Pixel-perfect Instagram dimensions for every surface in 2026 — feed posts, Reels, Stories, carousels, profile pictures, and every ad placement. Get this wrong and Instagram either crops your content, downsizes it, or kills your engagement.
Quick Answer
The best Instagram post size for 2026 is 1080x1350 pixels (4:5 portrait). This takes up the most vertical screen space in the feed without being cropped. Reels and Stories are 1080x1920 (9:16). Profile pictures should be uploaded at 1080x1080.
All Instagram Sizes (2026)
| Surface | Recommended Size | Aspect Ratio | Max File Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feed Post (Portrait) | 1080x1350 | 4:5 | 30 MB |
| Feed Post (Square) | 1080x1080 | 1:1 | 30 MB |
| Feed Post (Landscape) | 1080x566 | 1.91:1 | 30 MB |
| Reel | 1080x1920 | 9:16 | 4 GB / 90s typical |
| Story | 1080x1920 | 9:16 | 4 GB |
| Carousel (each slide) | 1080x1350 | 4:5 | 30 MB per slide |
| Profile Picture | 1080x1080 upload | 1:1 (circular crop) | 5 MB |
| Story Highlight Cover | 1080x1920 | 9:16 (circular crop) | 5 MB |
| IGTV Cover | 420x654 | 1:1.55 | 5 MB |
Feed Post Sizes
Instagram supports three feed post aspect ratios. The 2026 algorithm doesn't care which you use, but 4:5 portrait (1080x1350) wins on engagement because it occupies more vertical screen space — taking up roughly 78% of the visible feed on a typical phone vs. 62% for square. More screen time = more attention = more engagement signal.
- Portrait (4:5): 1080x1350 — best for engagement
- Square (1:1): 1080x1080 — safe for cross-posting
- Landscape (1.91:1): 1080x566 — worst engagement, avoid unless you're posting a panoramic photo
Reels Size
Reels must be 1080x1920 (9:16).Anything else gets letterboxed with black bars or, worse, cropped to fill the screen and chopping off your subject. Export from your video editor at exactly 9:16 — don't let Instagram do it for you.
Keep important on-screen text within the safe zone: 220 pixels from the top (avoiding the @username bar) and 350 pixels from the bottom (avoiding the caption preview, like/comment/share UI, and the music banner). That leaves a safe vertical zone of about 1350 pixels for your text and subject.
Story Size
Stories use the same 1080x1920 (9:16) dimensions as Reels but have a stricter safe zone: 250 pixels from the top for the username and progress bar, and 250 pixels from the bottomfor the “Send Message” reply bar. Always design Stories assuming the top 13% and bottom 13% of the image will be partially obscured.
Carousel Size (10 Slides Max)
Each carousel slide should be 1080x1350 (4:5). Critical rule: all slides must use the same aspect ratio as slide 1. If your first slide is 4:5 and slide 4 is 1:1, Instagram either crops slide 4 to 4:5 or scales it down with white bars — both look broken.
Carousels are the highest-engagement post type in 2026 because they trigger multiple impressions per swipe (each swipe re-feeds the post into the feed-ranking pool). Maximum 10 slides per carousel.
Profile Picture Size
Profile pictures display at 110x110 pixels in feeds and 320x320 in profiles, but Instagram now stores them at 1080x1080 for retina screens. Upload at 1080x1080 minimum — anything smaller looks blurry on iPhone Pro Max and similar high-DPI screens.
The image is cropped to a circle, so keep your subject (face, logo) centered with at least 100px of padding from the edges. Avoid square-edge designs that get clipped by the circle mask.
Instagram Ad Sizes
- Feed Ads: 1080x1080 (square) or 1080x1350 (portrait). Portrait outperforms square by ~25% on CTR.
- Story Ads: 1080x1920 (9:16). Same safe zone rules as organic stories.
- Reels Ads: 1080x1920 (9:16). Native Reel format with paid distribution overlay.
- Explore Ads: 1080x1080 (1:1). Square is safer here because Explore mixes aspect ratios.
- Carousel Ads: 1080x1080 per card, up to 10 cards.
File Format & Compression
- Photos: JPEG or PNG, sRGB color space, max 30 MB.
- Videos: MP4 (H.264 codec), AAC audio, 30fps recommended (60fps allowed for sports/action), max 4 GB.
- Bitrate: 5-8 Mbps for video — anything higher gets re-compressed by Instagram with quality loss.
- Always export with sRGB color profile. Adobe RGB or DCI-P3 will appear washed out on iOS/Android.
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