In 2024, Instagram has a whopping 2 billion active users, making it the fourth-largest social media platform.
Other stats will also show that Instagram’s ad revenue is growing, its users are actively spending time on it (averaging almost 30 minutes a day), and it’s pretty popular among young audiences, too.
Combined, all these make Instagram a lucrative investment. If you wish to invest in this platform and engage with your audiences, you need to get the basics right—and that starts by using the correct Instagram size dimensions for all your content.
On that note, let’s explore the ideal dimensions for Instagram posts, reels, stories, and more, along with other need-to-know details like how to resize your photos, the best resolution for Instagram, and how to work with landscape photos.
What are the dimensions for Instagram posts?
In this section, we’ll cover the dimensions of various Instagram features, such as posts, stories, reels, profile photos, story highlights, and more, to help you jump to the top of the algorithm.
Dimensions for photo post
There are three standard dimensions for Instagram photo posts you can consider:
- Landscape/Horizontal: 1080 x 566 pixels (16:9)
- Portrait/Vertical: 1080 x 1350 pixels (4:5)
- Square: 1080 x 1080 pixels (1:1)
Experts recommend keeping the file size of these photos within 30 MB and using JPEG/PNG file formats to meet Instagram’s guidelines.
Regarding vertical dimensions, the photo of a tea subscription box from the Magic Hour is an excellent example of a 4:5 dimension.
This option spans the phone’s screen just enough to cover almost the entire screen while still leaving room to display a small portion of the copy and leave users wanting more.
Dimensions for Stories post
Story posts take the entire space on Instagram and should have an aspect ratio of 9:16 or 1080 x 1920 pixels.
Your stories can be up to 15 seconds long (as a photo) or one minute long as a video (this, too, will be further broken down into 15-second clips).
Like before, Instagram recommends using JPEG and PNG file formats for photos and MP4, GIF, or MOV video formats.
Need inspiration on what Stories to post? We’ve got you covered in our creative guide with these epic Instagram Story ideas.
Dimensions for Reels post
Like Instagram Stories (vertical videos), Instagram Reels would also have an aspect ratio of 9:16 or 1080 x 1920 pixels.
However, unlike stories, which can only be 15 seconds long, Instagram reels can be as long as 90 seconds and have a maximum file size of 650 MB.
Experts also recommend giving your reels a casual, authentic, “homemade” feel.
An example is Henry Meds posting Reels for its semaglutide online products. In this example, the messaging is clear, and, most importantly, the dimensions are correct (9:16).
Boost your chances of going viral, making your content relatable while keeping your eye on Instagram Reel trends.
Dimensions for profile photo
On Instagram, your profile picture should have an aspect ratio of 320 pixels x 320 pixels.
It’s also worth noting that your profile photo is your company’s first identifier (at least on social media), which is why it needs to be something that can significantly impact your brand’s recognition and trustworthiness.
For instance, Beaches of Normandy’s Instagram profile uses its brand logo, a soldier’s helmet. This fits their brand as they offer historical tours and often cover sites relevant to World Wars.
Hence, this profile photo allows customers to understand the company’s service even before exploring its offerings.
Similarly, if we look at the Aurit Center’s profile photo, they’ve chosen the labyrinth or a circle maze of meditation as their logo. This suits them well as they offer divorce mediation services and support calmness throughout the divorce process.
Dimensions for Stories Highlights
For Instagram Story Highlights, using the proper dimensions of 1080 x 1920 pixels is essential for a professional look.
For reference, Cruise America, a leading provider of RV rental in Florida, effectively utilizes these dimensions in its story highlights.
Adhering to the correct size makes their visuals crisp and fully displayed, ensuring potential buyers see every detail. It also helps them attract and engage their audience more effectively.
Here are a few more helpful pointers about Instagram story highlights:
- The highlights can be a maximum of 15 seconds long (or in 15-second clips), just like stories
- You can only create story highlights if you published the content as an Instagram story
- Adding custom images and titles to your highlights will give a professional look
For reference, here’s an example of Instagram story highlights:
Image via Instagram
How to resize your images
Plenty of free tools online can help you accomplish this task — some famous names in the market are Picsart, Fotor, and Pixelied.
Side Note: There’s often confusion between resizing and cropping, but they’re two different things, which will help you achieve different results. Cropping is when you cut a part of the original picture; resizing is when you get different pixel dimensions of the same image.
Knowing a bit about composition and photography might help you resize and crop your images better and wring out all the potential for an image to be striking.
Delta Remedys, for example, has the cute idea of stacking its Delta 10 gummies in a little tower, appealing to the playfulness of its product.
However, as you can see, the original picture was much wider. To highlight the effect of the stacking, the picture was cropped to get the 1080 x 1350 vertical dimension. This is just one example of how you could play with the cropping of your image.
What is the best Instagram post resolution?
Experts say Instagram photo resolutions should be at least 1080 pixels wide. From here on, it completely depends on whether you’re uploading a story, post, reel, etc., so your resolutions can be customized accordingly to fit Instagram’s standards.
A tip here would be to look at famous Instagram accounts with a large following. Hence, through trial and error, you can understand Instagram’s photo resolutions and rules and know when to break them.
For example, you could get inspired by Chime, a brand with nearly one million followers that uses Instagram to educate users on financial products such as debit/credit cards and checking accounts. All their posts are super crisp and clear and adhere to the recommended photo resolutions.
This strategic use of high-resolution imagery allows Chime to effectively highlight its products’ unique features and benefits. Furthermore, Chime enhances engagement by incorporating:
- Actionable content that encourages interaction and conversion
- Visually appealing graphics
- Customer testimonials
How to put landscape-oriented images on Instagram
When you view posts in a grid, Instagram automatically showcases images in square boxes. Suppose you believe your viewers are casually checking out your profile. In that case, it might be important to add the value prop in the middle, regardless of whether you post a landscape photo or not, so that your value prop is always visible.
Onto the important stuff, here’s how to upload landscape photos on Instagram:
Step 1: Go to Instagram and click the “Add a Post” button (the one with a plus sign). This button will take you to a page where you can upload posts, stories, and reels.
Step 2: Choose the photo or video you wish to upload, crop or zoom in to ensure it’s the correct size (you could also use a third-party app to resize your images), and click Next at the top right corner.
Step 3: Click Next again, add a caption to your post, and select “Share.”
Key takeaways on Instagram size dimensions
In this guide, we discussed the ideal dimensions for Instagram photos and other need-to-know details about posting the best visual content on this social platform.
If you wish to continue to know more such details and are serious about jumping on the Instagram bandwagon, we can help.
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