Instagram Reels and Stories are 1080 x 1920 at 9:16. Feed video is best at 1080 x 1350 (4:5), which takes the most vertical space allowed in the feed, with 1:1 and 16:9 also supported. The dimensions are the easy part: the harder one is Instagram covering the bottom and right of a Reel with its own interface, so anything you need read has to sit inside the middle of the frame.
| Surface | Pixels | Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Reels | 1080 x 1920 | 9:16 |
| Stories | 1080 x 1920 | 9:16 |
| Feed, vertical | 1080 x 1350 | 4:5 |
| Feed, square | 1080 x 1080 | 1:1 |
| Feed, landscape | 1080 x 608 | 16:9 |
Meta documents which ratios it supports per placement in best practices for aspect ratios across placements, and Instagram covers Reels specifically in its own help centre.
Why 4:5 for feed video
Because it is the tallest shape Instagram allows in the feed. A taller video occupies more of the screen as somebody scrolls, and screen space is attention. Square is safer if the same file is going anywhere else; 4:5 is the better choice if it is only for Instagram.
The tracking behind a face-aware crop is Apple's Vision framework, detecting on the device so the frame can follow a speaker with no server in the loop.
The part that actually breaks videos: safe zones
A Reel is 1080 x 1920, but you do not get to use all of it. Instagram puts the caption, the account name and the audio strip along the bottom, and the like, comment, share and profile buttons up the right side.
Text that lands under either is not lost - it is worse than lost, because it is half visible and looks careless.
The habit that solves it: compose for the middle. Keep anything that must be read away from the bottom quarter and the right edge. How to add text and titles to a video goes into the type sizes that stay legible at that scale.
Stories have their own hazards
Stories are the same 1080 x 1920 as Reels, but the interface sits differently. The top carries the profile row and progress bars, the bottom carries the reply field, and anything interactive you add - a poll, a question box, a link sticker - lands in the middle where your content already is.
Two habits help:
- Leave the top and bottom fifths empty when you are placing stickers, so they do not collide with Instagram's own controls.
- Place stickers after you know the frame, not before. Sticker positions do not move when the video is re-exported at a different size, so composing the video around them is the wrong order.
A note on file size and quality
Instagram re-encodes what you upload. That is not something you can switch off, and it is why a video can look slightly softer after posting than it did in your editor.
You cannot prevent the re-encode, but you can give it a better starting point: upload 1080p rather than 720p, avoid uploading something that has already been compressed twice, and export from the original recording rather than from a file you downloaded from another platform. A TikTok download re-posted to Reels has been through two encoders before Instagram touches it, and it shows.
One file for Reels, TikTok and Shorts
There is no reason to export three times. A single 1080 x 1920 MP4 at 9:16 is correct for all three, and the only differences are length limits and where each app puts its buttons. If you are cutting one from a horizontal recording, see how to make a video vertical on iPhone.
Common mistakes
- Captions at the very bottom of the frame. They land behind Instagram's own caption and audio strip. Move them into the central band.
- Exporting 16:9 for the feed out of habit. It is supported and it occupies the least space of any option in a vertical feed.
- Posting a TikTok download to Reels. It carries a watermark and a second round of compression, both of which are visible.
- Composing for 9:16 then cross-posting to the feed. Anything near the top or bottom edge is cropped out at 4:5.
Frequently asked questions
What size is an Instagram Reel? 1080 x 1920 pixels at a 9:16 aspect ratio.
What is the best size for an Instagram feed video? 1080 x 1350 at 4:5. It takes the most vertical space Instagram allows in the feed. Square, at 1080 x 1080, is the safer choice if the same file is posted elsewhere too.
Does Instagram support landscape video? Yes, at 16:9, but it occupies the least space in a vertical feed, so it is rarely the best choice for reach.
Where does Instagram cover the frame? The bottom carries the caption and audio strip, the right edge carries the action buttons. Keep readable content out of both.
Can I post the same file to Reels and TikTok? Yes. A 1080 x 1920 9:16 MP4 is correct for both. Only length limits and interface placement differ.
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