Quick answer: post portrait photos at 1080 × 1350 px (4:5) — the tallest shape Instagram's help page lists for the feed. Use 1080 × 1080 for squares, 1080 × 566 for landscape, and 1080 × 1920 (9:16) for Stories and Reel covers.
Check your image — see how Instagram will crop your photo before you post. The free Image Requirements Checker reads your actual file, shows which placements it fits, previews every crop and explains what to change. It runs in your browser; your image is never uploaded.
Instagram image sizes at a glance
| Placement | Recommended size | Shape | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feed post — portrait | 1080 × 1350 px | 4:5 | Official range; size is a recommendation |
| Feed post — square | 1080 × 1080 px | 1:1 | Official range; size is a recommendation |
| Feed post — landscape | 1080 × 566 px | 1.91:1 | Official range; size is a recommendation |
| Story | 1080 × 1920 px | 9:16 | Third-party recommendation (Meta lists 1440 × 2560 for Story ads) |
| Reel cover | 1080 × 1920 px | 9:16 (grid preview 3:4) | Third-party recommendation |
| Profile photo | At least 320 × 320 px, square | 1:1 (shown in a circle) | Practical guidance |
Feed posts: portrait, square and landscape
Instagram's help center says photos between 320 and 1080 px wide keep their original resolution; wider photos are resized to 1080 px wide and narrower ones are enlarged. The shape must be between landscape 1.91:1 and portrait 4:5 — anything outside that range is cropped to fit.
- Portrait 4:5, 1080 × 1350 px: takes the most space in the feed, which is why most creators use it.
- Square 1:1, 1080 × 1080 px: the classic format; safe when you reuse the image elsewhere.
- Landscape 1.91:1, 1080 × 566 px: the widest shape Instagram shows without cropping; it appears small on phones.
4:5 or 3:4?
In 2025 Instagram announced support for taller 3:4 photos (1080 × 1440 px), the shape most phone cameras use. Instagram's help page, however, still lists 4:5 as the tallest feed shape, and tools that post through Meta's publishing API may still crop 3:4 photos to 4:5. Until the documentation catches up, 4:5 is the safe choice. If you post 3:4, keep anything important away from the top and bottom edges.
Stories
Stories fill the screen at 9:16, so export at 1080 × 1920 px (Meta recommends 1440 × 2560 for Story ads, with a minimum width of 500 px and JPG or PNG files up to 30 MB). The profile row at the top and the reply bar at the bottom cover parts of the frame: Meta advises keeping about 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% of each side of a Story ad free of text. Organic Stories show less interface, so treat that as a cautious guide.
Reel covers
A Reel cover is a full 9:16 image (1080 × 1920 px), but your profile grid shows a 3:4 crop of its middle — put the title and faces in the centre. While the Reel plays, buttons and the caption cover the edges; our Instagram Reels safe zone guide shows exactly where, measured on real phones, and the Social Video Safe Zone Checker checks your video.
Profile photo
Instagram shows profile photos as a small circle and doesn't publish an official size. A square image of at least 320 × 320 px, with the face or logo centred, displays sharply everywhere; the corners are always hidden.
Formats and file size
Upload JPG for photos and PNG for graphics. Instagram converts images to JPG, so transparent areas in a PNG become a solid colour. Instagram doesn't publish a file-size limit for organic posts; very large files are simply compressed.
Cropping: what gets lost
If your photo is wider than 1.91:1 or taller than 4:5, Instagram crops it to the nearest allowed shape, keeping the middle. A 16:9 photo posted as a portrait loses about 55% of its width — usually the subject's surroundings and any text near the sides.
Common mistakes
- Posting 3:4 photos and finding the top and bottom cropped when scheduled through a third-party tool.
- Placing captions on Stories or Reel covers where the interface or the 3:4 grid crop hides them.
- Uploading images narrower than 1080 px, which look soft when enlarged.
- Using a transparent PNG and getting a black background.
Practical recommendations
- Default to 1080 × 1350 for feed posts and 1080 × 1920 for Stories and Reels.
- Keep text and faces in the middle of vertical images.
- Check a 3:4 photo before posting rather than assuming it won't be cropped.
Frequently asked questions
What size should an Instagram post be?
1080 px wide. For the biggest presence in the feed, use portrait 1080 × 1350 px (4:5); squares are 1080 × 1080 px and landscape posts 1080 × 566 px.
What is the best Instagram portrait size?
1080 × 1350 px, a 4:5 shape. It is the tallest shape listed in Instagram's help center for feed photos.
What size should an Instagram Story be?
1080 × 1920 px (9:16). Keep text away from the top and bottom, where the profile row and reply bar sit.
Does Instagram crop 3:4 images?
It can. Instagram announced 3:4 support in 2025, but its help page still lists 4:5 as the tallest feed shape and some scheduling tools crop 3:4 to 4:5. Check the image before posting, or use 4:5 to be safe.
Why does my Instagram photo look blurry?
It was probably narrower than 1080 px, so Instagram enlarged it, or it was heavily compressed. Export at 1080 px wide or larger.
Sources and how to read these values
Last reviewed: 8 October 2026, the same review as the Image Requirements Checker.
Each value above is labelled: a platform limit is documented by the platform and uploads outside it fail; an official recommendation comes from the platform's own help pages; a third-party recommendation is widely published but not confirmed on an official page; practical guidance is our advice. Platforms change their layouts without notice, so check important images in the app itself.
- Instagram Help Center: photo resolution (1.91:1 to 4:5, 320–1080 px)
- Meta Ads Guide: Instagram Stories image ads
- 3:4 support: announced by Instagram in 2025 (not yet in the help center)
- Reel cover grid preview and profile photo: widely published guidance