Instagram sizes and formats in 2026

In 2026, the recommended Instagram carousel size is 1080 × 1350 pixels per image (4:5 portrait) or 1080 × 1440 pixels (3:4 portrait). The reference width is always 1080 pixels; only the height changes with the format. This guide gathers the Instagram post dimensions for each format and the rules to know before you start designing.

Instagram formats at a glance

Instagram resizes images wider than 1080 pixels. Uploading a much larger file therefore gains you nothing; it is better to export at the right size from the start. To get one photo in several of these sizes in one go, resize photos for Instagram: each format you tick is exported at 1080 pixels wide (1920 for 16:9).

Which photo format to choose for the feed

Portrait formats take up more screen height in the feed than square or landscape. At the same width, a 4:5 image is 270 pixels taller than a square one, and a 3:4 image is 360 pixels taller.

• 4:5 (1080 × 1350): the most common portrait, suited to most vertical photos.
• 3:4 (1080 × 1440): slightly taller, and the same ratio as the thumbnails in the profile grid.
• 1:1 (1080 × 1080): a good choice when the subject is itself square or symmetrical.
• 1.91:1 (1080 × 566): the widest format in the feed, but the one that fills the least screen. For a very wide photo, it is often better to split the panorama into several portrait images.

Carousels: the first image sets the format

In a carousel, every image takes the format of the first one; the others are cropped to match. If you start with a square and continue with portraits, the portraits will be cropped at the top and bottom.

The practical rule: choose a format before you start, and prepare every image at those dimensions. In SwipeAtelier, the format applies to the whole carousel, which rules the problem out from the start.

A carousel holds up to 20 photos or videos, a limit raised from 10 to 20 in 2024.

The 3:4 profile grid

Since 2025, the profile grid has shown vertical 3:4 thumbnails, where they used to be square. What follows from that:

• a 3:4 image has the same ratio as its thumbnail;
• a 4:5 image, slightly shorter, does not have exactly that ratio, and a square image even less so: in the grid, their thumbnail does not match the posted image exactly;
• for a carousel, the first image is the one used as the thumbnail.

In every case, keep the main subject and the text of the first image away from the edges: they will stay readable in the grid as well as in the feed. An Instagram grid planner shows your next posts as 3:4 thumbnails before you publish them.

Stories and Reels: 9:16

Stories and Reels are displayed full screen in 9:16, at 1080 × 1920 pixels, with interface elements on top of the image: at the top, in a column on the right and at the bottom. Text placed near the edges can be hidden. Before posting, check the Instagram Reels safe zone on your image or video.

• Stories: the Instagram story maker designs a series of 1 to 20 stories at 1080 × 1920, with the hidden zones shown on screen.
• Reels: Instagram lets you choose a cover image, and the profile grid shows a 3:4 thumbnail cropped from its center. A Reel cover maker exports the 9:16 cover and, as an option, its 3:4 version.

Total dimensions of a seamless carousel

For a photo or a background to continue from one image to the next, you design on a single canvas that is then cut every 1080 pixels. Its width is the number of images multiplied by 1080; its height is that of the format.

If you prepare this canvas in photo editing software, you then have to slice it yourself, without being off by a single pixel. The seamless carousel maker creates the canvas at the right size and slices it on export.

Export tips

Export at 1080 pixels wide. That is the size of the images the tool produces, whatever the format.

JPEG or PNG. JPEG is lightweight and well suited to photos: it is the recommended choice. PNG is lossless, useful for designs with a lot of text or flat areas of color, at the cost of larger files.

Start from a sharp file. Instagram recompresses images on upload. A sharp file at the right dimensions limits the loss; an image that is already degraded or enlarged compounds it.

Use photos that are large enough. A photo stretched over a canvas wider than it is gets enlarged and loses detail. For a panorama across 3 images in 4:5, aim for a photo at least 3240 pixels wide.

Keep the order. On a computer, export gives you a ZIP of numbered images; on mobile, the share sheet saves them to Photos. In Instagram, select them in that order.

The layouts in the carousel templates are calculated for each of these formats. To design at the right dimensions from the start, open SwipeAtelier: free, no account, no watermark, and your photos stay on your device.