Instagram Post Size Guide (2026)
Getting the Instagram post size right is the difference between a crisp design and one that arrives blurry, cropped or squeezed. The rules are simple once you know them: work at 1080 pixels wide, pick the aspect ratio that matches where the post will live, and export in a format Instagram compresses gracefully. Here is everything in one place.
Instagram post sizes at a glance
| Format | Size | Ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square post | 1080 × 1080 px | 1:1 | The classic. Safe everywhere, but shorter in the feed than portrait. |
| Portrait post | 1080 × 1350 px | 4:5 | Fills the most feed space without cropping — the best default. |
| Landscape post | 1080 × 566 px | 1.91:1 | Widescreen look; smallest footprint in the feed. |
| Stories & Reels | 1080 × 1920 px | 9:16 | Full-screen vertical. Mind the UI overlays at top and bottom. |
Why 1080 pixels is the magic number
Instagram serves feed images at a maximum width of 1080 pixels. Upload something wider and it gets scaled down; upload something narrower and Instagram stretches it up to fit, which is where the telltale blur comes from. Designing at exactly 1080 pixels wide means what you export is essentially what people see — no surprise resampling on Instagram's side.
The height is then set by the aspect ratio. A 4:5 portrait post at 1080 pixels wide works out to 1080 × 1350; a 1.91:1 landscape post becomes 1080 × 566. If your image doesn't match a supported ratio, Instagram asks you to crop it in the app — and in-app crops are rarely where you would have put them yourself.
Safe zones: keep the important parts centered
For Stories and Reels, Instagram draws its own interface on top of your design: your username and the camera icon at the top, the reply bar and actions at the bottom. As a rule of thumb, keep text, faces and logos out of roughly the top and bottom 250 pixels of a 1080 × 1920 canvas. The middle of the frame is always safe.
Feed posts have a subtler trap: the profile grid shows a cropped preview of each post, not the full image. If a headline sits at the very top or bottom edge of a portrait post, it can be cut off in the grid. Keeping key elements near the center protects your design in every view Instagram renders.
JPG or PNG?
Instagram recompresses every upload, so you can't avoid its compression — but you can avoid compounding it. JPG is a lossy format: exporting a design as JPG and then letting Instagram compress it again means two rounds of quality loss. For designs with text, logos, illustrations or flat blocks of color, export PNG. It's lossless, so Instagram compresses from a perfect source and hard edges stay clean.
For photographs the difference is much smaller, and a high-quality JPG keeps file sizes sensible. If you post a mix, the simple rule is: graphics get PNG, photos get JPG.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Instagram post size in 2026?+
For feed posts, 1080×1350 pixels (4:5 portrait) is the best all-round choice: it takes up the most screen space in the feed without being cropped. Use 1080×1080 for square posts and 1080×1920 for Stories and Reels.
Can I upload an image larger than 1080 pixels wide?+
Yes, but Instagram will scale it down to 1080 pixels wide during upload. Uploading at exactly 1080 pixels gives you the most control, because you see the same pixels Instagram will serve. Uploading smaller than 1080 pixels is the real problem — Instagram stretches the image up and it turns soft.
Should I export my Instagram post as JPG or PNG?+
Instagram recompresses everything you upload, so the goal is to hand it the cleanest possible source. Export PNG for designs with text, logos or flat colors — JPG compression adds visible fuzz around hard edges. For photographs, a high-quality JPG is fine and uploads faster.
Design your post at the right size
Graphtr opens a correctly sized Instagram canvas for you — no math, no cropping later. It's free, no sign-up, and you can export PNG or JPG straight from the editor.