Instagram Aspect Ratio and Video Size: Every Format for 2026

Instagram uses a different shape for each place you can post. As read on 27 October 2026: Reels and Stories are vertical 9:16, feed photos can be anything from 1.91:1 landscape to 3:4 portrait, and the new Features format for long videos is horizontal. The right size for each, and the parts of the frame to keep clear, are below.

Many aspect ratio guides were written before Instagram moved its profile grid to rectangles in January 2025 and before Features was announced on 26 October 2026, so we read every number again on Instagram's Help Centre and in Meta's own Ads Guide, and link each one with its date. We build Ziztu, an AI video tool that comes up near the end, so weigh that part.

Instagram aspect ratios at a glance

An aspect ratio is width to height. 9:16 means 9 units wide for every 16 tall, which is a phone held upright. 16:9 is the same shape turned on its side, the shape of a YouTube video or a TV.

Reels: 9:16

Reels fill a phone screen held upright, so they are 9:16. Meta's Ads Guide lists 9:16 for Reels and recommends 1440 x 2560 pixels for Reels ads, as read on 27 October 2026. For ordinary Reels we export 1080 x 1920 pixels, the same shape at the common Full HD size. Both look the same on a phone.

Keep words and faces away from the edges. Meta's Ads Guide suggests leaving at least 14 percent of the top, 35 percent of the bottom and 6 percent on each side free of text, logos and other key parts. On a 1080 x 1920 frame that is about 270 pixels at the top, 670 at the bottom and 65 on each side. The bottom band is large because the caption, the audio name and the buttons sit there.

Stories: 9:16, with the same safe zones

Stories are also 9:16. Meta's Ads Guide gives Stories video the same 9:16 ratio, the same 1440 x 2560 recommendation for ads and the same safe zones as Reels, so one vertical edit works for both. It also lists a maximum file size of 4 GB and a minimum width of 250 pixels for Stories video ads.

If you make one vertical video for both places, keep everything that matters inside the safe zone and you will not need two versions.

Feed posts: from 1.91:1 to 3:4

Instagram's Help Centre page on image resolution says, as read on 27 October 2026, that a photo keeps its original resolution "as long as the photo's aspect ratio is between 1.91:1 and 3:4 (a width of 1,080 pixels with a height between 566 and 1,440 pixels)". A photo outside that range is cropped to fit. A smaller photo is enlarged to a width of 320 pixels, and a larger one is sized down to a width of 1,080 pixels.

So the three useful shapes for a feed photo are:

• 3:4 portrait, 1080 x 1440. The tallest shape Instagram keeps whole, and it takes the most room in the feed.
• 1:1 square, 1080 x 1080. The classic Instagram shape.
• 1.91:1 landscape, 1080 x 566. The widest shape, which shows small on a phone.

The profile grid changed in January 2025, when Instagram replaced its square thumbnails with a rectangular layout, Engadget reported. Tall posts suit the taller tiles better than wide ones, which is one more reason to use 3:4.

Videos you post to the feed are shared as Reels, so treat a feed video as a Reel and make it 9:16. Meta's Ads Guide also lists 9:16 at 1080 x 1920 for video ads in the Instagram feed.

Features: horizontal

Features is the new format for long videos. The National reported that users will be able to upload horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes, and Social Media Today reported that it began rolling out to select creators in the US on 26 October 2026, with up to eight Reels clips linking back to each full video.

Instagram had not published a Help Centre page or a spec sheet for Features when we checked on 27 October 2026. Until it does, we export Features videos at 1920 x 1080 pixels, 16:9, the usual shape for widescreen video. It is the same file you would upload to YouTube. We will update this guide when Instagram publishes its own numbers. For the length limits of every format, see how long Instagram videos can be.

File format and size

For video, MP4 or MOV with H.264 video and AAC audio is what Meta's Ads Guide lists for Reels and Stories ads, and it is the safe choice for organic posts too. The guide lists 4 GB as the largest file for Stories and feed video ads.

One idea, several shapes

Most creators now need the same idea in two shapes: a vertical Reel and, with Features, a long horizontal video. Three habits make that easier:

1. Start with the vertical version. It is the one most people see first, and a vertical frame is harder to fill well.
2. Keep the subject in the middle third. A centered subject survives a crop from 16:9 to 9:16 much better than one at the edge.
3. Do not crop a vertical clip into a wide frame. When a vertical clip appears inside a horizontal video, show it whole in a 9:16 box in the middle of the frame and fill the sides with a title or a plain color. Cropping it to fill the width cuts off heads and captions.

Making videos in the right shape with AI

Reel Factory makes vertical 9:16 reels for Reels and Stories: you write one topic, pick a style and get the script, a voice, word captions, music and moving pictures in one finished file. A 30 second reel in the starting style is 1,190 credits in Basic, and the price shows before anything runs.

For Features, the AI Instagram Video Maker makes a narrated horizontal video of 3 to 60 minutes from one idea or a pasted link, in one look from start to end. You download the files and post them to Instagram yourself. 400 free credits for scripts, character art, storyboards, voices and sound, plus your first 5 second video free, no card. More video starts at $7.

The short version

• Reels: 9:16, 1080 x 1920.
• Stories: 9:16, 1080 x 1920, with the same safe zones.
• Feed photos: 1.91:1 to 3:4. Use 3:4 at 1080 x 1440 to fill the most space.
• Features: horizontal. We use 16:9 at 1920 x 1080 until Instagram publishes a spec.

Read Instagram's and Meta's pages again before a big campaign, because both change. To make the vertical reels, open Reel Factory.