Instagram post size: 1080 × 1350 px (4:5) and every other format
The right pixel sizes for Instagram in 2026 — portrait feed posts, square posts, landscape, carousels, Stories, Reels and the profile grid — and why 4:5 is the format to use.
Instagram scales every feed image to a width of 1080 pixels. What changes between formats is the height: 1350 px for the tallest 4:5 portrait, 1080 px for a square, 566 px for a 1.91:1 landscape. Upload anything wider and it is downscaled; upload a taller ratio than 4:5 and it is cropped. Stories and Reels use the full phone screen at 1080 × 1920 (9:16).
For almost every feed post the 4:5 portrait format is the one to use. It fills the most screen on a phone, so it gets more attention as people scroll, and it survives the profile grid crop with the least loss.
Instagram image sizes at a glance
| Placement | Size | Ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feed post, portrait | 1080 × 1350 px | 4:5 | recommended for photos and carousels |
| Feed post, square | 1080 × 1080 px | 1:1 | classic format, less screen space |
| Feed post, landscape | 1080 × 566 px | 1.91:1 | smallest in the feed |
| Carousel | 1080 × 1350 px | 4:5 | all slides share the ratio of the first |
| Story / Reel | 1080 × 1920 px | 9:16 | keep text away from top and bottom 250 px |
| Profile grid preview | 3:4 crop | 3:4 | centre of a 4:5 post is shown |
| Profile picture | 320 × 320 px | 1:1 | displayed as a circle |
Sizes are the maximums Instagram stores; larger uploads are scaled down. Keep JPG files under about 1 MB — Instagram recompresses anything bigger.
Why 4:5 is the right feed format
A 1080 × 1350 image takes up 25 % more vertical space than a square and almost two and a half times as much as a landscape post. On a phone that is the difference between a photo that dominates the screen and one that scrolls past in a second. Instagram also treats 4:5 as the maximum height, so nothing is cut from the feed view.
Since the profile grid switched to a 3:4 preview, a 4:5 post loses a thin slice at the top and bottom on the profile page — but a square post is padded or cropped even more visibly. Keep faces and text a little away from the top and bottom edges and both views look right.
Carousels, landscape and square
In a carousel every slide takes the aspect ratio of the first one. Prepare all slides at 1080 × 1350 (or all at 1080 × 1080) before uploading, or Instagram crops the later ones. Landscape 1.91:1 is best kept for images that only work wide — panoramas, screenshots of a wide layout — because it is the smallest thing in the feed. Square still works for graphics that are square by design, such as album covers or logos.
Stories and Reels
Stories and Reels are 1080 × 1920 at 9:16 — the full phone screen. Instagram lays the profile name over the top and the reply bar over the bottom, so leave roughly 250 pixels at each end free of text and important detail. A 4:5 feed image can be reused as a Story by fitting it into the 9:16 frame with a background colour; the resizer’s fit mode does that in one click.
File format and compression
Upload JPG for photos and PNG only for flat graphics with sharp text. Instagram recompresses every upload; a file that is already compressed at high quality and under about 1 MB arrives looking closest to the original, while an oversized 10 MB file goes through a heavier second compression. Use sRGB colour — other colour profiles shift on upload.
Frequently asked questions
1080 × 1350 pixels (4:5 portrait). It is the tallest ratio the feed shows uncropped and fills the most screen on a phone.
1080 × 1080 pixels (1:1). It still works, but shows smaller in the feed than a 4:5 portrait.
1080 × 1920 pixels (9:16), the same for Reels. Keep text out of the top and bottom 250 px, where the interface overlays sit.
The grid shows a 3:4 preview. A 4:5 post loses a small strip top and bottom; a square post is cropped on the sides. Keep the subject centred.
No. Cropping and resizing happen in your browser; the image is never sent to a server.