Instagram Reel size (2026).1080 × 1920 at 9:16, and what the app and the grid cut.

Instagram Reels safe zone, in pixels

The Reels player draws over your video: the Reels title and camera at the top, the like, comment and share buttons on the right, your name, the caption and the audio at the bottom. Meta's guidance is to keep 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% on each side free of key elements:

For ads that carry a disclaimer, Meta asks to keep the bottom 40% clear instead. On phones taller than 9:16, it may zoom an ad to fill the screen, cutting the edges further: one more reason to keep everything that matters in the middle. The safe zone checker shows your frame on Reels, TikTok, Shorts and Pinterest at once.

How a Reel looks on your profile gridThe middle 1080 × 1440.

Since January 2025 the profile grid shows tall 3:4 tiles instead of squares. Instagram hasn't published their size, but on instagram.com they measure 3:4. A 9:16 Reel is cropped to its middle: on a 1080 × 1920 frame, the middle 1080 × 1440, with 240 pixels cut at the top and at the bottom.

The good news: Meta's safe area, from 269 to 1,248 pixels down, sits entirely inside that crop. Text you keep out of the player's interface also shows on your grid. The previews under the resizer show both on your own image.

Instagram Reel cover size

The cover is a frame from the Reel or an image you upload, and it is what your profile grid shows. Instagram's help lists 420 × 654 pixels (1:1.55) for covers, a ratio that is neither the 9:16 of the Reel nor the 3:4 of the grid. In practice, design the cover at 1080 × 1920, like the video, with the title and the face inside the middle 1080 × 1440: it then works full screen, in the grid, and wherever Instagram crops it.

Can you change it after posting? Instagram's own pages disagree: its 2026 guide to Reels says the cover can be edited after posting, while its help center still says it can't. Check in your app before relying on it. Scheduling tools that publish through the API can send a cover as a JPEG of up to 8 MB.

How long can an Instagram Reel be?

Up to 20 minutes, recorded or edited in the app, in one clip or several. But Reels over 3 minutes aren't recommended to people who don't follow you, so for reach, stay under 3 minutes. Instagram's own 2026 guide to Reels still says 3 seconds to 3 minutes: its help center has the current limit.

• January 2025Reels go from 90 seconds to 3 minutes, as Adam Mosseri announced.
• Late 2025Recording and editing extended to 20 minutes.
• Through the APIScheduling tools can publish Reels from 3 seconds to 15 minutes, up to 300 MB.
• AdsReels ads run up to 15 minutes.

Best export settings for Instagram Reels

• 9:16, at least 720 pixels wide1080 × 1920 is the usual export; Instagram accepts anything from 1.91:1 to 9:16.
• 30 frames per second or moreInstagram's minimum. Through the API, 23 to 60 fps.
• MP4 or MOV, H.264High profile with a closed GOP and AAC audio, per Instagram's technical details.
• Or follow Instagram's own tipIts creators blog recommends exporting at 2K, HDR and 60 fps from the Edits app, and says Instagram prioritises playback up to those settings.
• Upload at the highest qualityIn the app's media quality settings, so a slow connection doesn't lower the upload.

1080 × 1920 or 1440 × 2560?

Instagram doesn't give a pixel size for Reels, only 9:16 and a 720-pixel minimum. 1080 × 1920 is the standard 9:16 frame at 1080p, and what most phones and editors export. 1440 × 2560 is what Meta's Ads Guide recommends, and Instagram's creators blog also suggests exporting at 2K. Use 1440 × 2560 when your footage is that sharp; otherwise 1080 × 1920 is lighter and uploads faster.

Horizontal and square videos as Reels

Instagram accepts Reels from 1.91:1 (landscape) to 9:16, so a square, 4:5 or 16:9 video uploads fine. It doesn't document how it shows them in the Reels player, so the result can vary. To control it, crop to 9:16 before you upload, or place the video on a 1080 × 1920 canvas with a title above and captions below, inside the safe area.

Trial reels and the Edits app

Trial reels, launched in December 2024, are shown to people who don't follow you first, so you can test an idea before sharing it with your followers. They need a public account with at least 200 followers for a professional account, or 1,000 for a personal one, and use the same sizes as any Reel.

Edits, Instagram's own video editor since April 2025, records in up to 4K at 60 frames per second and exports up to 4K, without a watermark.

Instagram Reel ad specs

Posting Reels from a computer or a scheduler

Reels can be uploaded from instagram.com on a computer, with the same 20-minute limit and a cover chosen from the clip or from a file on your computer.

Scheduling tools publish through Instagram's API, which has its own rules. Plan for them when you export:

• 3 seconds to 15 minutes, up to 300 MBShorter than the app's 20 minutes.
• MP4 or MOV, 23 to 60 fpsAt most 1920 pixels wide, 9:16 recommended.
• Cover as a JPEG, up to 8 MBInstagram uses the middle 9:16 of it for the Reel.

Why your Reel looks blurry

• It's under 720 pixels wide or 30 fpsBelow Instagram's minimum, the video is stretched or plays choppy.
• It was exported more than onceEach export compresses it again. Export once, from the original footage.
• It was uploaded on a slow connectionTurn on the highest-quality upload setting.
• It isn't 9:16Instagram doesn't say how it shows other ratios. Crop to 9:16 to fill the screen.