Instagram image sizes 2026: posts, Stories, Reels, profile

Instagram changes its screens often, but a few numbers matter every time you post: how wide a photo should be, what shape a Reel can have and what cover to use. This guide gives the numbers Instagram itself publishes, says clearly where it publishes nothing, and tells you what to use in those cases.

Instagram sizes at a glance

Format	What Instagram says	Source
Feed photo	Shared at up to 1080 pixels wide. Aspect ratio from 1.91:1 to 3:4 (1080 by 566 up to 1080 by 1440)	Instagram Help Center
Carousel	Up to 20 photos and videos. One orientation for all of them	Instagram Help Center
Reel video	Aspect ratio from 1.91:1 to 9:16. At least 720 pixels and 30 frames per second	Instagram Help Center
Reel cover	Recommended 420 by 654 pixels (about 1:1.55)	Instagram Help Center
Story	No size on the help pages we read. A clip can be up to 60 seconds	Instagram stories guide
Story ad	Recommended 1,080 by 1,920. Minimum 600 by 1,067	Meta Business Help Centre
Profile picture	No size given. It is public to everyone	Instagram Help Center

Feed photos

Instagram’s Help Center says that when you share a photo, it uploads it at the best quality it can, up to a width of 1080 pixels. What happens next depends on the photo:

• Between 320 and 1080 pixels wide, and a supported shape: it keeps its original resolution. The supported aspect ratio is between 1.91:1 (landscape) and 3:4 (portrait). At a width of 1080 pixels, that is a height of 566 to 1440 pixels.
• A shape that is not supported: it is cropped to fit.
• Smaller than 320 pixels wide: it is enlarged to 320.
• Wider than 1080 pixels: it is sized down to 1080.

So for a sharp feed photo, start at least 1080 pixels wide and keep it inside those ratios. For the tallest portrait Instagram supports, use 1080 by 1440.

Carousels

You can put up to 20 photos and videos in one post. Instagram’s Help Center notes that the orientation you choose, square, portrait or landscape, applies to every photo and video in the post, so you cannot mix shapes. Choose the shape that works for the whole set before you start.

Reels

Instagram’s Help Center says you can upload a reel with an aspect ratio between 1.91:1 and 9:16. Reels should be at least 30 frames per second and at least 720 pixels. Vertical 9:16 is the full-screen shape, and it is the one most people use.

The cover. The recommended cover size is 420 by 654 pixels, a ratio of about 1:1.55. Instagram also says you cannot edit a cover after you have uploaded the reel, so choose it before you post. Keep the important part of a cover in the middle.

Quality. Instagram lets you choose to upload reels at the highest quality, which may take longer to upload. On your profile, tap Menu, then Media quality under Your app and media, and turn on Upload at highest quality.

Stories

This is the part where Instagram gives the least. We read Instagram’s Help Center pages on stories and found no size for a regular story. Two numbers do exist for Stories ads, from Meta’s Business Help Centre: a recommended resolution of 1,080 by 1,920 pixels and a minimum of 600 by 1,067. Meta also says it recommends a 9:16 aspect ratio to fit the full-screen vertical format of Stories.

What that means in practice:

• Use 9:16. Make a Story vertical, at 1,080 by 1,920 if you design it yourself, since that is the shape Instagram points to for the full-screen format.
• Keep text away from the edges, so buttons and the top of the screen do not cover it.
• Check the preview in the app before you share.
• Mind the length. Instagram says a single story clip can be up to 60 seconds, and a longer video is split into more than one.

If you want people to tap through from a Story, add a link sticker: see how to add a link to an Instagram Story.

Your profile picture

Instagram’s page on adding or changing your profile picture gives no size. It does say your profile picture is public to everyone, on or off Instagram. Our advice, which is ours and not Instagram’s: start from a square photo with your face or your logo in the middle, so it still looks right if it is cropped, and make it large and sharp rather than small.

Steps from Instagram’s Help Center: tap your profile picture, tap Edit profile, tap Edit picture or avatar, choose where to import from and tap Done.

Why does my photo look blurry or cropped?

• It is too small. Photos under 320 pixels wide are enlarged, which makes them soft.
• It is too big. Anything over 1080 pixels wide is sized down, so you gain nothing above that.
• The shape is outside the range. A photo that is too wide or too tall is cropped to fit a supported ratio. Stay between 1.91:1 and 3:4 for photos.
• Low quality settings. For reels, turn on upload at highest quality.

Sizes for your Linkerzz page

If your bio link goes to a Linkerzz page, these are the sizes we recommend there. They are our own guidance, shown in the editor next to each upload button:

• Profile photo: square, at least 512 by 512 pixels, with the face centred. It is shown as a circle.
• Cover, top band: 1400 by 560 pixels (5:2). Keep what matters in the centre and leave words out, because phones show the middle part.
• Cover, full page: about 788 by 1400 pixels (9:16), with a soft picture.

The editor shrinks every picture before it uploads, so you do not have to resize by hand. The steps for building the page are in how to make a link in bio page.

A quick checklist

1. Photos: at least 1080 pixels wide, between 1.91:1 and 3:4 (1080 by 1440 is the tallest).
2. Reels: vertical 9:16, at least 720 pixels and 30 frames per second, cover 420 by 654.
3. Stories: vertical 9:16, text away from the edges, clips up to 60 seconds.
4. Carousels: one shape for every slide, up to 20 slides.
5. Profile picture: square, centred, large and sharp.

For more on Reels, read how to use Instagram Reels for business, and for the text under your photo, try the free Instagram caption generator.