Instagram Reel Size: 1080 x 1920 and the Cover Crop
Quick answer
Instagram Reels are 1080 x 1920 pixels at a 9:16 ratio. The catch is the cover image: your profile grid crops it to 3:4, so a cover designed for the full 9:16 frame loses its top and bottom on the grid.
Every Instagram reel size
| Use | Dimensions | Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| VideoUse thisNot published by InstagramInstagram documents the 9:16 ratio and a 720 px minimum, not this pixel size. | 1080 x 1920 | 9:16 |
| Minimum resolution | 720 px | 9:16 |
| Reel cover photoCannot be changed after upload. | 420 x 654 | 1:1.55 |
| Cover as cropped on the gridNot published by InstagramInstagram does not publish the grid crop. Centre cover text inside this area. | 1080 x 1440 | 3:4 |
Minimum frame rate
30 fps
Formats
MP4 or MOV
Not published by Instagram
What the table does not tell you
- Design the cover twice, or once carefully. Text centred inside the middle 1080 x 1440 survives both the full-frame feed view and the 3:4 grid crop.
- Burned-in captions should sit above the bottom 250 pixels. The caption text, audio attribution and action buttons all occupy that band in the player.
- Export at 1080 x 1920 rather than 4K. Instagram re-encodes everything, and a larger source file mainly increases upload time.
- A reel shot at 4:5 or 1:1 will publish, but it gets pillarboxed and loses the full-screen effect that makes the format work.
Stop resizing the same asset five times
Crowbert formats one upload for every platform it publishes to, so a single reel goes out at the right dimensions everywhere without a round trip through a design tool.
Common questions
What size is an Instagram Reel?
1080 x 1920 pixels at 9:16, the same as a full phone screen and the same as a Story.
Why is my Reel cover cropped on my profile?
The profile grid displays covers at 3:4, not 9:16. Roughly a quarter of the frame is cut from the top and bottom, so any cover text near those edges disappears.
How long can an Instagram Reel be?
Up to three minutes. Shorter reels are not ranked better by default, but they hold completion rate more easily, which is the signal that matters.
Other Instagram sizes
Master Instagram next
Sizes on other platforms
Where these numbers come from
Figures marked “not published by Instagram” are working conventions rather than documented specifications. Everything else comes from the documentation above.
Checked against the documentation above on September 22, 2026.