What is the correct Instagram image size?
Instagram displays feed images at a maximum of 1080 pixels wide. Every image you upload is resized to that width, so 1080 px on the shortest side is both the target and the ceiling — exporting at 4000 px does not give you a sharper post, it just gets recompressed on the way in.
The ratio you choose matters more than the pixel count, because it decides how much screen space your post occupies in the feed and how much of it survives the square crop in your profile grid. The tables below cover every placement.
Instagram feed post sizes
Portrait 4:5 takes the most vertical space in the feed, which is why most creators default to it. Square 1:1 is the only ratio that appears uncropped in your profile grid.
| Format | Ratio | Export at | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feed square | 1:1 | 1080 × 1080 px | Safest choice. Fills the grid thumbnail edge to edge with no cropping. |
| Feed portrait | 4:5 | 1080 × 1350 px | Takes the most vertical space in-feed. Crops top and bottom in the grid thumbnail. |
| Feed landscape | 1.91:1 | 1080 × 566 px | Smallest footprint in-feed. Crops heavily to a square in the grid. |
| Carousel | 1:1 or 4:5 | 1080 × 1080 or 1080 × 1350 px | Keep every slide the same ratio — mixing them letterboxes the odd ones out. |
Whichever you pick, the grid thumbnail is always square. You can preview the exact crop in the free grid planner by toggling between 1:1 and 4:5 before you publish.
Instagram Story and Reel sizes
Stories and Reels are both 1080 × 1920 px (9:16). The catch is the safe zone: Instagram layers its own interface over roughly the top and bottom 250 px, so anything important placed there gets covered by the profile bubble, close button, or reply bar.
| Format | Ratio | Export at | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Story | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 px | Keep text inside the middle 1080 × 1420 px — UI covers roughly 250 px top and bottom. |
| Reel | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 px | The grid shows a 1:1 centre crop of the cover, so keep the subject centred. |
| Reel cover (grid) | 1:1 crop of 9:16 | 1080 × 1080 px safe area | Design the cover so it survives being cropped to a square in your profile. |
Profile photo and grid thumbnail sizes
Your profile photo and Highlight covers both render as circles, so anything near the corners is clipped. The grid thumbnail is where most planning mistakes show up — it squares every post regardless of what you uploaded.
| Format | Ratio | Export at | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profile photo | 1:1 | 320 × 320 px minimum | Displays as a circle — keep the subject away from the corners. |
| Grid thumbnail | 1:1 | Rendered ~360 × 360 px | Every post is squared here regardless of what ratio you uploaded. |
| Highlight cover | 1:1 | 1080 × 1080 px | Cropped to a circle. Centre the icon or it clips. |
Instagram ad sizes
Paid placements follow the same ratios as organic posts, with one extra constraint: keep the top and bottom 14% of Story and Reels ads clear of text so the CTA button and profile overlay do not sit on top of your message.
| Format | Ratio | Export at | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feed ad (square) | 1:1 | 1080 × 1080 px | Default for most Meta campaigns. Works across placements. |
| Feed ad (portrait) | 4:5 | 1080 × 1350 px | Meta's recommended feed ratio — more screen space per impression. |
| Story / Reels ad | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 px | Leave the top and bottom 14% clear of text for the CTA and profile overlay. |
Running paid as well as organic? Preview each placement in the social media ad preview tool, or estimate budget with the Facebook & Instagram ads cost calculator.
How to export without losing quality
- Export at exactly 1080 px on the shortest side — no larger, no smaller.
- Use JPEG at 80–90% quality for photos; PNG for flat colour, logos, and text.
- Work in sRGB. Other colour profiles shift once Instagram recompresses the file.
- Upload over Wi-Fi — the app applies heavier compression on slow connections.
- Avoid re-saving a JPEG repeatedly; each pass compounds compression artefacts.
Frequently asked questions
1080 × 1350 px (4:5 portrait) gives you the most screen space in the feed, which usually means more attention per impression. If a consistent profile grid matters more to you, use 1080 × 1080 px (1:1 square) so nothing gets cropped in the thumbnail. Both are correct — the choice is feed impact versus grid consistency.
Export at 1080 px on the shortest side. Instagram compresses anything wider than 1080 px, so uploading a 4000 px image does not improve quality — it just gets recompressed. Use JPEG at 80–90% quality, or PNG if the image contains flat colour and text.
The profile grid always renders square thumbnails, no matter what ratio you uploaded. A 4:5 portrait post loses roughly the top and bottom 10% in the grid view, and a 1.91:1 landscape post loses the left and right edges. Keep the important part of the image centred, or preview the crop before you publish.
Stories are 1080 × 1920 px, but Instagram's own interface covers roughly the top 250 px and bottom 250 px. Keep text and logos inside the middle 1080 × 1420 px so the profile bubble, close button, and reply bar do not sit on top of them.
Yes, in practice. Instagram uses the first slide's aspect ratio for the whole carousel, and any slide that does not match gets letterboxed or cropped to fit. Decide on 1:1 or 4:5 before you design, and export every slide at that ratio.
Instagram serves feed images at a maximum of 1080 px wide. Anything larger is downscaled and recompressed on upload. Anything smaller than 1080 px is upscaled, which looks soft — so 1080 px is both the ceiling and the target.
Not directly — Instagram does not rank posts by dimensions. Indirectly it matters, because portrait 4:5 posts occupy more of the screen than square or landscape ones, so they hold attention longer, and dwell time is a real ranking input. Correct sizing also avoids awkward crops that make people scroll past.
Upload at 1080 × 1080 px even though Instagram displays it at roughly 320 × 320 px — the extra resolution keeps it sharp on high-density screens. It renders as a circle, so keep your face or logo centred and leave breathing room at the corners.
Keep reading
- Instagram grid layout ideas — nine feed patterns and how to plan each one.
- Free Instagram grid planner — preview your feed before you post, no login required.