Instagram Photo & Video Size Guide (2026 Cheat Sheet)
Upload a photo that's the wrong shape and Instagram will crop it for you, usually not the way you wanted. Get the pixel dimensions right before you upload, and you skip that guesswork entirely. This is the reference we keep open ourselves — every current Instagram format, its exact size, and the aspect ratio behind it.
The quick-reference table
Here are the dimensions that matter most in 2026, all in one place.
| Format | Dimensions (pixels) | Aspect ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square post | 1080 x 1080 | 1:1 | Classic feed format, fits any square crop |
| Portrait post | 1080 x 1350 | 4:5 | Takes up the most vertical space in the feed |
| Landscape post | 1080 x 566 | 1.91:1 | Widest feed format Instagram supports |
| Stories / Reels | 1080 x 1920 | 9:16 | Full-screen vertical, same size for both |
| Profile picture | 320 x 320 (displayed) | 1:1 | Upload larger — see note below |
Keep this table bookmarked. If you only remember one row, make it Stories and Reels — 1080 x 1920 covers both formats and is the size most people get wrong.
Feed posts: square, portrait, and landscape
Instagram's feed still supports three shapes, and each one has a specific job.
- Square (1080 x 1080, 1:1): The safest default. It displays fully in the feed and in your profile grid without any cropping surprises.
- Portrait (1080 x 1350, 4:5): Instagram's tallest allowed feed format. Because it takes up more vertical screen space, it tends to stop the scroll better than a square image.
- Landscape (1080 x 566, 1.91:1): Useful for wide shots — group photos, scenery, screenshots — but it displays smaller in the grid since less of the frame is vertical.
Whatever shape you pick, export at 1080 pixels on the long constrained edge. Instagram compresses images on upload, and starting below 1080px means you're compounding that compression with your own, which is where soft, blurry-looking photos usually come from.
Stories and Reels: the 9:16 vertical format
Stories and Reels share the same canvas: 1080 x 1920 pixels, a 9:16 aspect ratio that fills a phone screen edge to edge. If you're exporting from editing software or a phone gallery app, this is the export preset to look for.
A few practical notes:
- Keep key elements centered. The top and bottom of a 9:16 frame get covered by Instagram's own UI — the profile name and progress bar up top, reply bar and icons at the bottom. Don't put text or faces right at the edges.
- Video format: use MP4 with H.264 encoding. It's the format Instagram's own upload pipeline expects, and it re-encodes cleanly without unnecessary quality loss.
- File size: there's no single official cap you need to hit — just export at a reasonable bitrate for 1080 x 1920 video rather than an oversized, uncompressed file. Extremely large files simply take longer to upload and get compressed harder on the way in.
If you're downloading Reels to study their formatting, resave them, or archive your own content, our Reels tool pulls the original 1080 x 1920 file with no login required.
Profile pictures: upload big, display small
Instagram displays your profile picture at a small 320 x 320 on most screens, but you should never upload an image at exactly that size. Upload a larger square image — anything sharp and square works — and let Instagram scale it down. This gives you a crisp result on high-resolution displays and larger profile picture placements (like the expanded view when someone taps your avatar), where a 320px source would look pixelated.
If you want to see or save someone else's profile picture at full resolution rather than the tiny cropped circle, that's a common enough need that we built a dedicated full-size profile picture guide covering exactly how to view it.
Common sizing mistakes
| Mistake | What happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Uploading a 9:16 video as a feed post | Instagram crops it to 4:5 or 1:1, cutting off the top/bottom | Re-export at 1080 x 1350 or 1080 x 1080 for feed posts |
| Uploading a landscape photo to Stories | Instagram adds blank bars or crops in tight | Re-export or reformat to 1080 x 1920 |
| Starting from a low-resolution source | Compression makes it look soft or blocky | Start at 1080px minimum on the constrained edge |
| Using a tiny profile picture source | Looks pixelated when expanded | Upload a larger square, let Instagram scale down |
How this applies if you're downloading, not uploading
Sizing isn't only an upload concern. When you're saving photos or videos from a public profile, the file you get back should match these same native dimensions — a 1080 x 1080 photo should download as 1080 x 1080, not a resized thumbnail. That's the standard we hold our own tools to: our photo downloader and video downloader pull the original files Instagram serves, not a compressed preview, so what you save matches the dimensions in the table above.
It's also worth knowing the difference between the formats before you start downloading in bulk — our breakdown of Reels vs. Stories vs. posts covers how each format behaves beyond just its dimensions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the best Instagram post size for 2026?
For most people, 1080 x 1350 (4:5 portrait) is the strongest default — it's the tallest format Instagram allows in the feed, so it takes up more screen space than a square post. If you want your grid to look uniform, 1080 x 1080 square is the safer, more consistent choice.
Are Stories and Reels the same size?
Yes. Both use 1080 x 1920 pixels at a 9:16 aspect ratio, the same full-screen vertical shape. You can generally repurpose one for the other without resizing.
Why does my Instagram photo look blurry after uploading?
The most common cause is starting from a source image smaller than 1080 pixels on its long edge. Instagram compresses everything on upload, and a low-resolution source gets hit twice — once by your own export and again by Instagram's compression.
What file format should Instagram videos be?
MP4 with H.264 encoding is the standard format for Reels and Stories video uploads. It's the format Instagram's upload pipeline is built around, so it processes without unnecessary re-encoding artifacts.
What size should I upload for my profile picture?
Upload a square image larger than 320 x 320, even though that's roughly the size Instagram displays it at. A bigger source file looks sharp when the picture is shown at larger sizes, like the expanded profile view.
Whether you're formatting new content or pulling files from a public profile to check their dimensions, our main profile tool gives you a straightforward way to view and download Instagram media at its original size, no app or login needed.