In 2026, Instagram’s key sizes are 320 x 320 pixels for profile pictures, 1080 x 1350 pixels (4:5) for the best-performing feed posts, 1080 x 1080 pixels for square posts, and 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16) for Stories and Reels. Instagram also switched its profile grid to a 3:4 preview crop in late 2025, which changes how your feed posts get trimmed on your profile page. The details are below.
Instagram resizes most images automatically, but “automatic” and “correctly cropped” aren’t the same thing. Upload the wrong dimensions and you’ll end up with a headline chopped off, a face pushed out of frame, or a profile grid that looks mismatched even though every individual post looked fine when you designed it. Here’s exactly what to use for every placement in 2026.
Instagram profile picture size
Upload a square image at least 320 x 320 pixels. Instagram displays it as a small circle everywhere it appears (your profile, comments, DMs, and the Stories tray), so keep your logo or headshot centered. Anything near the corners gets cropped away by the circular mask.
Instagram feed post sizes
Instagram supports three shapes for feed images, and the size you choose changes both how much room the post takes up and how it survives Instagram’s profile grid crop:
- Portrait (recommended default): 1080 x 1350 pixels, a 4:5 ratio. This claims the most vertical space in the scrolling feed.
- Square: 1080 x 1080 pixels, a 1:1 ratio. Simple and consistent, though it displays slightly smaller in the feed than portrait does.
- Landscape: 1080 x 566 pixels, a 1.91:1 ratio. Best reserved for genuinely wide shots, since it takes up the least feed space.
The 3:4 profile grid (new for 2026)
Instagram moved away from the classic square grid in late 2025, and profile previews now crop to a taller 3:4 ratio. That means a post that looks perfectly framed in the feed can still get trimmed differently on your profile page. If keeping a clean, curated grid matters to your brand, design at 1080 x 1440 pixels (which matches the 3:4 preview exactly) or, if you’re posting at 4:5, keep faces, text, and logos centered well inside the frame so they survive the tighter grid crop.
Instagram Story and Reel size
Stories and Reels both use the full-screen vertical format: 1080 x 1920 pixels at a 9:16 ratio. Instagram overlays your username, timestamp, and action buttons at the top and bottom of the screen, so leave roughly 250 pixels of clear space at both edges for any text, logos, or calls to action.
Reels have their own quirk worth knowing: the video itself plays full-screen at 9:16, but the cover thumbnail that shows on your profile grid crops down to 3:4. Design a dedicated cover image with your title or branding centered, rather than letting Instagram grab a random frame from the video.
Instagram carousel size
Keep every slide in a carousel the same dimensions, ideally 1080 x 1350 pixels, so the sequence doesn’t jump between square and portrait as people swipe. The first slide sets the aspect ratio for the whole carousel, so double-check it before uploading the rest.
Quick reference table
| Element | Size | Aspect ratio |
| Profile picture | 320 x 320 px minimum | 1:1 |
| Feed post, portrait | 1080 x 1350 px | 4:5 |
| Feed post, square | 1080 x 1080 px | 1:1 |
| Feed post, landscape | 1080 x 566 px | 1.91:1 |
| Grid-matching post | 1080 x 1440 px | 3:4 |
| Story / Reel | 1080 x 1920 px | 9:16 |
| Carousel slide | 1080 x 1350 px | 4:5 |
If you’re starting from a source image that doesn’t already match one of these ratios, a free browser-based tool like ImageConvertix can resize and compress it to the exact target dimensions without installing anything, which is a quick way to fix a batch of product photos before a carousel goes out.
Instagram Image Size FAQ
What’s the best Instagram post size for engagement in 2026? Portrait, at 1080 x 1350 pixels (4:5). It occupies the most space in the scrolling feed, which tends to hold attention longer than square or landscape posts.
Why does my Instagram grid look cropped differently than my feed posts? Instagram introduced a 3:4 grid preview in late 2025. Posts still display up to 4:5 in the feed itself, but the profile grid now trims them to a taller 3:4 crop, so content near the top or bottom of a 4:5 post can get cut on your profile page.
What size should my Reels cover image be? Design it for the 3:4 grid crop, since that’s how it displays on your profile, even though the Reel itself plays full-screen at 9:16.
Do Stories and Reels use the same dimensions? Yes. Both use 1080 x 1920 pixels at a 9:16 ratio, though only the Reel’s cover thumbnail is affected by the grid crop.
Get your other platforms sized right too
Once your Instagram sizing is locked in, it’s worth applying the same discipline elsewhere. Our Facebook image size guide covers the equivalent specs for cover photos, posts, and video, and our complete social media sizing cheat sheet rounds up the rest of the major networks in one place if you’re managing several accounts at once.
Sizing is only half the job, though. If you want the creative and captioning side of your Instagram strategy to match the technical side, our tips for making Instagram images stand out is the natural next read. For the bigger picture of where Instagram fits against other platforms, our roundup of the top social media platforms for brands and our current social media trends breakdown both help you decide how much of your budget Instagram should actually get. And once your visuals are sized and posted correctly, our CTR improvement tactics cover what turns a well-formatted post into one that actually gets clicked.
Want your Instagram presence built out properly from the ground up? Get in touch and we’ll help you put a strategy behind the sizing.
Source: http://thepinkgroup.co.uk/
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