Instagram Photo and Video Sizes Explained (2026)
Square, portrait or 9:16? The sizes Instagram really uses, what downloads look like, and how to keep your uploads sharp.
By Downloaderize Published 3 min read
Instagram resizes everything you upload. If you know the sizes it uses, your own posts look sharp instead of soft or awkwardly cropped, and you’ll know what to expect from photos and videos you download. Here are the numbers that matter.
Photos
Instagram stores photos at up to 1080 pixels wide. The height depends on the shape you choose:
| Shape | Ratio | Size Instagram uses |
|---|---|---|
| Square | 1:1 | 1080 × 1080 |
| Portrait | 4:5 | 1080 × 1350 |
| Landscape | 1.91:1 | 1080 × 566 |
| Tall portrait (grid-friendly) | 3:4 | 1080 × 1440 |
Portrait (4:5) or 3:4 take up the most screen space in the feed, which is why most creators use them. The profile grid shows a 3:4 crop of each post, so keep faces and text away from the very top and bottom.
Upload tip: export at exactly 1080 pixels wide. Larger files are shrunk (and sharpened differently); smaller ones are enlarged and look soft.
Carousels
All slides in a carousel share the shape of the first one. Mixed shapes are cropped to match, so plan your first slide carefully. A carousel holds up to 20 photos and videos.
Reels and videos
| Format | Ratio | Recommended size |
|---|---|---|
| Reels | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 |
| Feed videos | 4:5 or 1:1 | 1080 × 1350 or 1080 × 1080 |
| Reel cover in the grid | 3:4 crop | Keep the subject centred |
- Reels display full screen at 9:16; the app overlays captions and buttons on the bottom fifth and the right edge, so keep text out of those areas.
- Videos are MP4 with H.264 video and AAC sound. Instagram re-encodes uploads, so start with a high-quality export (1080p, a high bitrate).
- Length limits change regularly; check the upload screen for the current maximum.
What you get when you download
With IG Downloader:
- Photos come as JPG at the largest size Instagram stores, usually 1080 pixels wide, the same file the app shows on a large phone.
- Reels and videos come as HD MP4 with sound, usually 720 × 1280 or 1080 × 1920 depending on what Instagram kept from the upload.
- Audio comes as an M4A file.
Instagram doesn’t keep the creator’s original camera file, so downloads can’t be sharper than what Instagram serves. The tool site’s article Instagram Reels quality explained goes into more detail.
Why your upload looks worse than the original
- Wrong size: upload at 1080 pixels wide.
- “Upload at highest quality” is off: in the app, go to Settings → Data usage and media quality and turn it on.
- Heavy compression on mobile data: upload on Wi-Fi.
- Text-heavy images: use PNG for graphics with sharp text; Instagram converts them to JPG, but starting from a lossless file helps.
Cross-posting
Reels share the 9:16 format with Shorts and TikTok, but each app has its own safe zones and length limits. See Shorts vs Reels vs TikTok for a comparison.
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