Instagram Story Size: 1080 x 1920 and the Safe Zone
Quick answer
Instagram Stories are 1080 x 1920 pixels at a 9:16 ratio. Keep text and logos inside a centre safe zone roughly 1080 x 1420, because the top 250 pixels sit under the profile row and the bottom 250 carry the reply field.
Every Instagram story size
| Use | Dimensions | Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Full canvasUse thisNot published by InstagramInstagram does not publish a recommended pixel size for this; it is the working convention. It matches a full phone screen. | 1080 x 1920 | 9:16 |
| Safe zoneNot published by InstagramInstagram does not publish a safe zone. This is the area left clear once the interface is accounted for. | 1080 x 1420 | Approx 3:4 |
| Minimum resolution | 720 px | 9:16 |
Minimum frame rate
30 fps
Video length per card
Up to 60 seconds
Not published by Instagram
What the table does not tell you
- Design on a 1080 x 1920 canvas but treat the top and bottom 250 pixels as unusable. Every story template that looks cramped on a phone ignored this.
- Interactive stickers, polls and link stickers all land inside the safe zone. Leave a clear band for them rather than placing them over your own text at publish time.
- Video longer than 60 seconds splits into separate cards automatically. Cut deliberately at the 60 second mark instead of letting the split land mid-sentence.
- Stories at a ratio other than 9:16 get letterboxed with a blurred or solid background, which reads as recycled feed content rather than native story content.
Stop resizing the same asset five times
Crowbert formats one upload for every platform it publishes to, so a single story goes out at the right dimensions everywhere without a round trip through a design tool.
Common questions
What is the Instagram Story size?
1080 x 1920 pixels at a 9:16 aspect ratio, which matches a full phone screen.
What is the Instagram Story safe zone?
Roughly the centre 1080 x 1420 pixels. Instagram's own interface covers about 250 pixels at the top and 250 at the bottom, so text placed there is obscured.
How long can an Instagram Story video be?
Each story card holds up to 60 seconds. Longer video is split across multiple cards automatically.
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.