Updated Instagram Aspect Ratio and Image Size for 2024

Instagram Post Dimensions

1. Instagram Images

• Square Images: Image size: 1080px x 1080px, Aspect ratio: 1:1
• Landscape Images: Image size: 1080 x 566px, Aspect ratio: 1.91:1
• Portrait Images: Image size: 1080 x 1350 px, Aspect ratio: 4:5

2. Instagram Videos

• Square Videos (One Video or Carousel): Video size: 1080px x 1080px, Aspect ratio: 1:1, Minimum and maximum resolution: 600 x 600; 1080 x 1080
• Landscape Videos: Video size: 1080px x 608px, Aspect ratio: 16:9, Minimum and maximum resolution: 600 x 315; 1080 x 608
• Portrait Videos: Video size: 1080px x 1350px, Aspect ratio: 4:5, Minimum and maximum resolution: 600 x 750; 1080 x 1350

3. Instagram Stories

• Image size: 1080px x 1920px, Aspect ratio: 9:16

4. Instagram Reels

• Image size: 1080px x 1920px, Aspect ratio: 9:16

Instagram Aspect Ratio and Image Size Explained

Instagram posts are all about the visual component. And the better the content, the better the exposure, so many social media creators use an image manipulation service and share only improved pictures with their followers. 

Despite this, sharing a balanced image or video is not enough. And this is where you need to take into consideration the Instagram aspect ratio and image sizes.

What Is the Instagram Aspect Ratio?

We’ll tackle the Instagram aspect ratio first and what it refers to. 

An aspect ratio is a proportional relationship between the width and height of photos and videos. You must have seen 1:1 or 16:9 in some contexts, and wondered what they’re all about. These are one of the most common examples of aspect ratio formats. 

Looking at the first example, a 1:1 ratio translates into equal width and height. In the case of the 16:9 ratio, the first number will refer to the width, while the second number will be the height.

What Is the Instagram Image Size?

The Instagram image size also refers to the width and height of photos and videos. In this case, though, these two compose the image resolution. One of the most common image size formats is the following: 1024×981. This places 1024 as the image width and 981 as the image height.

It’s important to mention that there is no one-size-fits-all rule in the case of image sizes. What works for Instagram Stories will not work for images or videos. The same goes for the Instagram aspect ratio. Thus, what’s a great aspect ratio for an image will most likely not work for Reels.

The good news is, we’ve put together a cheat sheet for you to use and adapt your Instagram posts to the 2024 rules. Or, if you don’t want to call it a cheat sheet, an Instagram aspect ratio and image size guide will do as well. 

1. Instagram Images

What’s that one feature from the past that you can attribute to Instagram images? Throughout the previous years, Instagram has a notoriety for square images. Having a square image also meant having a 1:1 aspect ratio. 

Going down memory lane, there used to be a time when each Instagram photo had to go through a cropping process. All this, to fit the Instagram square image. And most of the time, this meant losing a lot of important elements and sometimes, even image quality. Not to mention, your social media visuals might’ve looked a bit different than expected because of it. 

The good news is that Instagram photo size is no longer limited to square images. You have the freedom to upload landscape and portrait images as well, to generate interest. Of course, we need to take into consideration all the aspect ratios attached to images. But we will cover those below:

A. Square Images

The Instagram square image isn’t going anywhere, as traditional as it is. At the end of the day, it’s the one element users have always associated with Instagram. And it’s still one of the most common Instagram photo ratios.

In the case of square images, these are the recommended dimensions:

• Instagram image size: 1080px x 1080px
• Instagram aspect ratio: 1:1

The best part is that you don’t need much to take a good square photo. For example, iOS provides you with the “Square” option when taking a picture. Different apps can vertically allow you to take square photos.

You can also choose to edit your picture fair and square inside the Instagram app. Or so to say, you can have Instagram crop your picture automatically. 

And don’t forget that you can easily publish Carousel posts, in case you need to share multiple photos at the same size. They will get cropped based on the dimension of the first one, so it is important to choose pictures with the same dimensions in order to avoid any issues.

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B. Landscape Images

Do you have a brilliant landscape photo that you want to share on Instagram? Back in the days, uploading non-square images to your Instagram feed was a bit of a hassle, as they weren’t quite the norm. An Instagram post of a landscape image usually meant cropping it into a square. 

The good news is that you don’t have to do that anymore, as there are recommended Instagram image sizes for landscape as well.

Landscape images have the following recommendations for Instagram dimensions:

• Instagram image size: 1080 x 608px
• Instagram aspect ratio: 1.91:1

But, things tend to get a bit tricky in the case of landscape, or horizontal images. As easy as it sounds to get the perfect 1.91:1 ratio, in theory, it gets a bit complicated in practice. And that is because landscape images have a different aspect ratio, in this case, 16:9. 

Uploading the landscape image with this ratio adds a border around your picture. And you might want to avoid it. A border will change the photo resolution and the aesthetics of your picture, as well as the consistency of your feed. Needless to say, you can choose to keep that, if your page is all about that kind of aesthetics.

C. Portrait Images

In our last point, we have the portrait images to cover. Usually, a portrait photo has the most impact on an Instagram feed, as a vertical image is easier to follow, especially as most users access Instagram from mobile devices.

Make sure that you respect the following guidelines when posting an Instagram portrait:

• Instagram image size: 1080 x 1350 px
• Instagram aspect ratio: 4:5

There is no need to worry in case your image size is a bit larger. This is because Instagram automatically reduces the size of your portrait photos when posting. Be mindful not to go on the other side of the spectrum, though. A smaller image size could cause quality issues to your Instagram photo due to the resizing process. Thankfully, with SocialBee’s built-in editor, you can crop your images to match Instagram’s aspect ratio for feed or story.

2. Instagram Videos

Video killed the radio (or image) star and it’s still not planning to go anywhere, even in 2024. Instagram Videos are a great way to connect to people and attract their attention. Like in the case of images, though, when you post videos on Instagram, you need to follow a specific size and aspect ratio to look good. 

You can choose to upload Square and Carousel videos, as well as portrait and landscape ones. We’ll go through each of them one by one below. 

But, before that, we’ll mention a few details about uploading videos on Instagram:

• 60 seconds might not be enough to tell a full story, but in Instagram’s case, that’s the maximum length. Try to capture the best moments in 60 seconds for the best videos.
• There’s a file size limit almost everywhere, and Instagram is no stranger to that. Try to keep your file size under 4GB
• The video frames should not exceed 30fps
• The recommended dimensions for the IGTV Cover Photo are 420 x 654 pixels, 1:1.55 aspect ratio

What’s also new in the case of videos is that they all have a minimum and maximum resolution. The minimum and maximum resolution will depend on the orientation of the video.

A. Square Videos (One Video or Carousel) 

Square videos are not that different from square images. When you post a square video, you already know how it will look like on the profile grid. 

Here are the ideal dimensions for the perfect square video with the best quality resolution:

• Instagram video size: 1080px x 1080px
• Instagram aspect ratio: 1:1
• Minimum and maximum resolution: 600 x 600; 1080 x 1080

B. Landscape Videos

Moving forward, landscape videos keep the same recommendations as images. There is a small observation in their case that needs to be mentioned, though.

These are the video dimensions recommended for landscape content: 

• Instagram video size: 1080px x 608px
• Instagram aspect ratio: 16:9
• Minimum and maximum resolution: 600 x 315; 1080 x 608

We mentioned the fact that landscape images shouldn’t have a 16:9 aspect ratio, to avoid adding a border to them. In the case of videos, you can keep the aspect ratio to 16:9. It’s easier for users to view the videos in this ratio, so there is no need to make any changes.

C. Portrait Videos

If you have portrait images, you also have portrait videos. And some recommendations apply in their case, as well. 

These are the recommended dimensions for portrait videos on Instagram:

• Instagram video size: 1080px x 1350px
• Instagram aspect ratio: 4:5
• Minimum and maximum resolution: 600 x 750; 1080 x 1350

Now that we’ve gone through all the types of videos, there is one more worth mentioning. And the last type of videos we’re going to discuss will be the Instagram Live Videos. One of the latest additions to the Instagram world, Live Videos can get very creative.

Live videos are usually shot in a vertical way. Of course, it will all depend on the person and their preferences. Live videos can also be shot horizontally. The only detail about the video size or aspect ratio ties to your device’s screen. Your screen will dictate the size and aspect ratio of your Live Video, and there are no changes to make in this case.

3. Instagram Stories

Moving on from images and videos, let’s take a look at the best image size and aspect ratio for Instagram Stories. Dimensions will indeed depend most of the time on the device, but not to worry. 

If you want to avoid any black border, here are the recommended image size and aspect ratio for Instagram Stories:

• Instagram Story size: 1080px x 1920px 
• Instagram Story aspect ratio: 9:16

Keep in mind that the minimum aspect ratio for Instagram Stories is as little as 1.91:1.

There are also a few recommendations when it comes to Instagram stories and how they’re viewed. Generally speaking, stories have been designed for the vertical view. Because of this, your best approach is to concentrate on the portrait image style. 

Of course, you can also go for the landscape image style, but this is at the risk of changing the viewpoint. Landscapes will turn towards a horizontal view so that they fit. And this might cause your image or video to lose some important details.

We mentioned at the beginning that you need to respect these sizes to avoid the border effect of your Instagram posts. But there are a few more reasons behind that logic. An inadequate aspect ratio will lead to image or video cropping. Add to that the effect of unnecessary zooming, and the picture is complete.

4. Instagram Reels

Last, but not least, we’ll cover Instagram Reels, one of the most engaging features of the app. It’s common to believe that Instagram Reels are different from Instagram Stories, but not they’re not that much. At least if we’re talking from the perspective of image size and aspect ratio.

In fact, the majority of videos can only be shared as Reels starting with July 2022. This change doesn’t affect all videos, including those that were previously posted to the feed and those that were uploaded on Instagram Web.

Instagram Reels have also been designed for upright viewing. Have we forgotten to mention the full-screen idea also?

Going back, these are the recommendations for the Instagram Reels size:

• Image size: 1080px x 1920px
• Aspect ratio: 9:16

There are a few elements you should take into consideration when it comes to Reels, though:

• Caption: The caption of your Instagram Reels will be available at the bottom of your video. As the caption can overlap with the elements from your video, you want to ensure that it is concise enough and that the post doesn’t rely on it.
• Duration: Keep in mind that a Reel cannot be longer than 30 seconds, so make sure to organize your material accordingly.
•  Access: Reels aren’t currently available to everyone. Keep in mind, some accounts may be able to see Reels, but won’t be able to record them.