Instagram reel size in 2026: dimensions, aspect ratio and length

This guide gives you the numbers to type into your editor, then the details that trip people up: the real upload limits, how long a Reel can be, where captions and buttons cover your video, why your cover gets cropped on your profile, and how to turn an existing video into a vertical Reel. If you'd rather generate vertical footage from a written description, Text to Video supports 9:16 on every model.

Every figure was checked on November 7, 2026. We separate three kinds of sources: Instagram's own Help Center, Meta's ad specs as reported by ad-spec sites, and conventions that most guides repeat without an official source. Klakix is not affiliated with Instagram or Meta.

What is the Instagram reel size in pixels and aspect ratio?

The Instagram reel size to use is 1080 x 1920 pixels in a 9:16 vertical frame. That number is the industry convention used by Buffer, Sprout Social and almost every other guide, but it isn't a hard rule.

The official Instagram help page on Reel size says you can upload a Reel with an aspect ratio between 1.91:1 and 9:16, at a minimum of 30 fps and a minimum resolution of 720 pixels. So a square or horizontal clip will upload, but only 9:16 fills the full phone screen.

Instagram reel size limit: resolution, frame rate and file size

Instagram's stated limits for Reels are a minimum resolution of 720 pixels and a minimum of 30 fps; it doesn't publish a maximum file size for uploads in the app. The help page doesn't say which side the 720 pixels refers to. Our reading is the short edge, which means a 720p vertical export (720 x 1280) is the floor.

• Resolution: export at 1080 x 1920 if you can; 720 x 1280 is the lowest that clearly meets the minimum.
• Frame rate: 30 fps or higher. invideo recommends 30 fps with H.264, which is a sensible default rather than an official rule.
• Avoid 480p and lower: a 480p or 360p export misses Instagram's stated minimum, and it can make a Reel look soft after upload.
• File size: keep files reasonable for your connection; Instagram itself names no in-app cap.

How long can an Instagram Reel be in 2026?

An Instagram Reel can be up to 20 minutes long, according to Instagram's Help Center as quoted by Exemplary.ai and other secondary sources at the time of our check. The same Help Center text says Reels over 3 minutes won't be recommended to new audiences, so longer Reels give up that extra reach to people who don't follow you yet.

The limit has moved several times. In January 2025, Engadget reported that Adam Mosseri announced 3-minute Reels, and Exemplary.ai's archive timeline shows the help page changing from "up to 3 minutes" to "up to 20 minutes" in mid-2025. That's why older guides still say 90 seconds, 3 minutes or 15 minutes.

Instagram reel safe zones and cover size

The Instagram reel safe zone, based on Meta's ad guidance as reported by Biddyco, keeps text and logos out of the top 14%, the bottom 35% and 6% on each side of the frame. On a 1080 x 1920 Reel that's 269 px at the top, 672 px at the bottom and 65 px on each side.

That leaves a usable box of about 950 x 979 px in the middle. The bottom margin is large because your username, caption and audio label sit there, and the right edge holds the like, comment and share buttons.

For the cover, design at the same 1080 x 1920 and keep the important part in the center. The profile grid crops every thumbnail to 3:4, according to Neal Schaffer and Oktopost. Our math: a 3:4 area that's 1080 px wide is 1440 px tall, so roughly 240 px get trimmed from the top and bottom of your cover on the grid. We found no official Instagram source for a cover upload size.

Instagram reel size vs Stories, posts and the profile grid

Instagram Reels and Stories share the same 1080 x 1920, 9:16 canvas, while feed image posts and the profile grid use shorter frames. Buffer also notes that all video posts on Instagram are displayed as Reels, so a vertical video you post to the feed follows Reel specs.

The 3:4 grid came with Instagram's January 2025 change away from square thumbnails, which Mosseri described as matching how people actually post. In May 2025 he added that 3:4 images would show in full in the feed, as Louise Myers reports. We didn't verify current TikTok, YouTube Shorts or Facebook Reels specs for this guide, so check each platform's own help pages before you reuse a file.

What is the Instagram reel size in inches?

An Instagram Reel has no fixed size in inches, because pixels only get a physical size once you pick a pixels-per-inch (PPI) value. Inches equal pixels divided by PPI. RecurPost lists 5.4 x 9.6 inches without naming a PPI; our math shows it assumes 200 PPI (1080 ÷ 200 = 5.4, 1920 ÷ 200 = 9.6).

• At 72 PPI: 15 x about 26.7 inches.
• At 200 PPI: 5.4 x 9.6 inches.
• At 300 PPI (common for print): 3.6 x 6.4 inches.

If a design tool asks for inches, enter pixels instead whenever you can. Our 1080x1920 guide covers the same conversion in more detail.

How to make or convert a video to Instagram reel size

To make a video in Instagram reel size, start in a 9:16 frame at 720p or higher, then add text inside the safe zone. On Klakix you can generate vertical clips from a written description and finish them in the browser-based Video Editor.

1. Open Text to Video: Go to the Text to Video tool; every model there supports a 9:16 aspect ratio.
2. Pick a model: For quick social clips, Seedance 2.0 Mini or MiniMax H3 Max Turbo keep costs low; Veo 3.1 Lite adds dialogue and ambient sound.
3. Set the aspect ratio to 9:16: Choose 9:16 so the clip fills the phone screen with no bars.
4. Choose 720p or higher: Pick High (720p or 768p) or Full HD; skip Standard (480p) and Draft (360p), which fall below Instagram's 720 px minimum.
5. Write the scene and generate: Describe the subject, action and camera move; the credit cost shows before you generate.
6. Add text and music in the Video Editor: Open a 9:16 project in the Video Editor, keep text inside the safe zone and export the MP4.

At default settings, Seedance 2.0 Mini costs 48 credits (720p, 5 sec), about $3.20 on the Mini pack ($5 for 75 credits). MiniMax H3 Max Turbo is 20 credits (768p, 5 sec), about $1.33, and Veo 3.1 Lite is 40 credits (720p, 8 sec), about $2.67. The listed defaults are at 16:9, so confirm the 9:16 cost in the studio; credits are refunded automatically if a generation fails. See pricing for packs.

If you already have a long horizontal video, such as a podcast or webinar, Viral Clips finds its strongest moments and cuts them into 9:16 clips with face tracking and word-by-word captions for 15 credits, about $1.00 on the Mini pack. For an old clip that's too small, the Video Upscaler takes it to Full HD for 20 credits. For an explainer with voiceover and captions built in, Motif makes a 45-second 9:16 video for 159 credits at default settings.

A few limits are worth knowing. There's no free video trial: the 20 free credits after email verification work only for voiceovers. The video models don't generate 4:5 video, though the Video Editor can export a 4:5 project, and Klakix runs in your phone's browser rather than a mobile app. Skip cracked editing apps; they're a common source of malware.

This post was drafted with AI assistance. Facts were checked against the sources above, and model, credit and price details were checked automatically against the site's current price list.