What Size is an Instagram Ad?

You’ve picked your audience, set your budget, and crafted the perfect messaging for your Instagram ad. But just when you’re ready to hit publish, a technical snag stops you: what’s the right size and format for your creative? Getting this wrong can mean your beautiful ad gets awkwardly cropped, looks unprofessional, or simply doesn’t perform. This guide breaks down the exact ad specs for every Instagram placement, so your campaign can look its best and deliver results.

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Why Instagram Ad Sizing Matters More Than You Think

Choosing the right dimensions isn’t just about following rules, it directly impacts your ad’s performance. Here’s why it’s so important:

• Maximize Screen Real Estate: The more space your ad takes up on the screen, the more engaging and immersive it is. An ad that fills the entire screen on a Story is far more captivating than a small, horizontal video with black bars above and below it.
• Professional Appearance: Ads that are properly sized and formatted look native to the platform. An incorrectly sized image that gets cropped or a low-resolution video screams "amateur," which can damage brand perception and reduce trust.
• Better User Experience: When your ad fits the placement perfectly, it feels less disruptive. The user can interact with it seamlessly, just like they would with organic content from an account they follow. This frictionless experience leads to better engagement and higher conversion rates.
• Avoid Ad Rejection: In some cases, Meta’s ad platform may flat-out reject creative that doesn’t meet certain technical requirements. Adhering to the correct specs helps you avoid unnecessary delays in getting your campaign live.

A Quick Guide to Instagram Aspect Ratios

Before diving into pixel dimensions, let’s quickly cover aspect ratios. An aspect ratio is simply the proportional relationship between the width and height of an image or video. It’s written as a ratio, like 1:1 or 9:16. Understanding these shapes will make it much easier to pick the right format for your chosen placement.

• 1:1 (Square): The classic Instagram square. It has equal width and height. For years, this was the only format on the platform, and it still performs very well in the Feed. Think 1080 x 1080 pixels.
• 4:5 (Vertical/Portrait): This is taller than a square but not a full-screen vertical. It's the ideal format for the Instagram Feed because it takes up the most vertical space possible as users scroll. Think 1080 x 1350 pixels.
• 9:16 (Full-Screen Vertical): This is the tall, skinny format used for Instagram Stories and Reels. It’s designed to fill the entire mobile screen, creating a truly immersive experience. Think 1080 x 1920 pixels.
• 1.91:1 and 16:9 (Landscape/Horizontal): These are wide, horizontal formats. While technically supported in some placements, they are generally not recommended for Instagram because they occupy very little screen space on a vertically-oriented device.

Now, let’s look at how to apply these sizes to each specific ad placement.

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Instagram Ad Specs by Placement

Each place an ad can appear on Instagram has its own set of optimal dimensions. To make things easy, here’s a complete breakdown.

Instagram Feed Ads

The Instagram Feed is where users scroll through content from accounts they follow. Your ad appears between their posts, making it crucial to look as organic as possible. The Feed supports several sizes, but one is the clear winner.

Recommended Format (4:5 Vertical)

This is your best choice for Feed ads. It occupies the maximum amount of screen space as a user scrolls, grabbing their attention more effectively than a square or landscape image.

• Aspect Ratio: 4:5
• Dimensions: 1080 x 1350 pixels

Other Supported Formats

• Square (1:1): 1080 x 1080 pixels. A solid, classic choice that still performs well.
• Landscape (1.91:1): 1080 x 566 pixels. Use this only if you absolutely have to. For example, if you're repurposing a horizontal video from another platform and can't crop it. It’s generally best to avoid this format.

Technical Specs for Feed Ads

• Image File Types: JPG or PNG
• Video File Types: MP4, MOV, or GIF
• Maximum File Size: 30MB for images, 4GB for videos.
• Video Duration: 1 second to 60 minutes.
• Headline: Up to 40 characters recommended.
• Primary Text (Caption): Up to 125 characters is ideal to prevent it from being truncated.

Tips for Carousel Feed Ads

Carousel ads allow users to swipe through multiple images or videos in a single ad. They follow the same size recommendations as single image/video ads in the Feed, but you must be consistent.

• Aspect Ratio: All cards in your carousel must have the same aspect ratio. Stick with either 1:1 (1080 x 1080) or 4:5 (1080 x 1350) for best results.
• Number of Cards: 2 to 10 images or videos per ad.

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Instagram Stories & Reels Ads

Stories and Reels are all about immersive, full-screen video and images. Your ad creative should be designed to match this experience. Using anything other than the recommended full-screen vertical format here will make your ad look out of place and perform poorly.

Recommended Format (9:16 Full-Screen Vertical)

The only format you should seriously consider for these placements. It fills the entire mobile screen and provides the most engaging experience.

• Aspect Ratio: 9:16
• Dimensions: 1080 x 1920 pixels

Even if Meta’s ad platform automatically adds colored bars to make a smaller image fit, it looks unprofessional and ruins the immersive effect.

Key Consideration: The "Safe Zone"

While your creative should be 1080x1920, not all that space is safe for important content. Instagram overlays UI elements at the top (your logo and account name) and bottom (the call-to-action button or swipe-up link). To avoid having these elements cover up text or your logo, keep your critical messaging within the central area of the screen. Meta suggests leaving approximately 14% (250 pixels) at the top and 20% (340 pixels) at the bottom clear of essential elements.

Technical Specs for Stories & Reels Ads

• File Types: Same as Feed ads (JPG/PNG for images, MP4/MOV/GIF for videos).
• Maximum File Size: 30MB for images, 4GB for videos.
• Story Ad Duration: Images are shown for 5 seconds. Videos can be up to 60 seconds. A single video "scene" breaks into 15-second cards, but can play seamlessly for the full minute.
• Reels Ad Duration: Videos can be up to 90 seconds.

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Instagram Explore Ads

The Explore tab is where users go to discover new content and accounts. Your ad can appear in two places here: on the Explore grid itself and within the browsing feed after someone taps on a post.

• On the Explore Grid: Ads do not yet appear as standalone tiles on the main Explore grid. Your content shows up organically, and if it becomes popular, it can serve as inspiration for an ad there.
• In the Explore Feed: This is where ads are displayed. After a user clicks on a photo or video from the Explore grid, they enter a scrolling feed similar to the main Feed. Ads are interspersed in this browsing experience.

The ad specifications for the Explore Feed are identical to those for the main Instagram Feed.

• Recommended Aspect Ratio: 4:5 (1080 x 1350 pixels)
• Also Supported: 1:1 (1080 x 1080 pixels)

General Tips and Best Practices

Beyond nailing the numbers, here are a few best practices to ensure your Instagram ads perform at their peak.

• Always Upload the Highest Resolution: Start with creative that meets or exceeds the recommended dimensions. Uploading a high-resolution file and letting Instagram compress it will result in a much crisper ad than uploading a small file that needs to be stretched.
• Design for Mobile First: Your ad will be viewed on a mobile phone. Use clear, easily readable fonts and avoid tiny text that will be impossible to decipher on a small screen. Make sure your core message and branding are visible even with a quick glance.
• Use the Preview Tool: When setting up your ad in Meta Ads Manager, use the built-in preview tool. It allows you to see exactly how your creative will appear in every single placement (Feed, Stories, Reels, etc.). This is the perfect final check to catch any cropping or formatting issues before you spend any money.
• Consider Placement-Specific Creative: The best advertisers don't use the same exact creative for every single placement. An ad designed for the Feed (4:5) won't look ideal in Stories (9:16). If you have the resources, create variations of your ad tailored for a vertical immersive experience in Stories and Reels.
• Test and Measure: Don’t assume one format is always better. Test a 1:1 ad against a 4:5 version in the Feed for your audience. See if a shorter 15-second Story ad outperforms a longer one. Let the data guide your creative decisions.

Final Thoughts

Perfecting your Instagram ad specs is far more than a technical checklist, it’s a critical step in making sure your campaigns look professional, earn engagement, and deliver a positive return. By customizing your creative for each placement, you respect the user’s experience on the platform and put your ad in the best possible position to succeed.

Of course, once your perfectly sized ads are running, you need an easy way to see how they're performing. With Graphed, we connect directly to your marketing platforms like Instagram Ads, Facebook Ads, and Shopify. You can use simple natural language to build dashboards in seconds. Just ask, "Compare the click-through-rate of my Feed ads versus my Reels ads this month," and get an instant, real-time report, helping you make smarter, faster decisions.