080 × 1920 px | 9:16 | Up to 3 minutes since January 2025 |
| Carousel | Matches the first item uploaded | Set by first item | Up to 20 photos or videos |
| Profile grid tile | Cropped from your post | 3:4 | Changed from 1:1 in early 2025 |
The grid change is the one that trips people up. Since early 2025 the profile grid displays 3:4 rectangles rather than squares, and it crops every thumbnail to that ratio regardless of what you uploaded. A 4:5 post loses a strip from each side on the grid; a 1:1 post loses more. The post itself still displays at its original ratio in the feed. If your grid layout matters, keep the important part of the image inside a centred 3:4 area.
Uploading at 3:4 (1080 × 1440 px) sidesteps the grid crop entirely, but those posts sit slightly taller in the feed than the 4:5 most brands have standardised on. Either is defensible; the choice is whether you optimise for the feed or the grid.
Profile pictures follow different rules again, including how the circular crop interacts with logos. We cover that separately in Instagram profile picture size.
A working asset set
You do not need a file for every placement. Four exports cover almost everything:
- 1440 × 1800 px (4:5) — feed ads and organic feed posts
- 1440 × 2560 px (9:16) — Stories and Reels, built inside the safe zones
- 1080 × 1080 px (1:1) — carousel cards, Explore, and cross-posting to Facebook
- 1080 × 566 px (1.91:1) — the occasional landscape placement
Design at the largest size first and scale down. Scaling up from a 1080 px file to meet the 1440 px recommendation produces a softer image than exporting at 1440 px from the start.
Common questions
What is the single best Instagram size to use?
1080 × 1350 px at 4:5 for anything in the feed, and 1080 × 1920 px at 9:16 for anything full-screen. Those two cover the large majority of both paid and organic use. Export at 1440 px on the long edge if your source files allow it.
Does Instagram still crop posts to squares?
No. The feed has displayed portrait posts at their uploaded ratio for years, and since early 2025 the profile grid uses 3:4 rectangles rather than 1:1 squares. Square is now the format most likely to be cropped, not the safest.
How often do these specs change?
Meta adjusts something roughly once or twice a year, usually recommended resolutions, video length ceilings, or how content is displayed rather than what is accepted. Checking Meta's Ads Guide before a major creative production run takes a few minutes and avoids reshoots.
Do the specs differ between desktop and mobile?
The upload specs are identical. The display differs: Stories are mobile-only, Reels are built for mobile and appear differently on desktop, and feed ads sit within more surrounding content on desktop. Since the overwhelming majority of Instagram use is on phones, design for the phone and check desktop afterwards.
Why does my ad look different from my mockup?
Usually one of three things: the asset was uploaded at a ratio Instagram had to crop, key elements sat inside a safe zone the interface covers, or the file was scaled up from a smaller source. Meta's Ads Manager preview shows the ad in each placement before you publish, which catches all three.
Where sizing fits
Correct dimensions are a floor, not a strategy. They stop Instagram from cropping your work and stop the platform from rejecting your upload, and that is the whole of what they do. What moves results is the offer, the audience, and how quickly the creative communicates something worth stopping for.
If you are working out where paid social sits alongside your other channels, our ecommerce advertising playbook covers how the channels fit together, and our guide to building an ecommerce marketing strategy covers the layer above that.
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