Instagram is a visual-first platform with strict, placement-specific image dimensions. Get the size wrong and your post gets cropped, your Story text gets buried under UI, your Reels cover loses its headline in the profile grid, or your ad creative shows up blurry. There is no single "correct" Instagram image size — the right dimensions depend entirely on where the image will appear.
This guide is the most complete reference for Instagram image sizes on the site. It covers exact dimensions for posts, Stories, Reels, profile pictures, carousels, and every ad placement, plus the aspect ratios, safe zones, and common mistakes that quietly cost creators engagement and ad ROAS.
Every Instagram placement, with the recommended pixel dimensions and aspect ratio. Bookmark this table — it's the single source of truth for every Instagram image size you'll need.
| Placement | Dimensions (px) | Aspect Ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feed post (square) | 1080×1080 | 1:1 | Safe baseline, works across all carousel slides |
| Feed post (portrait) | 1080×1350 | 4:5 | Best vertical real estate, highest engagement |
| Feed post (landscape) | 1080×566 | 1.91:1 | Use only when source is landscape-native |
| Story | 1080×1920 | 9:16 | Full-screen vertical, leave safe zone for UI |
| Reels (video) | 1080×1920 | 9:16 | Full-screen vertical |
| Reels (cover) | 1080×1920 | 9:16 | Cropped to 4:5 in main profile grid |
| Profile picture | 320×320 (min) | 1:1 | Displayed as a circle — upload square |
| Carousel slide | 1080×1080 | 1:1 | Every slide must match the first slide's ratio |
| Feed ad (square) | 1080×1080 | 1:1 | Safe baseline ad creative |
| Feed ad (portrait) | 1080×1350 | 4:5 | Highest stop-scroll metric for feed ads |
| Story ad | 1080×1920 | 9:16 | CTA button consumes ~150 px at the bottom |
| Reels ad | 1080×1920 | 9:16 | Engagement column on right + CTA at bottom |
| Carousel ad | 1080×1080 | 1:1 | Same per-slide ratio rule as organic carousels |
To verify the dimensions of any image you're about to upload, run it through the Instagram Post Size Checker.
Instagram feed posts support three aspect ratios: square (1:1), portrait (4:5), and landscape (1.91:1). The choice between them is one of the most consequential decisions in your Instagram workflow because it directly affects how much screen real estate your post claims in the feed.
The original Instagram format. Square posts are the safest baseline because they work consistently across feed, profile grid, and carousel placements. Use 1080×1080 when you need a single asset that runs across multiple platforms or as the first slide of a carousel.
The highest-engagement format for feed posts. At 4:5, your post fills nearly the entire phone viewport above the fold — the next post barely peeks in at the top. This vertical dominance is the single biggest reason 4:5 outperforms 1:1 for stop-scroll metrics. Use 4:5 for any single-image post where engagement matters.
The least-used format for organic posts. Landscape claims the smallest amount of vertical space and gets scrolled past faster. Use 1.91:1 only when your source asset is landscape-native (e.g., a wide product shot) and you can't crop it to portrait without losing the subject.
Verify your post dimensions and aspect ratio before uploading with the Instagram Post Size Checker.
Instagram Stories are 1080×1920 pixels at a 9:16 aspect ratio — full-screen vertical, the same canvas as Reels and TikTok. Stories autoplay through fast (about 5 seconds per frame), so every design decision needs to account for how quickly viewers scan the screen.
Correct dimensions alone don't make a good Story. Instagram overlays interface elements at the top (profile header, progress bar, menu icons — ~250 px) and bottom ("Send message" reply box — ~250 px) of every Story. Important content placed in those zones gets covered on every device.
The usable safe zone is roughly Y:250 to Y:1670 — about 1080×1420 pixels of unobstructed space in the center of the canvas. Always design within the safe zone, not just the canvas. See the Instagram Story safe zone guide for the full overlay map and exact coordinates.
Reels videos and cover images are 1080×1920 (9:16) — the same canvas as Stories. The catch with Reels is the dual-display problem: your cover lives in two completely different contexts on the same platform.
When someone taps your Reel, the cover plays at its full 9:16 size. Instagram overlays interface elements: a right-side engagement column (~80 px wide), bottom-left username and caption (~300 px from the bottom on the left half), and Reels header at the top (~100 px).
On the main profile grid, Reels covers display at a 4:5 (1080×1350) center crop. Instagram trims approximately 285 pixels from the top and 285 pixels from the bottom of your 9:16 cover. Anything in those zones is fully visible in the Reels player but completely hidden on your profile.
This is why a Reels cover can look perfect inside the player but lose its headline the moment it appears on your profile grid. Design for the 4:5 grid crop first, then verify the full-screen view second. See exactly how it crops with the Instagram Reels Cover Preview.
Instagram profile pictures display at 320×320 pixels on the web and around 110×110 inside the mobile app, rendered as a perfect circle. Upload at 320×320 minimum, but ideally 1080×1080 so the image stays sharp on high-density displays.
Instagram crops every profile picture into a circle. The corners of your square upload are completely hidden, and anything within ~10% of any edge is at risk of being clipped on devices with different rendering. Always center your subject (a face, a logo, an icon) and leave generous margin on all four sides.
Carousel posts let you publish 2–10 swipeable slides in a single post or ad. The most important rule: every slide must match the aspect ratio of the first slide. If slide 1 is 1080×1080 (1:1) and slide 2 is 1080×1350 (4:5), slide 2 gets cropped to 1:1 on upload — you don't get to mix formats inside a single carousel.
Build all carousel slides at 1080×1080 (1:1) for maximum compatibility. Square works for organic posts, ads, and every carousel context, and it survives any aspect ratio change without surprises. If you specifically want the 4:5 portrait look, build all slides at 1080×1350 from the start — never mix.
Preview multi-slide carousels before publishing with the Instagram Carousel Preview.
Instagram ads use the same dimensions as organic posts at the canvas level, but with one critical difference: ads include non-removable UI overlays (CTA button, Sponsored label, swipe-up bar) that consume additional space and tighten every safe zone.
Square (1080×1080, 1:1) or portrait (1080×1350, 4:5). Same canvas as organic posts. The Sponsored label sits above the image; the CTA button and caption sit below. Your image is unobstructed, but the surrounding ad chrome means your creative needs to be sharp enough to stop scroll without help.
1080×1920 (9:16). Same canvas as organic Stories, but with an added Call-to-Action button (Shop Now, Learn More, etc.) anchored above the reply bar. The CTA consumes an additional ~150 px of vertical space. The effective safe zone for Story ads is roughly Y:250 to Y:1520 — about 200 px tighter at the bottom than organic Stories.
1080×1920 (9:16). Same canvas as Reels, but with the engagement column on the right and the CTA at the bottom. Avoid the rightmost 80 px and the bottom 400 px on the left half. Reels ads have the tightest safe zone of any Instagram placement.
1080×1080 (1:1) per slide. Every slide matches the first slide's ratio. Use carousels in Ads Manager to test multiple creatives or product variations within a single placement.
Preview your ad creative across feed, Stories, Reels, and carousel placements with the Instagram Ad Preview.
Uploading a 16:9 horizontal image as a feed post means Instagram crops it to 1.91:1 and slices off the sides. Uploading a 3:4 portrait means it gets cropped to 4:5 and clips the top or bottom. Pre-crop every image to the exact target ratio (1:1, 4:5, 1.91:1, or 9:16) before uploading.
Instagram aggressively compresses every image. Starting under 1080 px wide produces visibly blurry results. Always upload at 1080 px minimum — ideally 1440 px or higher downsampled cleanly to 1080. Verify dimensions with the Instagram Post Size Checker.
Text placed near any edge of a Story, Reels cover, or feed post gets cropped or covered by Instagram's UI. Move all text into the central safe zone for the placement. For Stories, that's Y:250 to Y:1670. For Reels covers, design for the 4:5 grid crop first.
Carousels enforce a single aspect ratio across every slide. If slide 1 is square and slide 2 is portrait, slide 2 gets cropped to square. Build every slide in a carousel at the same dimensions from the start.
Correct dimensions don't prevent overlay issues. Headlines in the top 250 px of a Story get hidden behind the profile header. CTAs in the bottom 250 px get covered by the reply bar. Reels cover headlines in the top or bottom 285 px disappear in the profile grid. Always design within the safe zone, not just the canvas.
Free tools that work alongside this guide to verify every Instagram image size before you publish: