· 6 min read
If you only remember one thing from this guide, make it this: Instagram Reels are 1080×1920 pixels, in a 9:16 vertical ratio. Edit on that canvas from the start, keep important text away from the edges, and your Reels will look sharp and uncropped on every phone.
Below are the full specs, the safe zone that stops captions from being covered, and export settings for the most popular editors.
Instagram Reels Dimensions at a Glance
| Spec | Recommended value |
|---|---|
| Resolution | 1080 × 1920 px |
| Aspect ratio | 9:16 (vertical) |
| Maximum length | 3 minutes |
| Maximum file size | 4 GB (commonly cited limit) |
| File format | MP4 (H.264) or MOV |
| Frame rate | 23–60 fps (30 fps is the safe default) |
| Audio | AAC, 44.1 or 48 kHz, stereo |
| Cover image | 1080 × 1920 px (shown as 3:4 on your profile grid) |
A few notes on these numbers:
- Resolution: 1080×1920 is the sweet spot. Uploading 4K doesn’t make your Reel sharper, because Instagram downscales it. It just makes the upload slower.
- Length: Reels used to be limited to 90 seconds. Since January 2025, you can post Reels up to 3 minutes.
- Format: MP4 with the H.264 codec is the most reliable choice. MOV files from iPhone work too.
Why Reels Get Cropped
Even a perfect 1080×1920 video can look “cropped”, because Instagram draws its interface on top of your Reel. The username, caption, music label and buttons all cover parts of the frame, and the overlays aren’t the same size everywhere.
Here’s the safe zone to keep in mind, measured on a 1080×1920 canvas:
- Top: about 220 px is covered by the “Reels” header and camera icon.
- Bottom: about 420 px is covered by the username, caption, audio label and progress bar. This is the biggest overlay.
- Right side: about 120 px is covered by the like, comment, share and more buttons.
That leaves a safe area of roughly 960×1280 px, starting about 220 px from the top and 60 px from the left. Put faces, subtitles, product shots and calls to action inside it. The exact overlay size changes slightly between phones and app versions, so leave a little extra margin rather than going right to the edge.
Your cover image has its own crop: on your profile grid, Reels covers are shown in a 3:4 frame (1080×1440 from the centre of the image). Keep the title of your cover in the middle so it’s readable on the grid too.
Instagram Reels vs Feed Post vs Story — Size Comparison
| Format | Best size | Aspect ratio | Max length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 1080 × 1920 px | 9:16 | 3 minutes |
| Story | 1080 × 1920 px | 9:16 | 60 seconds per story |
| Feed post (portrait) | 1080 × 1350 px | 4:5 | — |
| Feed post (vertical grid) | 1080 × 1440 px | 3:4 | — |
| Feed post (square) | 1080 × 1080 px | 1:1 | — |
| Feed post (landscape) | 1080 × 566 px | 1.91:1 | — |
Reels and Stories share the same canvas, so a 1080×1920 video can be used for both. (Videos shared to the feed are posted as Reels, so the Reel specs apply to them too.) For feed posts, the tall 4:5 or 3:4 formats take up the most screen space and generally get more attention than square or landscape posts.
How to Export the Right Size
The golden rule: set your canvas to 1080×1920 before you start editing. Changing the size at the end forces your editor to crop or stretch everything you’ve already placed.
CapCut (mobile and desktop)
- Tap Ratio (mobile) or open the project settings (desktop) and choose 9:16.
- Edit as usual, keeping text inside the safe zone.
- On export, choose 1080p and 30 fps (or 60 fps for fast motion).
Adobe Premiere Pro
- Create a new sequence with a frame size of 1080 × 1920, square pixels, and your footage’s frame rate.
- Use the safe-margin guides, or a transparent overlay, to keep text out of the top and bottom zones.
- Export as H.264 with a high bitrate (about 10–20 Mbps for 1080p).
DaVinci Resolve
- In Project Settings → Master Settings, set the timeline resolution to custom 1080 × 1920.
- Reframe horizontal clips with the Zoom and Position controls in the Inspector.
- On the Deliver page, export MP4 / H.264 at 1080×1920.
What Happens If Your Video Is the Wrong Size
Instagram accepts almost any shape, but it has to make it fit a vertical screen, and the result is rarely pretty:
- Letterboxing: horizontal (16:9) or square videos are shown in a band in the middle of the screen, with empty space above and below. Your Reel looks small, and viewers scroll past faster.
- Cropping: videos slightly off 9:16 (for example 4:5) may be zoomed to fill the screen, cutting off the edges of your frame, sometimes including text or faces.
- Quality loss: low-resolution uploads (such as 720×1280) look soft once Instagram compresses them, and over-sized 4K files are downscaled, which can add artefacts. Uploading exactly 1080×1920 avoids both problems.
Download Instagram Reels in Original Quality
Sometimes you need a Reel as a file: to repost your own content on another platform, to use a clip in a client presentation, or to study how another creator framed a shot. Screen recording captures Instagram’s buttons and lowers the quality.
A cleaner option is to download Instagram Reels directly. When you download a Reel with IGSaver, you get the highest-quality file Instagram serves for it, up to 1080×1920, with no watermark and no interface on top. Keep in mind that this is Instagram’s compressed version, not the creator’s original export. For your own Reels, your original project file will always be the highest quality.
The same tool lets you download Instagram videos from regular feed posts too.
Download any public Reel in the best quality Instagram offers, up to 1080×1920, using IGSaver — no account needed.
Frequently asked questions
Can Instagram Reels be square?
You can upload a square (1:1) video as a Reel, but it will play with empty space above and below it in the full-screen Reels feed. For the best result, use a vertical 9:16 canvas (1080×1920) and place your square content inside it.
Can I post a horizontal (16:9) video as a Reel?
Yes, but it will be letterboxed: the video sits in a thin band in the middle of the screen with black or blurred bars around it. Re-framing it to 9:16 in your editor looks much better and keeps viewers watching.
What is the maximum file size for an Instagram Reel?
The commonly cited limit is 4 GB, which is far more than a 3-minute 1080p video needs. If your file is much larger, lower the export bitrate; Instagram will compress it anyway.
What is the best frame rate for Instagram Reels?
Instagram accepts 23 to 60 fps. 30 fps is the safe default for most content; use 60 fps for fast motion such as sports or gaming. Keep the same frame rate you recorded at.
Does Instagram compress Reels?
Yes. Every upload is re-encoded to save bandwidth. Exporting at exactly 1080×1920 with a good bitrate gives Instagram the best starting point, so the compressed version still looks sharp.
How long can an Instagram Reel be?
Reels can be up to 3 minutes long. Instagram raised the limit from 90 seconds in January 2025.