Instagram Image Sizes 2026: Feed, Reels, Stories, Profile
Instagram image sizes for 2026: 1080 x 1350 feed, 1080 x 1920 Reels and Stories, 3:4 grid crop, ads, and profile pixels. Tables plus export notes.
I export Instagram feed photos at 1080 x 1350 pixels (4:5) in 2026. Squares at 1080 x 1080 still post. Stories and Reels want 1080 x 1920 (9:16). Profile photos display around 320 pixels wide, so I still upload 1080 x 1080 so the circle stays sharp. Instagram’s Help Center is the source for the feed cap: width up to 1080 pixels, aspect ratios from 1.91:1 to 4:5. Picturesizes, Adobe Express, Influencer Marketing Hub, PicsSizer, Metricool, and RecurPost all rank with pixel lists. I still beat those sheets on the 3:4 grid crop, ads safe zones, file type, and what the API will actually take.
TL;DR
- Feed: 1080 x 1350 (4:5) recommended, 1080 x 1080 still fine
- Stories and Reels: 1080 x 1920 (9:16)
- Profile: upload 1080 x 1080, expect a ~320 px circle on screen
- Grid preview: about 3:4 (Hootsuite prints 1012 x 1350). Center faces.
What Instagram image size do I need for a feed post in 2026?
I use 1080 x 1350 pixels for almost every feed photo in 2026. That’s 4:5, the tallest ratio Instagram Help lists for a standard feed image at 1080 px wide. A taller file can get cropped. A smaller file gets upscaled and looks mushy.
| Feed format | Pixels | Ratio | I use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait (recommended) | 1080 x 1350 | 4:5 | Product shots, quotes, most client work |
| Square | 1080 x 1080 | 1:1 | Old templates, equal crop on every side |
| Landscape | 1080 x 566 | 1.91:1 | Wide photos I refuse to crop |
Hootsuite’s October 2026 cheat sheet matches those three feed boxes, then adds the grid crop: landscape 1012 x 1350, vertical 1012 x 1350, square 1012 x 1350. That’s the 3:4 tile on your profile, not the file you upload. RecurPost prints the same idea as 1013 x 1350. If you’re posting for a client and you only remember one number, remember 1080 x 1350. I resize Instagram images to that canvas before I send a pack for approval.
Do landscape feed photos still work?
They post. They just look tiny between Reels. I keep landscape for a real wide photo, not for a graphic with tiny type.
Is 1080 x 1080 still okay for Instagram posts?
Yes, 1080 x 1080 still uploads and still looks sharp. Instagram didn’t kill squares. I still use them when a brand’s whole grid is built on equal tiles, or when the subject is already a centered packshot.
What changed is the feed and the profile mosaic, not the upload box. A 4:5 portrait occupies more of a phone screen, so I stopped defaulting to square in 2024 and I’ve not gone back. The 3:4 grid also trims the left and right of a square, which RecurPost calls out as the awkward crop. If a client sends me a 1080 square, I post it. I don’t stretch it to 4:5. Stretching is how you get fat logos.
What size should a 4:5 Instagram post be?
A 4:5 Instagram post is 1080 x 1350 pixels. Width 1080, height 1350. That’s the ratio Instagram Help describes as the portrait limit (a height of 1350 pixels at a 1080 width). Metricool still says Instagram limits uploads to a maximum of 1080 px wide and 1350 px tall, even while the grid previews at 3:4.
I keep faces, prices, and stickers inside the middle 1080 x 1080 of that canvas. The extra 270 pixels of height is usually sky, negative space, or a caption bar. If you jam a logo into the very top, a 3:4 Instagram grid preview can clip it. This page is the pixel list. That other page is the crop job.
What about 3:4 Instagram photos, and should I switch from 4:5?
A 3:4 file is 1080 x 1440 pixels. Influencer Marketing Hub now treats 1080 x 1440 as the preferred starting point and says Instagram added native 3:4 photo support in May 2025 for single images and carousels. That’s the Brave-adjacent sheet that wants you to abandon 4:5.
I don’t. Instagram Help still describes the classic feed window as 1.91:1 to 4:5. Metricool still caps the upload at 1080 x 1350. RecurPost says a native 3:4 upload is rejected by the publishing API even though the profile previews at 3:4 (about 1013 x 1350). So you can see a 3:4 tile on the grid without being able to schedule a 1440-tall file from a desktop tool.
I export 1080 x 1350 unless I’m posting a phone-camera 3:4 shot from the Instagram app itself. If a photographer already shot 3:4 and I don’t want to shave the headroom, I’ll try the in-app upload and I’ll still design logos inside a 4:5 safe box. Mixing both jobs on one URL is how you get two half answers. How the mosaic crops lives on the vertical grid sizes write-up.
What size should my client’s Reels be?
Client Reels should be 1080 x 1920 pixels at 9:16. That’s the same canvas as Stories. Instagram’s Reels Help article asks for at least 720 pixels and 30 fps. About Instagram is the product page for Reels features (remix, templates, audio). I still export 1080 x 1920 at 30 fps (60 if the clip is sport or screen recording) because 720 looks soft on a modern phone.
Keep captions, usernames, and product prices out of the bottom ~250 pixels and the top ~150 pixels. The Reels UI sits there: caption, audio line, like stack, and the account chip. Hootsuite’s Reels ads note is even hungrier: about 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom, and 6% on each side. I learned this the ugly way on a skincare client whose SPF claim sat under the username.
Length is a different question. If you’re asking how many seconds to cut, use the Reels length limits page. This one stays on pixels.
What Instagram image size do I need for Stories?
Stories are 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16). Same as Reels. I don’t make a separate Story canvas unless the brand wants a 4:5 feed crop inside a Story frame.
Where is the Story safe zone?
Hootsuite prints the Story safe area as 1080 x 1610 pixels. PicsSizer says keep important elements away from the top 250 px and bottom 250 px. RecurPost uses 14% top and 20% bottom. I keep type and logos about 250 pixels down from the top and 250 pixels up from the bottom. Stickers, the close button, reply bar, and link sticker eat those strips. A full-bleed photo can go edge to edge. Text can’t.
Highlight covers are a circle on the profile. I design the icon in the center 800 x 800 of a 1080 x 1920 (or a 1080 x 1080) file so hair and horns don’t get clipped.
What size should Instagram highlight covers be?
Upload 1080 x 1080 for a highlight cover, and keep the icon inside the center ~800 x 800. The cover displays as a circle on the profile, so corners disappear. A 9:16 Story frame with the logo at the top will look empty in that circle.
I don’t treat highlight covers as a second Story size. Same 1080 square I use for the profile photo, tighter crop. How the profile mosaic crops 4:5 vs 3:4 lives on the vertical grid sizes page.
What size is 9:16 on Instagram?
9:16 on Instagram is 1080 x 1920 pixels. Width 1080, height 1920. That’s Stories, Reels, and most Reels covers.
I don’t upload 1080 x 1920 as a regular feed photo and hope. Feed photos live in the 1.91:1 to 4:5 window. If I need a vertical still in the feed, I crop it to 1080 x 1350. If I need the full phone, I post a Reel or a Story.
For a cross-platform 9:16 file, I also keep a TikTok 1080 x 1920 version. The pixel box matches. The safe zones don’t, because TikTok’s UI isn’t Instagram’s UI.
What size should my Instagram profile picture be?
Upload 1080 x 1080 pixels. Hootsuite still lists the stored profile file at 320 x 320 and the on-screen circle near 110 x 110. Metricool lists 320 x 320 as a minimum. RecurPost says 320 x 320 minimum too. I still upload 1080 x 1080. A 320 x 320 file meets the old display-size rumor and looks fuzzy on a 3x phone. I crop faces a little tight. The circle eats the corners, and a wide shot leaves your client as a speck.
Is a 320 pixel profile photo enough in 2026?
No. 320 is close to the stored or on-screen circle, not a sharp upload. I still ship 1080 x 1080. If the only file I get is 320, I tell the client it will look soft and I ask for a larger original.
What size should Instagram carousel slides be?
Every slide in a carousel should share one size. I pick 1080 x 1350 and I stick to it for the whole set. Mixing 1080 x 1080 and 1080 x 1350 in one carousel makes Instagram letterbox the shorter slides. Creatorflow’s 2026 size guide notes all slides inherit the first slide’s ratio, and the set can run up to 20 slides. I don’t ship 20. People stop swiping.
| Carousel choice | Pixels | Why I pick it |
|---|---|---|
| Default | 1080 x 1350 | Matches my single-image posts |
| Square set | 1080 x 1080 | Education carousels with even margins |
| Avoid | Mixed ratios | Instagram pads the shorter slides |
| Slide cap I use | Under 10 unless it’s a real tutorial |
I write the first slide as a title card with the subject in the center third. People swipe. They don’t read a headline that sits in the crop.
Should the first carousel slide be a different size?
No. The first slide uses the same 1080 x 1350 (or the same 1080 x 1080) as the rest. A taller title card next to shorter slides is how you get gray bars. If the title needs more punch, I enlarge the type, I don’t change the canvas.
What size should a Reels cover photo be?
I export Reels covers at 1080 x 1920. Instagram also lets you pick a frame from the video. When I design a custom cover, I place the title in the center 1080 x 1350 so it still reads as a feed thumbnail. The top and bottom of a 9:16 cover get hidden in the feed tile. Creatorflow’s working window is the central ~1080 x 1420 for the grid crop. Same idea.
If you want to see how that tile sits in a dummy grid before you post, I use feed preview apps rather than guessing in Camera Roll.
What size should Instagram ads be?
Organic sizes and ad sizes are cousins, not twins. Hootsuite is the sheet that still bothers to list ads. I use it, then I check Ads Manager.
| Ad placement | Pixels Hootsuite lists | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Feed landscape | 1080 x 566 | Same as organic landscape |
| Feed vertical | 1080 x 1350 | Same as organic 4:5 |
| Feed square | 1440 x 1440 | Hootsuite’s ad square, not 1080 |
| Stories ads | 1440 x 2560 | 9:16. Leave ~14% top and ~20% bottom clear |
| Reels ads | 1440 x 2560 | 9:16. ~14% top, ~35% bottom, ~6% each side |
| Min width / height | 500 x 400 | Floor, not a look I want |
PicsSizer also lists a Story ad at 1200 x 628, which is a landscape link-style box, not a full-screen Story. If the brief is a Story or Reels ad, I still design 1080 x 1920 (or 1440 x 2560) and I keep type out of the chrome. I don’t reuse a 4:5 feed still as a Story ad.
What file type and quality should I export for Instagram?
I export photos as sRGB JPG, quality 80 to 90, long edge 1080. PNG only for type-heavy graphics that jpeg-block. Instagram Help is blunt: it uploads up to a width of 1080 pixels. A 4k still doesn’t make a sharper post. It just gets crushed. RecurPost’s scheduler note is JPEG under 8 MB. PicsSizer mentions a 30 MB tool cap on their resizer, which is not Instagram’s feed cap. I stay under 8 MB.
For Reels I use H.264, AAC, 1080 x 1920, 30 fps, yuv420. High-motion work goes 60 fps. RecurPost lists Reels video via the API at 15 minutes and 300 MB, and Stories at 60 seconds and 100 MB per card. I don’t ship ProRes to the phone.
What happens if I upload a weird ratio?
Instagram crops toward 4:5 if you go too tall, or toward 1.91:1 if you go too wide. I crop myself in Photoshop so I control the cut.
How do I resize photos so they don’t look blurry on Instagram?
I start from a file that’s already wider than 1080, then I downscale. I never upscale a 600 px screenshot and hope. Sharpen a little after the downscale, not before.
If the original is 4:5 already, I set width to 1080 and let height land on 1350. If it’s 3:2 from a camera, I crop height to 1350, I don’t squeeze. For a one-off, the Instagram image resizer is faster than opening a full editor.
I keep a one-page social size cheat sheet next to this when I’m also shipping LinkedIn or YouTube stills in the same batch. Instagram pixels stay on this page. The other platforms have their own numbers.
Frequently asked questions
What Instagram image size do I need for a feed post in 2026?
Export 1080 x 1350 pixels (4:5) for most feed photos. Instagram Help still lists feed ratios from 1.91:1 to 4:5 at a 1080-pixel width. Squares at 1080 x 1080 still post. Landscape is 1080 x 566.
What size should Instagram Reels and Stories be?
Use 1080 x 1920 pixels at 9:16 for both Reels and Stories so the clip fills a phone screen without black bars.
Is 1080 x 1080 still okay on Instagram?
Yes. Squares still post. They take less vertical space in the feed than a 4:5 portrait, and the 3:4 profile grid crops the sides. I default to 1080 x 1350 unless a client wants a square grid look.
Can I upload a 3:4 photo (1080 x 1440) to Instagram?
Some in-app uploads of 1080 x 1440 now post. Instagram Help still describes the classic feed window as 1.91:1 to 4:5. RecurPost says the publishing API still rejects a native 3:4 file. I design 1080 x 1350 unless I am posting from the phone camera.
What size should an Instagram profile picture be?
Upload 1080 x 1080 pixels. The app displays the circle around 110 to 320 pixels depending on the screen, so a 320 px file looks soft on newer phones.
What file type should I export for Instagram photos?
JPG for photos, PNG when you need a hard-edged logo. Keep the long edge at 1080 pixels. RecurPost lists JPEG under 8 MB for scheduled posts. Instagram Help says it uploads up to a width of 1080 pixels and crops ratios outside 1.91:1 to 4:5.