Instagram · 6 formats · safe zones
Feed images run 4:5 at 1440x1800. Stories, Reels and feed video run 9:16. Keep the top 14% and bottom 35% of anything vertical clear of text.
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4:5From Meta's Ads Guide. Recommended size first; the cards below carry the minimums, file limits and text limits.
| Format | Recommended size | Ratios | Max file |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feed image | 1440x1800 | 4:5, 1:1, 1.91:1 | 30MB |
| Feed video | 1080x1920 | 9:16, 4:5, 1:1 | 4GB |
| Carousel | 1080x1350 | 4:5, 1:1 | 30MB image, 4GB video |
| Stories | 1440x2560 | 9:16 | 30MB image, 4GB video |
| Reels | 1440x2560 | 9:16 | 4GB video, 30MB image |
| Explore | 1440x1800 image, 1080x1920 video | 4:5, 9:16 | 30MB image, 4GB video |
Instagram Feed
Any ratio from 4:5 to 1.91:1 runs. 4:5 is the tallest the feed allows and the one to use.
Instagram Feed
Meta now recommends 9:16 for Instagram feed video. 4:5 and 1:1 still run.
Instagram Feed
2 to 10 cards. Image-only carousels run 4:5; a carousel with any video card runs 1:1.
Instagram Stories
An image shows for 5 to 16 seconds. Videos over 15 seconds may split into cards.
Instagram Reels
The shortest text limit on Instagram. The caption and the action rail cover the bottom 35% and the right edge.
Instagram Explore · Explore home
Same assets as Feed. Nothing to make separately.
Where Instagram draws its interface over the ad. Keep text, logos and faces inside the dashed area.
Reels: 269px top (14%), 672px bottom (35%), 65px each side on 1080x1920. Safe area 950x979. Instagram keeps the top 14%, the bottom 35% and 6% of each side of a Reel for the account row, the caption, the call to action and the action rail.
Stories: 269px top (14%), 672px bottom (35%), 65px each side on 1080x1920. Safe area 950x979. Meta keeps the top 14%, the bottom 35% and 6% of each side of a Story for the profile row, the reply bar and the call to action.
The same zone over a real Meta ad from the ads library.
76.2% of Facebook and Instagram ads in the Sprites ads library run at 9:16. By format the mix is 62.9% video, 19.7% image, 17.5% carousel.
| Format | Share of ads | Most common ratio | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video | 62.9% | 9:16 · 80.2% | 1:1 · 8.5% |
| Image | 19.7% | 4:5 · 37.6% | 9:16 · 30.1% |
| Carousel | 17.5% | 9:16 · 58.1% | 4:5 · 23.3% |
Instagram ads are Meta ads. They are bought, sized and reviewed in the same place as Facebook ads, so the same two cuts cover both: 4:5 for the feed, 9:16 for Stories and Reels. The full placement list is on Meta ad specs.
Vertical is where the space is. Reels and Stories give a full screen, but the interface takes the bottom third, so the line that sells has to sit in the middle band. The Instagram safe zone guide has the exact pixels.
For the copy that goes in the 125 characters, see ad copy examples. For proof that a format works before you make it, the video ads and static ads pages sort real ads by how long they ran.
Ask Sprites for Instagram image ads and it builds one creative, then recomposes it to each size below in the same run. No cropping by hand, no second brief.
1440x1800 at 4:5. Instagram accepts anything from 4:5 to 1.91:1 in the feed, but 4:5 fills the most of a phone screen.
1440x2560 at 9:16. 1080x1920 is the same shape and also runs.
The top 14%, the bottom 35% and 6% of each side. On 1080x1920: 269px top, 672px bottom, 65px each side.
125 characters of primary text in the feed and Stories before it truncates, 44 on Reels. Headlines run 40.
Sprites builds image ads in every placement size for Meta, Google, LinkedIn, Reddit and TikTok from one prompt.
