Instagram Post Size in 2026: 1080x1440 (3:4), 1080x1350 (4:5) and the Taller Grid

The best Instagram post size in 2026 is 1080x1440 pixels, a 3:4 portrait that is both the tallest shape Instagram accepts and the exact shape of the profile grid. Instagram's official rule is that an image between 320 and 1080 pixels wide keeps its size as long as its aspect ratio sits between 1.91:1 (landscape) and 3:4 (portrait). Wider images are scaled down to 1080, narrower ones are enlarged to 320, and anything outside that ratio range is cropped. If you post through a scheduling tool, use 1080x1350 (4:5) saved as a JPEG instead.

What are the Instagram post sizes in 2026?

Every feed size below fits inside the official 1.91:1 to 3:4 range, so none of them is cropped when you post it. They differ in how much of the feed they fill and in how they look on your profile grid.

Always export at least 1080 pixels wide. Instagram only delivers a 1080-wide image if you upload one at least that wide: a 720-wide file stays 720 wide and is stretched to fit the screen, which looks soft on any modern phone.

Why is 3:4 now the tallest Instagram size?

Instagram changed shape in two steps. In January 2025 the profile grid switched from squares to 3:4 rectangles, after a test that began in August 2024, and there is no setting to switch back. At the end of May 2025 Instagram started accepting 3:4 photos and carousels without cropping them, with Adam Mosseri noting that "almost all phone cameras have this format by default". Some guides date the grid change to late 2025; every dated source puts it in January 2025.

4:5 did not stop working. It sits inside the official range and still fills most of a phone screen in the feed. What changed is that 3:4 is taller still, and it is the only feed shape that appears on the grid without any crop. We found no further Instagram size change between October 2025 and October 2026.

What does the Instagram profile grid crop?

The grid shows every post as a 3:4 tile, so any other shape loses its edges there. The feed still shows the whole image; only the grid preview is cut. This is the centre of each post that survives on the grid:

For any post that is not 3:4, keep text, faces and logos away from the left and right edges. For each post, "Adjust Preview" lets you choose Fill (the crop above) or Fit, which shows the whole image with bars instead. Reel covers get a third crop as well: the Reels feed shows them at 4:5.

How do Instagram carousels handle sizes?

A carousel holds up to 20 photos or videos; the limit rose from 10 in August 2024. Design every slide at the same size, either 1080x1440 or 1080x1350, because the sources disagree on what happens when you mix shapes. Instagram's help centre says the orientation you choose (square, portrait or landscape) applies to every item in the post. Kapwing (December 2025) and Buffer (March 2026) describe a "Mixed" option that keeps each photo's own ratio, but only between 4:5 and 1.91:1, and adds padding around square and landscape slides.

If you see Mixed, treat it as opt-in. By default, the first slide sets the crop for the rest, so a square first slide squares off every portrait slide after it. The Instagram carousel guide covers how many slides hold attention and how to structure them.

What size should scheduled Instagram posts be?

Use 1080x1350, saved as a JPEG. Scheduling tools publish through Meta's Instagram API, which accepts JPEG only, so convert PNG files before you hand them to a scheduler unless the tool says it converts for you. Buffer's support pages also say the API does not accept 3:4 and ask for 4:5 instead, although Buffer's own table of accepted ranges goes down to 3:4 (0.75). The sources conflict, so 4:5 is the size that works everywhere.

Two more API limits are worth knowing. Meta's documentation still lists 10 items per carousel, behind the app's 20, and caps publishing at 100 API posts per 24 hours. Scheduling tools add rules of their own: Ayrshare, for example, documents an 8 MB limit and widths of 320 to 1440 pixels. Check your scheduler's help page before you design a 20-slide carousel for it.

What sizes work for Stories and Reels?

Both are 1080x1920 (9:16). Reels accept anything from 1.91:1 to 9:16, at least 720 pixels and 30 frames per second, but only 9:16 fills the screen. Parts of the frame sit under the interface, so leave room:

• Stories: keep about 250 px clear at the top and at the bottom.
• Reels: keep about 14% clear at the top (270 px), 35% at the bottom (670 px) and 6% on each side (65 px), and about 40% (770 px) at the bottom right, where the buttons sit.

The Reels figures are Meta's ad guidance as reported by Hopper (September 2026). Other guides give different safe boxes, so treat them as a guide rather than exact pixels.

How do you make an image at exactly 1080x1440?

Set the canvas size before you design, not after: changing a finished layout from 4:5 to 3:4 moves everything. Canva's custom size and a Figma frame both take exact pixels. In Claude Design, put the size in the first line of your prompt ("Design a 1080x1440 Instagram post..."); the social post prompts show the structure. Claude Design can download a single artboard as a PNG at 1x or 2x, which is enough for one post. Check the pixel size of the file before you upload it.

For a carousel, that means one download per slide. Renda turns the whole HTML export into one PNG per slide, in order. It has Instagram 4:5, square and Story presets but none for 3:4, so for 1080x1440 choose Auto-detect, which renders the design's own canvas at 2x (2160x2880). Instagram scales anything wider than 1080 down to 1080, so you can post the files as they are or resize them to 1080 wide first. For a scheduler, design at 1080x1350, then convert the PNGs to JPEG and resize them to 1080 wide in a free tool such as Squoosh.

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