Instagram Post Size: Feed, Story and Reel Dimensions
By Tayyab, Founder
Updated . Part of the social media image sizes guide.
An Instagram feed post is 1080 pixels wide and between 566 and 1440 pixels tall, and the size to use is 1080 × 1350 (4:5). A square is 1080 × 1080, the tallest the app takes is 1080 × 1440 (3:4), and Stories and Reels are 1080 × 1920 (9:16). We checked every number against Instagram's own Help Center and Meta's developer pages on October 15, 2026.
- Feed post
- 1080 × 1350
- 4:5 portrait, the size that works everywhere
- Ratio the app takes
- 1.91:1 to 3:4
- Instagram Help Center
- Story and Reel
- 1080 × 1920
- 9:16, full screen
- Reel cover
- 420 × 654
- png or jpg, cannot be edited later
- Carousel
- 20 slides
- 10 through the publishing API
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All Instagram image sizes
| Format | Size to design at | Ratio | Limits | Safe zone and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feed photoSources 1, 2 |
| 1.91:1 to 3:4 Instagram crops a photo outside this range to fit. |
| Instagram uploads a photo at up to 1080 px wide. A photo narrower than 320 px is enlarged to 320 and a wider one is sized down to 1080. The 1.91:1 to 3:4 range is what the Instagram app takes; the publishing API that scheduling tools use takes 4:5 to 1.91:1, JPEG only, up to 1440 px wide. |
| StorySources 2, 3 |
| 9:16 |
| Keep text and logos clear of 14% at the top and 35% at the bottom, 6% on each side. Stated by the network. Instagram publishes no organic Story size. Meta's ad guide for Instagram Stories recommends 9:16 at 1080 × 1920 (600 × 1067 at the least), and asks for the margins shown here to stay free of text and logos. |
| Reel (video)VideoSources 2, 4, 5 |
The network publishes no size. This is the size Content Drifter publishes at. | 1.91:1 to 9:16 |
| Keep text and logos clear of 14% at the top and 35% at the bottom, 6% on each side. Stated by the network. Instagram Help accepts a Reel between 1.91:1 and 9:16, at 30 frames per second or more and at least 720 px. Through the publishing API a Reel can be any ratio from 0.01:1 to 10:1, and Instagram recommends 9:16 to avoid cropping or blank space. It states no preferred pixel size; 1080 × 1920 is the full-screen size Content Drifter publishes Reels at. Meta's Reels ad guide sets the margins shown here. |
| Reel coverSources 2, 4 |
| 1:1.55 |
| Instagram does not let you edit a Reel cover after you upload it, so choose it before you post. Through the publishing API the cover is a JPEG up to 8 MB and Instagram recommends 9:16: it crops anything else to the middle 9:16 for the Reel and, when the Reel is shared to the feed, to the middle 1:1 square for the feed post. |
| CarouselSources 2, 6 |
| 1.91:1 to 3:4 |
| Same sizes as a feed photo. The app takes up to 20 photos and videos in one post and one orientation applies to all of them; the publishing API takes up to 10 and crops every slide to the shape of the first. |
| Profile grid thumbnailSource 1 | Not published by the network | No ratio rule published |
| Instagram's Help Center says how a photo is sized and which ratios it takes, and nothing about how the profile grid crops a post, so we give no grid size. Keep the subject of every post in the middle so it survives any crop. |
| Profile photoSource 7 | Not published by the network | No ratio rule published |
| Instagram's Help Center explains how to change the photo and publishes no size, ratio or file limit for it. |
Checked on against these pages:
- Instagram Help Center: Image resolution of photos you share on Instagram (opens in a new tab)
- Meta for Developers: Instagram Platform: IG User Media (publishing specifications) (opens in a new tab)
- Meta Ads Guide: Video ad specs on Instagram Stories, and design requirements for Instagram Stories ads (opens in a new tab)
- Instagram Help Center: Reel size & aspect ratios on Instagram (opens in a new tab)
- Meta Ads Guide: Video ad specs on Instagram Reels (opens in a new tab)
- Instagram Help Center: Share a post with multiple photos or videos on Instagram (opens in a new tab)
- Instagram Help Center: Add a profile picture or change your current picture on Instagram (opens in a new tab)
Instagram safe zones
Text and logos near an edge can be covered by the network's own buttons or cropped on some screens. These are the margins Instagram states, drawn on the real shape.
Story, 1080 × 1920
Keep text and logos clear of 14% at the top and 35% at the bottom, 6% on each side.
Stated by the network. The shaded margins are where text and logos can be covered or cropped.
Reel (video), 1080 × 1920
Keep text and logos clear of 14% at the top and 35% at the bottom, 6% on each side.
Stated by the network. The shaded margins are where text and logos can be covered or cropped.
Which feed size to use
Instagram's Help Center says a photo is uploaded at up to 1080 pixels wide and kept at its original resolution while its ratio is anywhere from 1.91:1 to 3:4, which is 566 to 1440 pixels tall at that width. A photo outside that range is cropped to fit, and a photo narrower than 320 pixels is enlarged to 320.
Inside the range the choice is how much of the screen the post takes. A 4:5 portrait is 25% taller than a square at the same width, and 3:4 is 33% taller. The widest ratio, 1.91:1, is the shortest at 566 pixels tall.
Instagram's Help Center lists 3:4 as the tallest ratio the app takes, but the publishing API that scheduling tools use stops at 4:5, so 1080 × 1350 is the size that works whether you post in the app or schedule.
Posting in the app is not the same as scheduling
Instagram's publishing API has its own rules: JPEG only, up to 8 MB, a ratio from 4:5 to 1.91:1, and 320 to 1440 pixels wide in sRGB. A wider image is scaled down to 1440 pixels and a narrower one up to 320.
Content Drifter publishes through that API. It converts an image to JPEG, compresses it to fit 8 MB, and pads an image outside 4:5 to 1.91:1 to fit instead of cropping it, so a 3:4 picture is never cut.
Stories and Reels: size and safe zone
Instagram's Help Center publishes no Story size. Meta's ad guide for Stories recommends 9:16 at 1080 × 1920. A Reel can be anywhere from 1.91:1 to 9:16, at least 720 pixels wide and 30 frames per second; 1080 × 1920 is the size Content Drifter publishes Reels at.
For both, Meta's ad guides ask you to keep roughly 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% of each side free of text and logos. On a 1080 × 1920 canvas that is about 269 pixels at the top, 672 at the bottom and 65 on each side. Instagram publishes no organic safe zone, so the ad guide is the best published figure.
The Reel cover is 420 × 654 (1:1.55) as a PNG or JPG, and Instagram does not let you edit it after the Reel is posted, so choose it first. Through the publishing API a cover that is not 9:16 is cropped to its middle 9:16, and when the Reel is also shared to the feed, to its middle 1:1 square for the feed post, so keep the subject of the cover in the middle.
Carousels: slide one decides the shape
In the app a post takes up to 20 photos and videos, and one orientation (square, portrait or landscape) applies to all of them. Through the publishing API a carousel takes up to 10 items, and every slide is cropped to the shape of the first, which defaults to 1:1.
Design every slide at the same size, 1080 × 1350 being the usual choice. Our carousel size guide covers the LinkedIn, TikTok and Facebook versions too.
Profile photo and the profile grid
Instagram's Help Center explains how to change the profile picture and publishes no size, ratio or file limit for it, so we give none. Upload a square image with the subject in the middle and check it in the app.
The same goes for the profile grid. The Help Center says how a photo is sized and which ratios it takes, and nothing about how the grid crops a post, so we give no grid size. Keep the subject of every post in the middle and it survives whatever crop the grid uses.
Instagram mistakes to avoid
- Sending a PNG to a scheduler
- Instagram's publishing API takes JPEG only. Content Drifter converts a PNG to JPEG for you. If your scheduler does not, export a JPEG yourself.
- Scheduling more than 10 slides
- The app takes 20, the publishing API 10. Content Drifter stops an eleventh image with "Instagram accepts at most 10 images per post", before it reaches Instagram.
- Mixing shapes in one carousel
- Every slide is cropped to the shape of the first. If slide one is portrait, a square second slide is cropped to portrait, and any text near its edges goes with it.
- Sending a still image as a Reel
- A Reel is video. Instagram publishes an image sent as a Reel as an ordinary feed post, so Content Drifter asks for a video instead of publishing the same image twice.
- Putting text in the bottom third of a Story or Reel
- Meta asks for 35% of the bottom to stay clear of text and logos, about 672 pixels on a 1080 × 1920 canvas, because the caption and buttons sit there.
- A file over 8 MB
- Instagram's API rejected larger files as invalid media in our own publishing. Content Drifter compresses an image to fit before it sends it.
Frequently asked questions
What size should an Instagram post be?
Use 1080 × 1350 pixels, a 4:5 portrait. Instagram uploads photos at up to 1080 pixels wide and keeps them as they are while the ratio is anywhere from 1.91:1 to 3:4, which is 566 to 1440 pixels tall. A square is 1080 × 1080.
What is the aspect ratio for Instagram posts?
The Instagram app takes 1.91:1 to 3:4, and crops anything outside it. The publishing API that scheduling tools use takes 4:5 to 1.91:1, so 4:5 is the tallest ratio that works in both.
What size is an Instagram Story?
1080 × 1920 pixels at 9:16. Instagram's Help Center publishes no Story size; Meta's ad guide recommends this one and asks you to keep the top 14%, the bottom 35% and 6% of each side free of text and logos.
What size is an Instagram Reel?
1080 × 1920 pixels at 9:16 is the usual size. Instagram accepts a Reel between 1.91:1 and 9:16, at least 720 pixels and 30 frames per second, and the cover is 420 × 654 (1:1.55).
Why does Instagram crop my photo?
Because its ratio is outside 1.91:1 to 3:4, so Instagram crops it to fit. In a carousel every slide is cropped to the shape of the first, which is the usual reason a set that looks right in your editor is cut once posted.
What file size and format does Instagram take?
Instagram's publishing API takes JPEG only, up to 8 MB, between 320 and 1440 pixels wide, and converts other colour spaces to sRGB. The Help Center states no file-size limit for posting in the app.
How many photos can an Instagram carousel have?
Up to 20 photos and videos in the app, with one orientation for all. Through the publishing API the limit is 10, and Content Drifter enforces 10 when it schedules a carousel.
What size is an Instagram profile picture?
Instagram does not publish one. Its Help Center explains how to change the picture and gives no size, ratio or file limit, so we give none either. Upload a square image with the subject centred.
How does the Instagram profile grid crop my posts?
Instagram does not say. Its Help Center states how a photo is sized and which ratios it takes, and publishes no grid crop, so we give no grid size. Keep the subject of every post in the middle so it survives whatever crop the grid uses.
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