What’s the best Instagram image size?
Here, you’ll find all the Instagram dimensions for 2023:
- Photo, graphic, and video Instagram post size, resolution, aspect ratio.
- Instagram Reels size and aspect ratios as displayed in various places.
- Instagram Stories size andaspect ratio for image and video.
- Instagram cover photo size for Reels and Stories Highlights.
- Instagram ad sizes and aspect ratios.
- Plus chart and infographics.
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Best Instagram Image Sizesfor 2023
Instagram is now 12 years old and entertains 2 billion monthly active users, according to DemandSage.
This number was reached in the third quarter of 2021, and is estimated to reach 2.5 billion by 2023. That’s crazy, right?
IGers spend an average of 30 minutes per day on the platform, and 200 million of them visit at least one business profile daily.
That’s a lot of eyeballs on your posts, so let’s get those sizes right!
Instagram Post Size 2023
Instagram upgraded the paltry 640 pixel square post to a more robust 1080 way back on July 6, 2015. They then added horizontal and vertical images on August 26, 2015.
What’s the Best Instagram Post Size?
The optimal Instagram photo size is 1080 pixels wide by 566 pixels high, up to 1080 wide by 1350 pixels high.
What’s the Best Resolution for Instagram?
The best resolution for Instagram is 1080 pixels wide.
- You can upload larger images, but they will be reduced in size to 1080 pixels wide.
- Photos between 320 and 1080 pixels wide will post at their original resolution, but beseen stretched on most screens.
- You can upload images less than 320 pixels wide and let IG upsize them to 320, but these will look the worst.
If you upload at 1080 pixels wide, your image will retain its resolution and not be altered.
What is the Best Aspect Ratio for Instagram Posts?
The best aspect ratio for Instagram posts is either 1:1 (square), 1.91:1 (landscape), or 4:5 (portrait).
Here’s a handy chart of IG post size and resolution at the 3 proportions.
| Instagram Post | Aspect Ratio | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Square photo or video | 1:1 | 1080 x 1080 px |
| Landscape photo or video | 1.91:1 | 1080 x 566 px |
| Portrait photo or video | 4:5 | 1080 x 1350 px |
You can post a landscape (horizontal) image in a 1.91 to 1 aspect ratio, which is exactly the same as a Facebook link preview image. So there’s cross-platform compatibility with IG and Facebook ads.
But I don’t recommend the landscape for marketers, as it takes up less than half the space you could snag with a portrait image!
If you have a landscape photo or graphic that you don’t want to crop to a square, consider using one of the many apps that add aborder top and bottom to take up more space in the feed.
The portrait or vertical image gives you the most impact in the Instagram stream.Use 1080 pixel width by 1350 pixels tall.
If your photo is larger, no worries – Instagram will reduce it when you post. Try not to post smaller, though, as your image will lose quality when viewed on most devices, especially retina screens.
The Instagram portrait aspect ratio (or proportion) is the same as an 8 x 10 portrait photo!
You’ll find the aspect ratio 4:5 or 8:10 offered as a cropping option in any photo editing app – or you can crop right in the IG app.
How Do I Choose a Portrait or Landscape Photo on Instagram?
To add a photo, tap the plus sign in the upper right of the home page (main feed) or on your profile tab.
Select a photo or video from your phone or tablet photo library. Stay on this screen.
To share it as a portrait or landscape instead of a square:
- Tap the crop icon at the left to switch from a square to a portrait or landscape.
- You can pinch the screen to adjust the exact shape.
- Adjust cropping by moving the photo around with your fingertip.*
- Tap Next to filter or edit.
- Tap Next to add your caption and tags.
- Post by tapping Share at upper right.
*NOTE that you can no longer adjust cropping after you leave the photo import screen, so do it here!
Also note that the black bars you see down the sides of a portrait photo while you’re editing it will NOT remain after it’s posted. This is just to fit the image into the editing area. It will actually post even larger – to the full width of the feed.
Instagram Gallery view
If you post non-square images, be aware that theywill be cropped to a square on your image gallery (Instagram profile page). The center part of the image will show – no options to adjust cropping here.
You can see my profile in the screenshot. All the photos were posted as portrait shape, but are center-cropped in the gallery.
Many people still post the traditional Instagram square. It’s fine if you prefer it. It certainly circumvents any issues with gallery cropping.
I still suggest you consider vertical images for more impact in the Instagram feed, as well as repurposing as Pinterest pinswithout having to create a separategraphic.
Why Is My Instagram Photo Post NOT 1080 Pixels Wide?
When you share a photo on Instagram, itpostsat the best quality resolution possible (up to 1080 pixels wide).
There are a few reasons you may be seeing lower resolution photos on Instagram:
- Photosbetween 320 and 1080 pixels wide will postat theiroriginal resolution.
- You may need to update tothe most recent version of the Instagram mobile app.
- Instagram desktop only displays up to 640 pixel wide images.
- Yourphone might nottake and/or support highresolution photos.
NOTE:If you share a photo at a lower resolution than 320 pixels wide, it’ll beenlarged to 320. Please don’t even think of posting such a low rez photo!
If you share a photo at a higher resolution, it’ll besized down to display at 1080 on the app.
Sizing down is always better than sizing up!
WhyYou Might Want an Even LargerInstagram Photo Size
I love the Instagram editing tools. Even when I do photo edits in Photoshop, I mightadd Lux or Saturation in Instagram. Awesome tools!
If you have Save Original Photos set to ON in your Instagram settings, your edited photo is saved at its full resolution to your device’sphoto library.
If you want to use the photo to make prints, a picture book, or something else where you need a high resolution… post your Instagramimages as large as needed for the later use.
Social media photos are constantly enlarging.Post1080px square if possible – even larger if you want to ensure you can reuse the image at top quality next year! Who knows, the size may increase again by then.
What Size Should Instagram Reels Be?
Reels are quite easily the most important type of post for marketers in 2023. IG loves to push these out in the feed.
What’s the Best Instagram Reels Size?
You can upload a Reel with an aspect ratio between 1.91:1 and 9:16. I recommend 9:16, since Instagram Reels are viewed full-screen at the 9:16 aspect ratio. You may use the size 1080 x 1920 pixels, just like Stories.
When seen in the newsfeed, Reels are displayed at a 4:5 aspect ratio, or 1080 x 1350 pixels. This is the same as a portrait or vertical image post.
This simply means that approximately 15% of the top and bottom of your video will be cropped off in the feed. Consider this when creating your Reels, and leave important details out of the very top and bottom.
Reels should have a minimum resolution of 720 pixels.
Instagram Reels Cover Photo Size
The recommended size for the Instagram Reels cover photo is 420px by 654px (or 1:1.55 ratio). At this time, you can’t edit your cover photo after you’ve uploaded it.
It’s an odd size, but is specified right here on Instagram help.
What Size is a Reels Thumbnail?
In your IG profile, Reels are cropped to a square or 1:1 aspect ratio thumbnail. Just as with un-square image posts, you have no control over this cropping – it’ll be the exact center of your video.
Or you can choose to upload your own optimized thumbnail image, just like you can do for YouTube thumbnails.
Keep in mind that in the Reels gallery, the thumbnail will show the full 9:16 image (reduced to 1/3 size).
Instagram Reels Specs
- 60-second max length (previously 15 and 30-second max length)
- Video Export Settings
- H.264 video file
- Bitrate target around 2-3 Mbps
- Audio Export Settings
- AAC codec
- Sample Rate of 44100 Hz
- Channels set to Mono
- Bitrate of 160 kbps
LEARN MORE:How to Make a Reel on Instagram – It’s Easy!
What Size are Instagram Stories?
Good news for marketers: 1/3 of the most-viewed Stories are from businesses! And62% of people say they have become more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in Stories.
Instagram has the second-highest social referral rate for ecommerce sites, at 10.7%.
How do IGers get to your site? Links in your Stories! This feature is now rolling out to all business accounts, even if you have fewer than 10K followers.
Whether you’re posting a photo, graphic, or video to your Story, it’ll take up the full mobile screen.
What’s the Best Instagram Story Size?
The Instagram Story size is 1080 x 1920 pixels, or any 9:16 proportion.
If you’re uploading a photo, almost any size or shape will work BUT it’ll be cropped in the Instagram app to a long skinny rectangle smack dab in the middle.
No worries – use two fingers to enlarge, reduce, and position the image exactly as you like it.
Or use the 9:16 crop template in any photo editing app (even iPhone Photos) before adding it to your Story. The exact pixel size isn’t critical, but the shape or aspect ratio is.
If you’re planning to add a video to your Instagram Story, you’ll make your life a lot easier if you shoot it in a vertical format, holding your phone upright. Then it should look just right when you add it to your Story.
Note that videos added to Stories are limited to 15 second clips! As of 2019, Instagram will cut longer videos into 15 second bits.
You’ll want to keep Story videos relatively short though. Post longer videos to Instagram TV – details after the section on ad sizes.
LEARN MORE:This Is Why You Need To Use Instagram Stories Right Now
What’s the Instagram Story Highlight Size?
If you’re making graphics, the 1080 x 1920 pixel size is ideal. When you go to customize your cover photo, you’ll be able to zoom in on the area of your photo that you want highlighted in the circle.
Instagram Ad Sizes 2023
If you have an Instagram business account, you can advertise on Instagram, and even easily promote a post right within the Instagram app.
According to the Instagram official website, 60% of people discover new products on this platform, and there are around 25 million business profiles with 2 million active advertisers on Instagram.
About 200 million Instagram users visit business profiles per day. Isn’t it impressive that studies on Instagram marketing found that 72% of users purchased items they discovered via Instagram content!
That’s 130 million Instagram users tapping on shopping posts every month. Are they shopping your business?
Reach more of your audience with Instagram ads! Instagram’s potential advertising reach is 849.3 million users. Reach them well with the appropriate ads.
Below are sizes and specs for the 5 types of Instagram ads.
1 | Instagram image ad size and specs
The Image Ad is the most widely used advertising type for both Instagram and Facebook.
As Instagram is a photo-sharing social media platform, it’s essential to share visually pleasing content.
Instagram crops your image to a square when it is displayed on the feed, but you can also add it as a landscape or portrait image.
Here are some specifications of Instagram image ads:
- Caption: up to 2,200 characters
- Image format: .jpg or .png
- Max. file size: 30 MB
- Square (1:1 aspect ratio):
600×600 pixels (minimum)
1936×1936 pixels (maximum) - Landscape (1.91:1 aspect ratio):
600×315 pixels (minimum)
1936×1936 pixels (maximum) - Portrait (4:5 aspect ratio):
600×750 pixels (minimum)
1936×1936 pixels (maximum)
2 | Instagram video ad size and specs
Video Ads let you introduce your brand or offers with a video or GIF.
Instagram videos start to play when the application opens. The moving nature of video ads helps to catch user attention as they scroll their Instagram feeds.
Time spent watching videos on Instagram was up more than 75% year-over-year in 2019.
Here are the basic specifications:
- File Size – up to 4GB
- Length – 120 seconds
- Caption Length – 2200 characters
- Aspect Ratio:
Square – 1:1
Landscape – 1.91:1
Portrait – 4:5
3 | Instagram Stories ad size and specs
Stories are one of the popular features on Instagram.
Instagram Stories are similar to Snapchat in that they allows users, and brands, to share self-destructing photos and videos. They draw attention to your brand with Stories Highlights, which will stay on your profile until you remove them.
On Instagram Stories, you can post recorded videos, photos, live videos, boomerangs, text and music. You can also add stickers such as your location, user tags, the temperature and hashtags.
Here are the Stories specs:
- Format: Full-screen vertical ad (9:16)
- File types: .jpg or .png
- Photo content: visible for 5 seconds
- Aspect Ratio: from 1:91 to 4:5
- File type
.mp4 or .mov (Video)
.jpg or .png (Photo) - Maximum File Size:
4GB (Video)
30MB (Photo) - Length
Maximum: 15 seconds
Images show for 5 seconds by default - Dimensions
Resolution: 1080 x 1920 (portrait)
Minimum: 600 x 1067
4 | Instagram Collection ad size and specs
Collection ads worki like this: When users see an advertisem*nt or offer from your brand, they’ll have the option to purchase products directly from the ad.
Using Collections, you can showcase your products and discounts to increase sales. The result proved that it increased conversions by 6.3%.
- Aspect ratio: 1:1 to 16.9
- Character length: 90
- Formats and dimensions are the same as those of a standard image or video ad.
5 | Instagram Carousel ad size and specs
Carousel ads allow you to show a series of scrollable images or videos rather than just one single image.
This ad feature can link to your Facebook Page or website directly using a “Learn More” button.
Here are some specifications of Carousel ads:
- Minimum number of carousel cards: 2
- Maximum number of carousel cards: 10 successive carousel cards
- Aspect ratio: 1:1 (recommended)
- Resolution: 1080 x 1080 pixels (recommended)
- Image file format: .jpg and .png
- Image maximum file size: 30MB
- Video length: up to 240 minutes (15 seconds recommended)
- Video file format: .mp4
- Video maximum file size: 4GB
LEARN MORE:11 Instagram Carousel Ideas You Need [with examples]
Click here to see and repin the entire Instagram ad sizes infographic on Pinterest. Our thanks to by TechWyse for the graphic and complete guide to Instagram Business Accounts.
Which Instagram Image Size Will You Use?
Here’s a quick overview of IG post sizes:
We covered all this:
- Photo, graphic, and video Instagram post size.
- Instagram Reels, cover photos, and thumbnails size and aspect ratio.
- Instagram Stories sizeand aspect ratio for image, video, and highlights cover photo.
- Instagram ad sizes and aspect ratios, all 5 types.
Miss something? Scroll back to review. Scroll down to see the infographics!
This post was originally published September 2015 and last updated April 2023.
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