Formats
JPG, PNG, MP4
Instagram story size
As of July 26, 2026, the Instagram story is 1080 by 1920 pixels (9:16). Below is the full spec, then a resizer already set to that size so you can export a perfectly fitted image.
InstagramStoryConvention, not published by InstagramLast verified July 26, 2026
Recommended size1080x1920 px
Aspect ratio9:16
Safe zone: Keep text inside the middle 1080 by 1420; the top ~250px and bottom ~250px sit under the profile ring and reply bar.
Resize to 1080x1920 now
Preloaded to the Instagram story size. Drop an image and download it ready to post. It never leaves your browser.
About the Instagram story size
An Instagram Story is 1080 by 1920 pixels, a full-screen 9:16 vertical. That is the same frame Reels and TikTok use, so one vertical export covers all three. The catch is the interface: your username and profile ring sit over the top of the frame, and the reply bar and any link sticker sit over the bottom. Design the important stuff into the middle, roughly the centre 1080 by 1420, and the edges can hold background.
Where a 1080x1920 story gets cropped
The size you upload is not always the size people see. Each surface below re-frames the same file, so the safest layout is the one that survives every row.
| Where it appears | Shape | What happens to your image |
|---|---|---|
| Full-screen Story | 9:16 | Shown edge to edge at 1080 by 1920 with no crop, but the interface overlays the top and bottom bands rather than cutting them off. |
| Interface safe area | 1080 x 1420 | Roughly 250px at the top (profile ring, close control) and 250px at the bottom (reply bar, link sticker) sit over your artwork. Keep text inside the middle band. |
| Highlight cover circle | 1:1 masked to a circle | If you save the Story to a highlight, only a small centred circle shows on your profile, so a centred mark survives and edge content does not. |
File size and format limits: Instagram story
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Recommended size | 1080 by 1920 px (9:16) |
| Aspect ratio | 9:16 for full screen; narrower images are pillarboxed onto a background |
| Formats | JPG and PNG for images, MP4 for video |
| Length per Story card | Up to 60 seconds before it splits into segments |
What aspect ratio is 1080 x 1920?
1080 by 1920 is a 9:16 aspect ratio. Divide both by 120 and you get 9 by 16, which is a standard phone screen turned upright: 1.78 times taller than it is wide.
It is the same frame as an Instagram Reel, a TikTok video, a YouTube Short and a Facebook Story, which is why a single vertical master export travels across all of them. What differs between those surfaces is not the ratio but where each app puts its own buttons.
What is the Instagram Story safe zone?
Design inside the middle 1080 by 1420 pixels. The top roughly 250 pixels carry your profile picture, name and the close control, and the bottom roughly 250 pixels carry the reply bar plus anything you add such as a link sticker or a poll.
Nothing in those bands is deleted, it is just covered. So they are perfectly good places for background texture or a gradient, and terrible places for a headline, a price or a call to action.
If you are exporting one file for Stories and Reels, be aware the unusable areas are not the same. A Reel keeps the top clear but blocks the bottom third and the right-hand edge with its caption and action buttons, so a layout tuned only for Stories can still get covered when reposted as a Reel.
Quick tips
- 01Center headlines and CTAs; the top and bottom ~250px are covered by the interface.
- 029:16 vertical (1080 by 1920) is identical to a Reel, so you can reuse one export.
- 03For video, keep Stories under 60 seconds so they post as one segment.
Frequently asked questions
What size is an Instagram Story?
1080 by 1920 pixels, a 9:16 vertical. Keep text inside the middle 1080 by 1420 so the interface at the top and bottom does not cover it.
Is an Instagram Story the same size as a Reel?
The frame is identical, 1080 by 1920 at 9:16, so one export covers both. The safe areas differ: a Story blocks about 250px top and bottom, while a Reel blocks the bottom third and the right edge.
What happens if my Story image is not 9:16?
Instagram fits it inside the frame and fills the rest with a generated background or a blurred version of your image. It is not cropped, but you lose the full-screen effect.
What aspect ratio is the Instagram story?
The Instagram story uses a 9:16 aspect ratio at 1080 by 1920 pixels.
Looking up the number rather than the platform? What 1080x1920 is, and everything else that uses it.
9:16 is a shape, not just this size. See every image size that uses the 9:16 aspect ratio, where it comes from, and how to crop into it.
Related sizes
Instagram post (portrait)1080x1350Instagram reel1080x1920Instagram profile picture640x640Instagram portrait post1080x1350Instagram carousel1080x1350Instagram feed ad image1440x1800
How this spec was checked
Platform sizes change without notice, so this entry records what it was verified against rather than stating a number and hoping it holds. Last checked July 26, 2026.
ConventionInstagram does not publish a size for this surface. The number below is the one the industry has standardised on, which is a useful answer but not a claim about Instagram.
What changed on this spec
- : Fixed three spec errors found in an adversarial fact-check: the Instagram post, Story and portrait file ceilings said 30000 KB where 30 MB is 30720 KB; the LinkedIn banner FAQ gave 1128 by 191 for a Company Page cover when LinkedIn documents 4200 by 700; and the Facebook group cover intro called 1640 by 856 the same shape as an 851 by 315 Page cover.
- : Deepened the Instagram cluster with crop tables, upload limits and per-surface behaviour.
Every spec on this site carries one of those two labels. See the cheat sheet for the full split, and the changelog for every correction with the date it happened.
See all Instagram sizes, the full cheat sheet, or grab this spec from the JSON API.