What Size Is Instagram Post? Dimensions & Aspect Ratios (2026)

If you've ever wondered what size is Instagram post content meant to be usually right after uploading a photo and finding it weirdly cropped you already know why this matters.

Instagram supports a handful of fixed sizes, and matching them is the difference between a clean post and a mangled one. Here's what actually works.

What size is Instagram post content in 2026?

So, what size is Instagram post content supposed to be? The short answer: 1080 pixels wide, with the height depending on the shape you want.

There are three accepted feed sizes.

Square: 1080 x 1080 px (1:1 aspect ratio)
Vertical / Portrait: 1080 x 1350 px (4:5 aspect ratio) — Instagram's recommended feed size
Landscape / Horizontal: 1080 x 566 px (1.91:1 aspect ratio)

One thing worth flagging upfront: your profile grid previews posts in a 3:4 ratio. So even if you upload a tall 4:5 image, the grid thumbnail crops it slightly. Keep important parts of the image centered and you won't lose anything that matters.

Instagram post sizes at a glance

Here's a single reference table for every Instagram visual format. Most people only need three or four of these, but having all of them in one place saves a lot of scrolling.

Visual Type	Aspect Ratio	Recommended Dimensions	Supported File Formats
Square feed post	1:1	1080 x 1080 px	PNG, JPG, BMP
Vertical feed post	4:5	1080 x 1350 px	PNG, JPG, BMP
Horizontal feed post	1.91:1	1080 x 566 px	PNG, JPG, BMP
Carousel post	Matches first slide	Up to 20 slides	PNG, JPG, BMP, MP4, MOV
Story	9:16	1080 x 1920 px	PNG, JPG, MP4, MOV
Reel	9:16	1080 x 1920 px	MP4, MOV
Reel cover/thumbnail	9:16	1080 x 1920 px	PNG, JPG
Profile photo	1:1	320 x 320 px	PNG, JPG
Story ad (single)	9:16	1080 x 1920 px	PNG, JPG, MP4, MOV
Feed image ad	1:1 or 4:5	1080 x 1080 or 1080 x 1350 px	PNG, JPG

In practice, most creators bookmark a chart like this and reuse the same three or four sizes across every post. There's no real benefit to mixing in oddball dimensions.

Understanding aspect ratios and pixels

Before getting into each format, it helps to know what those numbers actually mean. Two terms come up constantly aspect ratio and pixels and they're easier than they sound.

What is an aspect ratio?

An aspect ratio is the relationship between an image's width and height, written as width:height. A 1:1 image is a perfect square.

A 4:5 image is taller than wide. A 1.91:1 image is wider than tall. A 9:16 image is the tall, full-screen shape your phone screen makes when held upright.

What pixels do

Pixels are the dots that make up a digital image. More pixels generally means a sharper image. Instagram uses 1080 pixels of width as the standard baseline upload narrower than that and the platform may have to stretch it, which usually softens the result.

File formats Instagram accepts

For photos: PNG, JPG, BMP, and non-animated GIF. For videos: MP4 and MOV.

Most phones already export in these formats, so this rarely becomes an issue unless you're working from an unusual source file.

Instagram feed post sizes (in detail)

Feed posts are the standard photo or video uploads that live on your profile grid. Each shape has a use.

Square posts — 1080 x 1080 px

The classic Instagram shape. Square works well for centered subjects, product shots, and graphic designs where symmetry carries the composition.

There's nothing wrong with square it just doesn't fill as much screen real estate as a vertical post.

Vertical posts — 1080 x 1350 px

This is the format Instagram itself recommends for feed posts. A 4:5 image takes up more vertical screen space, which means viewers spend slightly longer scrolling past it.

In practice, that extra fraction of a second is often what gets someone to actually read the caption or stop on the image.

Landscape posts — 1080 x 566 px

Landscape is the smallest of the three on a phone screen. It's the right choice when the image genuinely needs horizontal room wide scenery, group shots, or banner-style graphics. Otherwise, you're giving up screen space for no clear reason.

How the profile grid preview works

This is the part most older guides get wrong. The profile grid no longer shows posts as squares. It previews them in a 3:4 aspect ratio.

That means if you upload a 4:5 vertical image, a small sliver gets trimmed in the grid thumbnail, even though the full image displays untouched when someone taps in.

The practical takeaway: keep any text, faces, or focal points away from the very top and bottom of vertical posts. If it sits in the middle, it stays safe across both views.

Instagram carousel post size

Carousels let you stack up to 20 photos or videos in one post. Instagram pulls the size from your first slide and applies it to the rest.

You get three layout options when posting a carousel:

All slides match the first slide's dimensions
Slides stay in their original mixed dimensions
All slides convert to square

Mixed dimensions sounds appealing but comes with quirks Instagram pads landscape and square images with extra space above and below, while portrait images display at 4:5. If you upload videos into a carousel, the whole thing switches to portrait orientation regardless of what the first slide looks like.

Teams that publish carousels regularly often crop every slide manually before uploading. It's a small extra step, but you stay in control of exactly how each frame appears.

Instagram Story size

Stories are built for full-screen vertical viewing. The right size is 1080 x 1920 px at a 9:16 aspect ratio.

There's one thing the dimensions alone don't tell you: Instagram layers your profile info at the top and interaction buttons at the bottom of every Story.

Anything placed in those zones can get covered. A safe rule is to leave roughly 250 px of clear space at the top and bottom for any text, logos, or call-to-action elements.

Square or horizontal images can still work in Stories you just frame them inside the 9:16 canvas and fill the empty space with stickers, text, or a colored background.

Instagram Reels size

Reels follow the same 9:16 format as Stories 1080 x 1920 px. Worth noting: all video uploads on Instagram now display as Reels, even the ones you intended as a regular video post.

How a Reel appears depends on where it's being viewed:

In the main feed: vertical at 9:16
On the profile grid: cropped to a 3:4 thumbnail
Under the Reels tab on your profile: full 9:16

Reel cover and thumbnail size

The cover image for a Reel works best at the same 1080 x 1920 px dimensions as the video itself. You have two options: pick a frame from the video, or upload a custom cover image from your camera roll.

One useful detail people often miss you can change the cover image after a Reel is already published. If an older Reel's thumbnail no longer fits your profile aesthetic, you can swap it without re-uploading the video.

Instagram profile photo size

Profile photos are small, but they appear everywhere your profile, the Stories tray, the feed when you post, DMs. The right size is 320 x 320 px at a 1:1 aspect ratio.

Instagram displays profile photos as circles. Anything near the corners of the square gets cropped out, so center your face, logo, or subject and leave the edges relatively empty.

Instagram ad sizes

Ad sizes are similar to organic post sizes but not identical. If you boost an existing post, it keeps its original dimensions. If you create a fresh ad from scratch, you'll use Instagram's ad-specific dimensions.

Story ads (single image or video): 1080 x 1920 px (9:16)
Carousel Story ads (2–10 cards): 1080 x 1920 px (9:16)
Feed image ads: 1080 x 1080 px (1:1) or 1080 x 1350 px (4:5)

Instagram often recommends higher resolutions for ad placements than for organic posts. Brands running ads regularly tend to follow Meta's official ad spec sheet rather than going from memory, because requirements shift over time.

Each ad placement carries slightly different optimal dimensions, file size caps, and length limits depending on the campaign objective.

How to avoid cropping issues on Instagram

Most cropping problems trace back to the same cause: uploading at a ratio Instagram doesn't natively support.

A few practical fixes.

Upload at one of the four supported feed ratios: 1:1, 4:5, 1.91:1, or 9:16
When the upload preview shows your image as a square by default, tap the two-arrow expand icon to switch it back to the original ratio
For mixed-size carousels, crop each slide to a consistent shape before uploading
Keep the important visual content within the 3:4 grid safe zone

If your source image is the wrong shape entirely, adding borders is a clean workaround — you preserve the original framing and pad the rest with a solid colour or texture to hit the required ratio.

Mixing post types matters more than you'd think

Sizing is a piece of a larger picture. Instagram surfaces content based on what each viewer interacts with most, which means a profile that publishes only one format tends to reach a narrower audience. Mixing feed posts, carousels, Stories, and Reels gives your content more surfaces to appear on.

What's often overlooked is that sizing consistency across these formats is what makes a profile feel coherent. A mismatched profile with stretched thumbnails, awkward crops, and inconsistent ratios reads as careless, even when the content itself is strong.

Conclusion

Instagram post sizing comes down to three numbers: 1080 x 1080, 1080 x 1350, and 1080 x 566 for feed posts, plus 1080 x 1920 for Stories and Reels.

Match the format, keep key content centered for the 3:4 grid preview, and most cropping issues disappear.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best size for an Instagram feed post?

Instagram recommends 1080 x 1350 px (4:5 aspect ratio) for feed posts. Vertical images take up more screen space than square or landscape, which generally means viewers spend slightly longer on each post as they scroll.

What size should an Instagram Story be?

The ideal Story size is 1080 x 1920 px at a 9:16 aspect ratio. This fills the screen without borders or cropping. Leave roughly 250 px clear at the top and bottom for the profile bar and interaction buttons.

What size should an Instagram Reel be?

Reels work best at 1080 x 1920 px (9:16 aspect ratio). Use the same dimensions for your Reel cover so the thumbnail aligns cleanly on your profile grid and in the Reels tab.

Is the Instagram grid 4:5 or 3:4?

The Instagram profile grid previews posts in a 3:4 ratio. Your full post can still be 4:5, 1:1, or 1.91:1, but keep important visual elements centered within the 3:4 zone so nothing gets cropped on the grid.

How do I stop Instagram from cropping my picture?

Upload your image at a supported aspect ratio 1:1, 4:5, 1.91:1, or 9:16. If the preview shows it as a square, tap the expand icon at the bottom-left of the preview to switch back to the original dimensions.