Instagram image sizes, explained
Instagram crops anything outside its allowed shapes. Use the right size and your photo appears exactly as you framed it.
Updated October 2, 2026
The sizes
| Format | Shape | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Square post | 1:1 | 1080 × 1080 px |
| Portrait post (tallest allowed) | 3:4 | 1080 × 1440 px |
| Landscape post (widest allowed) | 1.91:1 | 1080 × 566 px |
| Story | 9:16 | 1440 × 2560 px recommended by Meta |
| Reel | 9:16 (1.91:1 to 9:16 allowed) | At least 720 px, 30 fps |
Why Instagram crops your photo
Photos outside the 1.91:1 to 3:4 range are cropped automatically. Phone photos are usually 4:3 or 3:4 and fit, but panoramas and some screenshots don't. Cropping yourself first means you choose what stays in frame.
Width: 1080 is the magic number
Instagram stores feed photos at up to 1080 px wide. Upload something larger and Instagram scales it down itself. Narrower than 320 px, and it's scaled up and looks soft.
Resize to 1080 × 1440 portrait in one click
Instagram portrait sizeStories fill a tall screen
Stories are 9:16. A landscape or square photo gets zoomed and cropped, or shown with blurred bars. Meta's current guidance for Stories is 1440 × 2560, sharper on new phones than the older 1080 × 1920; both are 9:16.
Make a photo fill the screen as a story
Instagram story size