Instagram post size in 2026: the right pixels, and design rules that get read

You made a lovely offer post for your shop, and Instagram cut off the price at the bottom. Or the photo came out blurry, or your story text hid under the reply bar. Almost every time, the cause is the size.

This guide gives the Instagram post sizes for 2026 straight from Instagram’s and Meta’s own help pages, shows where text gets covered, and then the few design rules that make a small business post easy to read while people scroll.

What is the Instagram post size in 2026?

Instagram works in a fixed width: 1080 pixels. Its help page says it keeps a photo at its full quality up to 1080 pixels wide, sizes bigger photos down to 1080, and enlarges small ones (under 320 pixels wide) to 320. So always design 1080 pixels wide; a bigger file gains nothing.

The height can change, within limits. Instagram keeps your photo as it is when its shape (aspect ratio) is between 1.91:1 (wide) and 3:4 (tall). Outside that range, it crops your photo to fit.

Post type	Shape	Size in pixels
Tall portrait (most space)	3:4	1080 × 1440
Portrait (older standard)	4:5	1080 × 1350
Square	1:1	1080 × 1080
Landscape	1.91:1	1080 × 566
Story	9:16	1080 × 1920
Reel	9:16	1080 × 1920

Design 1080 pixels wide. Choose the height by shape: 1440 for tall, 1080 for square.

The tall 3:4 post takes up the most of the screen in the feed, so it is usually the best choice for an offer or an announcement. Older guides still say 4:5 (1080 × 1350); that still works, it is just a little shorter.

Instagram’s help page used to say “up to 4:5”; it now says “up to 3:4”. Many size guides online are out of date: trust the 1080 × 1440 figure from the official page.

Try it

New: millet cookies

Square · 1:1Portrait · 4:5Tall portrait · 3:4Landscape · 1.91:1Story or reel · 9:16

Size1080 × 1440 · Feed post, the tallest.

Story and reel size: where text gets covered

Stories and reels fill the whole phone screen at 9:16, 1080 × 1920 pixels. Meta’s ad specs give the same figure, with 600 × 1067 as the minimum. Reels can be wider (Instagram allows 1.91:1 to 9:16), but full-screen 9:16 looks best.

The catch is what sits on top of your design: your name and profile picture at the top, the reply bar, buttons and captions at the bottom. Instagram’s own advice for stories is to leave about 14% at the top and 20% at the bottom free of text and logos.

For a reel, Instagram recommends a cover image of 420 × 654 pixels. Put the reel’s title in the middle of the frame, because the grid and the feed may show a cropped view of it.

Carousel size and the profile grid

A carousel can hold up to 20 photos and videos. The shape you pick for the first one (square, portrait or landscape) is used for all of them, so make every slide the same size: 1080 × 1440 or 1080 × 1080.

Your profile grid no longer shows square tiles. Since January 2025 it shows taller tiles, so the edges of a post may be trimmed in the grid view (Instagram’s help pages don’t publish the tile size). The fix is simple: keep the important words and faces in the middle of the post, away from all four edges.

Try it

New: millet cookies

The gridThe profile grid shows a centred crop of each post, not the whole picture. Keep the main words in the middle.

Show what the grid keeps

Instagram post design rules that work

Sizes get you a sharp post. Design gets you read. People decide while they scroll, so a small business post must say one thing, fast.

• One message per post. “Diwali sweets, 10% off till Sunday” is one message. Add the menu, timings and address, and nobody reads any of it. Put the details in the caption.
• Big text, few words. On a phone, a post is only a few centimetres wide. Keep the headline short enough to read at a glance.
• Strong contrast. Dark text on a light colour, or white on a dark one. Pale yellow text on white disappears. Our brand colours guide shows how to check it.
• One or two fonts. One bold font for the headline, one plain font for the rest.
• A real photo first. Your actual product, shop or team usually does better than stock pictures.
• Your logo small, in a corner. It should be there every time, but it is not the message. See how to design a logo.
• Same look every week. Keep the same colours, fonts and logo position, so people know it is you before they read the name.

A worked example: a bakery post in Madurai

Fathima runs a small bakery in Madurai and wanted a post for her new millet cookies. Her first try was a square post with six photos in a collage, the full menu and her address. In the grid it looked busy, and the bottom line was cut.

Her second try: a tall 1080 × 1440 post, one close-up photo of the cookies on a plate, and a few words on top: “New: millet cookies, ₹120 a box”. Her logo sat small in the top right corner, well inside the edges. The address and timings went into the caption. For the story version she used 1080 × 1920 and kept the words in the middle, away from about the top 270 and bottom 384 pixels.

How to make Instagram posts on your phone

You don’t need a computer. Canva, Adobe Express and other phone apps have Instagram sizes built in; pick “Instagram post (portrait)” or “Instagram story” when you start, and check the size shows 1080 wide. To check any image, open it in your phone’s gallery and look at the details: the width should be 1080.

If you print the same offer as a poster, the rules change a little (paper sizes, bleed, reading from a distance); see our poster and flyer design rules.

Questions

What is the Instagram post size in pixels?

Design 1080 pixels wide. The height can be 1440 (tall, 3:4), 1350 (4:5), 1080 (square) or 566 (landscape, 1.91:1). Instagram crops any shape taller than 3:4 or wider than 1.91:1.

What is the best size for an Instagram post?

1080 × 1440 pixels (3:4) for most business posts, because it takes up the most space in the feed. Use 1080 × 1080 if you want a simple square that also suits other platforms.

What size is an Instagram story?

1080 × 1920 pixels, a 9:16 shape. Keep text and logos out of about the top 14% and bottom 20%, where your name and the reply bar sit.

Is the Instagram post size the same as a story size?

No. A feed post is at most 1080 × 1440 pixels (3:4); a story is 1080 × 1920 (9:16). If you post a story-sized image to the feed, Instagram crops it to 3:4.

Why does Instagram crop my photo?

Your photo’s shape is outside what Instagram allows for posts: wider than 1.91:1 or taller than 3:4. Resize it to 1080 × 1440 or 1080 × 1080 before posting, so you choose what stays in.

Why is my Instagram post blurry?

Usually the image is smaller than 1080 pixels wide, so Instagram enlarges it, or the app saved it at low quality. Export at 1080 pixels wide and turn on “Upload at highest quality” in Instagram’s media quality settings.

What size should an Instagram carousel be?

Use the same size for every slide, 1080 × 1440 or 1080 × 1080. Instagram uses the first slide’s shape for all of them, and a carousel can have up to 20 photos and videos.