Instagram Reel size and cover image: what Instagram's own pages say
9:16Reel cover
1080 × 1920
The same shape as the Reel
Feed crop: the middle square
1080 × 1080
When the Reel shows in the feed (Meta's docs)
Make an Instagram Reel 9:16 vertical, at 1080 × 1920 pixels or larger. Meta recommends 9:16 "to avoid cropping or blank space", because it's the shape of the phone screen your Reel plays on.
Below: the Instagram Reel size, the ratios, length and file limits, and what happens to your cover image, each with a link to the Instagram or Meta page it comes from. Last checked 24 October 2026. For photos, see our Instagram post size guide.
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What size should an Instagram Reel be?
9:16 vertical, which is 1080 × 1920 pixels at 1080 wide. Meta's developer documentation recommends 9:16 "to avoid cropping or blank space", and its ads guide for Reels recommends 1440 × 2560 pixels.
Neither page publishes 1080 × 1920 as a number; it's simply 9:16 at 1080 pixels wide. The limits around it depend on how the Reel gets to Instagram. Post it yourself in the app and Instagram's help centre applies. Let a scheduling tool post it and it goes through Meta's publishing API, which has its own published limits. Both are real; they're two different doors into Instagram.
| Reel | Posting in the Instagram app | Posted by a scheduler (Meta's API) |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | 1.91:1 to 9:16 | 0.01:1 to 10:1 accepted; 9:16 recommended |
| Resolution | At least 720 pixels | Up to 1920 pixels wide |
| Length | Up to 20 minutes; over 3 minutes isn't recommended to new audiences | 3 seconds to 15 minutes |
| Frame rate | At least 30 FPS | 23 to 60 FPS |
| File size | Not published | Up to 300 MB |
| Cover image | 420 × 654 pixels recommended (1:1.55) | JPEG, up to 8 MB, 9:16 recommended |
Sources: the app column is Instagram's help pages on Reel size and recording a Reel; the scheduler column is Meta's media reference. All read on 24 October 2026.
What aspect ratio is an Instagram Reel?
9:16, the full height of a phone screen. Instagram's app accepts anything from 1.91:1 landscape to 9:16 portrait, Meta's API accepts a far wider range, and Meta recommends 9:16 for both.
Meta's API documentation says the "required aspect ratio is between 0.01:1 and 10:1 but we recommend 9:16 to avoid cropping or blank space." So a Reel outside 9:16 will usually post. It just won't fill the screen.
Can you post a landscape wedding film as a Reel?
Yes: Instagram's app accepts Reels as wide as 1.91:1, so a 16:9 film fits. It won't fill the screen, though: a 16:9 frame shown at full width on a 9:16 screen covers about a third of its height.
That's the blank space Meta warns about. If the Reel is the point, cut a vertical version. If the landscape film is the point, post the Reel as a teaser and let the full film live where it's watched at full width.
How long can an Instagram Reel be?
Up to 20 minutes in the Instagram app, or 3 seconds to 15 minutes through a scheduler. Instagram's own help page adds that "Reels over 3 minutes won't be recommended to new audiences."
The 15-minute ceiling and 3-second floor for scheduled Reels come from Meta's API documentation. If you want new people to find a Reel, the 3-minute line matters more than either limit.
What file size and frame rate does a Reel need?
Through a scheduler, up to 300 MB at 23 to 60 frames per second; in the app, at least 30 frames per second. Meta's API documentation publishes the file and frame limits, and Instagram's help centre publishes the app's 30 FPS minimum and no file size at all.
The same API page lists the rest of the technical spec: MP4 or MOV, H.264 or HEVC video, AAC audio, and a maximum video bitrate of 25 Mbps. So does Instagram support 60 FPS? It accepts it. Neither page says what frame rate your viewers actually see.
What size is an Instagram Reel cover image?
Make the cover 9:16, the same shape as the Reel, so nothing gets cropped. Meta's API documentation asks for a JPEG of up to 8 MB and recommends 9:16, while Instagram's help centre recommends 420 × 654 pixels for covers added in the app.
420 × 654 isn't 9:16, it's closer to 1:1.55, so design the cover at 1080 × 1920 and keep the subject in the middle. Two more details from the same pages:
- Colour: a cover in another colour space "will be converted to sRGB", per Meta's documentation. Export it in sRGB and the conversion is yours, not Instagram's.
- No cover sent: if a scheduler doesn't send a cover image, Meta uses a frame of the video, and the default is "the first frame". A black fade-in makes a black cover.
Instagram's help page also says that "right now, you can't edit your cover photo after you've uploaded it", so choose it before you post.
How does Instagram crop a Reel cover on your grid?
Meta says it crops a cover that isn't 9:16 to "the middle most 9:16 rectangle", and when the Reel also shows in your feed, it uses "the middle most 1:1 square". Both quotes are from Meta's API documentation, the only place we found where Meta describes its crop as behaviour rather than a recommendation.
Where should you keep faces and text in a Reel?
Away from the edges: Meta suggests leaving at least 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% of each side clear. That guidance is from Meta's ads guide for Reels, and it's the only Reel figure in pixels or percentages that Meta publishes, as far as we could find.
On a 1080 × 1920 frame, that's about 270 pixels at the top, 670 at the bottom and 65 on each side. It's written for ads, but the reasons it gives apply to any Reel: the profile icon and buttons can cover the video, and phones taller than 9:16 can crop its edges.
How do you upload a Reel at the highest quality?
In the Instagram app, turn on "Upload at highest quality": Profile, Menu, Media quality. Instagram's help page notes that higher-quality uploads may take longer.
For a scheduled Reel, the file goes through Meta's API, so keep it inside the published spec: 9:16, up to 1920 pixels wide, under 25 Mbps and 300 MB. What neither page tells you is how hard Instagram re-compresses a Reel after upload. It doesn't publish that, so anyone quoting you a number is guessing.
