The frame, not a maximum
Every size here is its aspect ratio at a sane delivery width, because platform maxima move and ratios do not. A test asserts each frame actually divides to the ratio it claims.
FREE REFERENCE · NO ACCOUNT
Instagram post size for every placement (2026)
The tallest feed photo is 1080 × 1440 (3:4), the classic portrait post 1080 × 1350 (4:5), the square 1080 × 1080, and Reels and Stories 1080 × 1920. Every figure was checked on Instagram’s and Meta’s own pages in September 2026, including the part most size guides skip: where it is actually safe to put type.
6 PLACEMENTS · SAFE AREAS CITED, NOT INVENTED · NOTHING UPLOADED
THE ANSWER
Every Instagram frame in pixels
Instagram keeps a photo at its original resolution when it is up to 1080 px wide and its shape sits between 1.91:1 and 3:4 — that is, 1080 px wide and 566 to 1440 px tall; anything outside that band is cropped to fit. Render at these sizes and Instagram has nothing to resample. The safe area is the part of the frame no interface element sits over: Meta publishes one for Reels and Stories, and publishes nothing for the feed.
| Placement | Render at (checked Sept 2026) | Ratio | Safe area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feed post, 3:4 portrait (tallest) | 1080 × 1440 | 3:4 | None published — the feed has no overlay | Instagram Help: photo resolution |
| Feed post, 4:5 portrait | 1080 × 1350 | 4:5 | None published — the feed has no overlay | Instagram Help: photo resolution |
| Feed post, square | 1080 × 1080 | 1:1 | None published — the feed has no overlay | Instagram Help: photo resolution |
| Feed post, landscape (1.91:1) | 1080 × 566 | 1.91:1 | None published — the feed has no overlay | Instagram Help: photo resolution |
| Reel | 1080 × 1920 | 9:16 | 269 px top · 672 px bottom · 65 px sides | Meta ads guide: Instagram Reels |
| Story | 1080 × 1920 | 9:16 | 269 px top · 672 px bottom · 65 px sides | Meta ads guide: Instagram Stories |
The percentages behind the Reels and Stories figures are Meta’s own, published in its ads guide: Meta ads guide, Instagram Reels.
AGAINST YOUR OWN FILE
What a crop actually costs you
Type the size you already have and the tool shows what fitting it to each placement removes or adds, edge by edge. It opens on Instagram, and the other platforms are there when you need them.
Platform
Placement
Preview · 9:16
Reels
- Render at
- 1080×1920
- Aspect ratio
- 9:16
Safe area
269 px top · 672 px bottom · 65 px left · 65 px right
Leaves 950×979 usable, about 45% of the frame.
What your footage costs to deliver here
Type the frame you already have. Cropping fills the placement and throws pixels away; padding keeps everything and adds bars.
Crop to fill
608×1080
Discards about 68% of the picture.
Pad to fit
1920×3413
Keeps every pixel; about 68% of the delivered frame is bar.
WHY THIS ONE
Three things most size guides get wrong
Instagram size lists are copied from each other and go stale quietly. This page is generated from the same data the tool runs on, so the number you read is the number it renders.
Safe areas only where they exist
Meta publishes 269 px top, 672 px bottom and 65 px each side on a vertical frame. It publishes nothing for the feed — so this page says so instead of drawing an overlay nobody stands behind.
The cost of refitting, per edge
One master rarely fits four placements. The tool reports exactly how many pixels a crop takes off each edge, or how much padding a fit adds, before you export rather than after.
ONCE THE SIZE IS SETTLED
Making the post is the other half
Knowing the frame is the easy part. PrismPoster is where the image or the video that fills it gets made, at the right shape from the start rather than cropped into it afterwards.
- Generate straight to the placement’s aspect ratio, so nothing has to survive a crop it was not composed for.
- The editor previews the safe area over your actual cut, so captions and titles land where the interface will not cover them.
- Export the same piece at more than one shape from one timeline instead of rebuilding it per placement.
This page and its tool are free and need no account. Generating and editing are part of the product you sign in to.
See how Image Studio worksQUESTIONS
Instagram sizing, answered
What size is an Instagram post?
1080 × 1440 (3:4) is the tallest photo the feed keeps uncropped, as of September 2026, so it is the most screen a single image can take. 1080 × 1350 (4:5) is the classic portrait post, 1080 × 1080 the square and 1080 × 566 (1.91:1) the widest. Reels and Stories are 1080 × 1920.
Does Instagram support 3:4 posts?
Yes. Instagram’s help page states that a photo is kept at its original resolution when its aspect ratio is between 1.91:1 and 3:4, which at 1080 px wide means a height between 566 and 1440 px (checked September 2026). A 3:4 post is 1080 × 1440. Anything taller, such as a 9:16 phone photo, is cropped to fit.
3:4, 4:5 or square for the feed?
3:4 takes the most of a phone screen and 4:5 is close behind; both take far more than a square. Square is still the safer choice when the same image also has to work in the profile grid or be re-cropped later, and 4:5 remains what Meta’s ads guide recommends for feed image ads (1440 × 1800, checked September 2026).
Are Reels and Stories the same size?
The frame is identical — 1080 × 1920, 9:16. What differs is the interface on top, so Meta documents them separately even though the published percentages currently match.
Where is it safe to put text?
On a vertical frame, keep type inside 269 px from the top, 672 px from the bottom and 65 px from each side. That bottom band is large because the caption, the audio label and the action buttons all live there.
Should I export at a higher resolution?
There is no benefit in going above these widths — Instagram resamples anything larger, and the recompression is the thing that costs you quality. Match the frame and let it pass through untouched.
What happens if my image is the wrong shape?
Instagram fits it to the nearest supported ratio and takes the difference off the edges. Which edges, and how much, is exactly what the tool above tells you before you upload.
How do I post photos of different sizes on Instagram?
Post the odd one on its own, or bring every photo to one ratio first: a carousel shows every slide in the same frame, so mixed shapes get cropped to match. The tool above shows what each crop costs.
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Every platform’s sizes
The same reference across TikTok, YouTube, X and LinkedIn, with the same rule about published safe areas.
Aspect ratio calculator
Solve a missing width or height at any ratio, and see per edge what a crop or a pad costs.
Lyric video generator
Make a 9:16 video for Reels from a song and its words, free and in the browser.
Subtitle converter
Turn a transcript into SRT or VTT before you caption the Reel you just sized.
Everything PrismPoster makes
Images, video, music, editing and the studios they come from.
Pricing
What the free plan covers, and what generating at scale costs.
FREE TO START
You know the frame.Now fill it.
The sizes here are free to use and always will be. When you need the image or the video that goes in them, PrismPoster makes it at the right shape from the first frame.