The Instagram post size that keeps full quality is a photo 1080 pixels wide, in any shape from 1.91:1 (wide) to 3:4 (tall), which is 566 to 1,440 pixels high. Reels and stories fill the screen at 9:16, and 1080 by 1920 pixels is that shape at 1080 pixels wide. Instagram publishes no pixel size for profile pictures.
Every number below was read from Instagram's Help Center or Meta's Business Help Centre on 13 October 2026. Where Instagram gives no number, this page says so instead of guessing.
What is the Instagram post size in pixels?
A photo post should be 1080 pixels wide, with a height between 566 and 1,440 pixels. Instagram's Help Center says Instagram uploads photos at the best quality it can, up to a width of 1080 pixels. Instagram keeps your original resolution when the width is between 320 and 1080 pixels and the shape sits between 1.91:1 and 3:4. At 1080 pixels wide, those shapes work out like this:
| Shape | Ratio | Pixels (width by height) |
|---|---|---|
| Widest allowed | 1.91:1 | 1080 by 566 |
| Square | 1:1 | 1080 by 1080 |
| Portrait | 4:5 | 1080 by 1350 |
| Tallest allowed | 3:4 | 1080 by 1440 |
The first and last rows are Instagram's figures. The square and 4:5 rows are our arithmetic, and both sit inside the supported range.
The same Help Center article says what happens to a file that does not fit:
- Wider than 1080 pixels: Instagram sizes the photo down to 1080 wide.
- Narrower than 320 pixels: Instagram enlarges it to 320 wide.
- A shape outside 1.91:1 to 3:4: Instagram crops the photo to fit a supported shape.
On instagram.com, the Help Center lists JPG, PNG and HEIC/HEIF as the photo formats you can upload from a computer. The articles we read give no file size limit for organic photos.
Carousels follow the same photo rules, and every slide shares one shape. Slide limits and reordering are covered in our page on Instagram carousel posts.
Which shape does the Instagram profile grid show?
The profile grid shows a rectangular layout rather than squares, and Instagram's Help Center gives no ratio for it. What we can date is the change. On 18 January 2025 Engadget reported that Adam Mosseri had announced the square profile grid was becoming a rectangular layout, because most of what people upload, photos and videos alike, is now vertical.
Neither Instagram's pages nor that report give the new ratio, so keep faces, words and logos in the middle of the frame. A crop that is a little taller or shorter than you expect will then leave them whole.
What is the Instagram Reel size?
Instagram's Help Center says you can upload a reel with a shape anywhere from 1.91:1 to 9:16, a minimum resolution of 720 pixels and a minimum frame rate of 30 frames a second. It names no recommended pixel size. Full screen is 9:16, which at 1080 pixels wide is 1080 by 1920. That figure is our arithmetic, not an Instagram number. What goes in the first seconds of the frame is covered in Instagram reel hooks.
Four more facts from Instagram's Help Center pages:
- Cover photo: the recommended size is 420 by 654 pixels, a ratio of 1:1.55.
- Upload quality: tap your profile, tap Menu, tap Media quality below Your app and media, then turn on Upload at highest quality. Instagram says a higher quality upload may take longer.
- Length: you can record or upload clips that add up to 20 minutes. Instagram says reels over 3 minutes will not be recommended to new audiences.
- Boosting: a reel you boost as an ad must be 90 seconds or less and full-screen 9:16.
What is the Instagram story size?
Stories fill the screen at 9:16, and Meta recommends 1,080 by 1,920 pixels in its specifications for Instagram story ads, the only place Meta publishes a story size. Instagram's own Help Center articles on stories give no pixel size. Meta's minimum is 600 by 1,067. Photos can be JPG or PNG up to 30 MB, and videos MP4 or MOV up to 4 GB. A photo in a story ad shows for five seconds by default.
An organic story fills the same full-screen frame, so that shape is a safe target, but Meta lists those figures as ad specifications.
Keep the edges clear. Instagram's Help Center says that for a boosted story you should leave about 14% of the top and 20% of the bottom free of text, logos and other key elements, so the action button does not cover them. Meta's Business Help Centre adds that on phones taller than 9:16 it may zoom an ad to fill the screen, which can crop the edges, or show it at 9:16 with black bars.
What is the Instagram profile picture size?
Instagram does not publish a pixel size for profile pictures. Its Help Center explains how to change the picture: on instagram.com, click your profile picture, click Edit profile, click Change photo, then Upload Photo. It says you can take a new photo, add one from your library or import your Facebook picture, and it warns that your profile picture is public to everyone, on or off Instagram. No article gives pixels.
Sizes you see quoted elsewhere are other sites' measurements, so we give none. Start from a sharp photo with your face or logo near the centre, because Instagram does not say how it crops the picture.
Why does Instagram crop or blur my upload?
Five causes are documented in Instagram's and Meta's pages:
- The shape is outside the supported range. Photos outside 1.91:1 to 3:4 are cropped to fit. For reels, stay inside 1.91:1 to 9:16, the range Instagram accepts.
- The file is too narrow. A photo under 320 pixels wide is enlarged to 320, so start larger.
- The app is out of date. Instagram's Help Center tells you to download the latest version of the app to share photos at 1080 pixels wide.
- A reel went up at standard quality. Turn on Upload at highest quality, the path is above.
- The phone screen is taller than 9:16. Meta says a story ad may be zoomed to fill it, which crops the edges.
Where this stops working
- Some sizes have no official number. Instagram's pages that we read give none for profile pictures, highlight covers or the grid ratio, so we left them out.
- Story figures are ad specifications. They are Meta's numbers for story ads, not a published rule for organic stories.
- The tall limit is stated two ways. Meta's story ads page says feed dimensions run from 1.91:1 to 4:5, while Instagram's photo article extends to 3:4. The photo article is the one that governs your own posts.
- No file size limit for organic posts. The Help Center articles we read state none, and Meta's 30 MB and 4 GB belong to story ads.
- Pages change without notice. We read the Help Center and did not test uploads in a live account, so post one test before a launch.
Export photos 1080 pixels wide inside the 1.91:1 to 3:4 range and Instagram has no reason to crop them. If the last frame of a Reel or carousel asks people to comment a keyword, inDM sends each commenter your link by DM.
Sources
All read on 13 October 2026:
- Instagram Help Center, image resolution of photos you share: the 1080 pixel width, the 1.91:1 to 3:4 range, the 320 pixel rule and the crop rule.
- Instagram Help Center, Reel size and aspect ratios: the 1.91:1 to 9:16 range, the 720 pixel and 30 frame minimums, the cover size and the Media quality path.
- Instagram Help Center, record a reel: the 20 minute limit and the 3 minute note.
- Instagram Help Center, Share a Post: the post a photo steps on a computer, with the JPG, PNG and HEIC/HEIF formats.
- Instagram Help Center, boost an Instagram Reel and boost an Instagram story: the 90 second and 9:16 rule, and the 14% and 20% edges.
- Instagram Help Center, add or change your profile picture: the steps, and that no size is given.
- Meta Business Help Centre, design requirements for Instagram Stories ads: the 9:16 shape, the 1,080 by 1,920 and 600 by 1,067 figures, file types and size limits.
- Meta Business Help Centre, text overlays and the Safe Zone: the zoom and black bar behaviour on taller screens.
- Engadget, 18 January 2025: the report of the rectangular grid. It is a news report, not an Instagram page.