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Instagram Reels Dimensions & Video Specs (2026)

March 29, 2026 · 5 min read

Instagram Reels, feed posts, and Stories all use different aspect ratios — and getting it wrong means cropped faces, blurry upscales, or awkward black bars. This guide covers the exact specs for every Instagram video format in 2026, and shows you how to reformat any footage using RenderSnap's free crop & resize tool.

Instagram video dimensions at a glance

| Format | Resolution | Aspect ratio | Max duration | |---|---|---|---| | Reels (recommended) | 1080 × 1920 px | 9:16 | 90 seconds | | Feed — portrait | 1080 × 1350 px | 4:5 | 60 minutes | | Feed — square | 1080 × 1080 px | 1:1 | 60 minutes | | Feed — landscape | 1920 × 1080 px | 16:9 | 60 minutes | | Stories | 1080 × 1920 px | 9:16 | 60 seconds |

Reels — the format that matters most

Reels gets the most algorithmic reach on Instagram right now. The correct spec is 9:16 portrait, 1080 × 1920 px — the same as TikTok and YouTube Shorts. If your footage is in any other format, you'll need to reframe it before uploading.

Full Reels specs

  • Resolution: 1080 × 1920 px (minimum: 720 × 1280 px, but 1080p looks noticeably better)
  • Aspect ratio: 9:16 — anything else gets letterboxed or cropped by Instagram automatically
  • Frame rate: 23–60 fps
  • Codec: H.264 (MP4) or H.265 — H.264 is safer
  • Max file size: 4 GB
  • Max duration: 90 seconds
  • Bitrate: 3,500 kbps+ for clean 1080p; 5,000+ for fast-motion content
  • Audio: AAC, 44.1 kHz, stereo, 128 kbps+

Reels safe zones

Instagram's UI covers parts of the frame while the reel plays:

  • Bottom ~35%: username, caption, music credit, action buttons
  • Top ~14%: status bar, back button
  • Left edge: some overflow from profile elements

Keep faces, text, and primary action in the middle 50% of the frame (roughly between 20% and 70% from the top). Captions and calls to action should sit above the 35% bottom threshold.

Feed video

Feed videos appear in-feed and on your profile grid. The 4:5 portrait ratio (1080 × 1350) takes up more screen space than square or landscape and generally drives higher engagement — it's the recommended format for non-Reels feed video.

Feed video specs

  • Resolution: 1080 × 1080 to 1080 × 1920 px (Instagram crops anything outside 4:5 to 4:5 in feed)
  • Recommended: 1080 × 1350 px (4:5)
  • Frame rate: 23–60 fps
  • Max file size: 4 GB
  • Max duration: 60 minutes (practically, under 2 minutes performs better)
  • Bitrate: 3,500–5,000 kbps

Stories

Stories use the same 9:16 format as Reels — 1080 × 1920 px. The key difference: the top and bottom safe zones are slightly larger because of the time-limit bar at the top and the reply bar at the bottom.

Safe zones for Stories:

  • Top ~250 px: username, elapsed bar — keep this area clear
  • Bottom ~250 px: reply/send bar — keep this area clear

How to reformat footage for Instagram

If your source footage is landscape (16:9) and you need it in portrait (9:16), you have three options when using the crop & resize tool:

Fill — crop to cover

The video is scaled up to fill the 9:16 frame. Content at the edges is cropped. Best for footage with a centred subject and nothing important near the edges.

Letterbox — fit with bars

The full original frame is preserved inside the new aspect ratio. Black bars fill the remaining space. Best when you can't afford to lose any part of the frame — wide shots, group content, or anything with edge-to-edge action.

Blur background

The video fits cleanly inside the frame, and the empty space is filled with a blurred, colour-matched version of the same footage. No black bars, no cropping. This is the best-looking option for repurposing landscape content on Instagram and consistently outperforms letterbox for engagement.

To reformat your video: open the crop & resize tool, upload your file, choose your target resolution (e.g. 1080 × 1920 for Reels), pick a scaling mode, and hit Render. No account needed. The free plan exports up to 720p; Pro unlocks 1080p output.

Why your Reels might look blurry

  1. Low source resolution — Instagram re-encodes everything. If you start at 720p, you're giving the encoder very little to work with. Always export at 1080p before uploading.
  2. Low bitrate — Aim for 3,500 kbps minimum. Instagram's encoder is aggressive; a low-bitrate source loses even more detail.
  3. Wrong aspect ratio — If you upload a 16:9 video without reframing it, Instagram will crop it automatically and the crop may not be centred on the right subject.
  4. Uploading via mobile — The Instagram mobile app compresses on upload. Use Creator Studio or the desktop web interface if quality matters.

Quick reference card

Reels:   1080 × 1920 px  9:16   H.264 MP4  ≤90s  ≤4GB
Feed:    1080 × 1350 px  4:5    H.264 MP4  ≤60m  ≤4GB
Stories: 1080 × 1920 px  9:16   H.264 MP4  ≤60s  ≤4GB

Related guides

Convert any video to the right Instagram format for free with the RenderSnap crop & resize tool. For 1080p output, batch exports, and API access, see RenderSnap Pro.

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