The essential Instagram image sizes in 2026: square posts 1080×1080 (1:1), portrait posts 1080×1350(4:5 — takes the most screen space), Stories and Reels 1080×1920 (9:16 full-screen), and profile picture 320×320 (displays as a 150px circle in-app). Instagram scales anything between 320px and 1440px wide, but uploading at the sizes below avoids cropping and keeps your photos sharp.
Instagram image sizes at a glance (2026)
| Placement | Size (px) | Aspect ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Square post | 1080 × 1080 | 1:1 |
| Portrait post (recommended) | 1080 × 1350 | 4:5 |
| Landscape post | 1080 × 566 | 1.91:1 |
| Stories / Reels | 1080 × 1920 | 9:16 |
| Profile picture | 320 × 320 | 1:1 (circle) |
| Profile grid thumbnail | ~161 × 161 | 1:1 |
| Carousel slides | 1080 × 1080 or 1080 × 1350 | 1:1 or 4:5 |
| IGTV cover | 1080 × 1350 | 4:5 |
Which post size should you use?
Use 4:5 portrait (1080×1350) whenever possible. It occupies more vertical screen space in the feed than square, which means more attention per post. Use 1:1 squarewhen the composition is naturally square or when you're building a profile grid mosaic — the grid itself always crops thumbnails to squares, so a square source image splits into perfect tiles.
Profile grid tiles: the size nobody tells you
Your profile grid displays each post as a small square (roughly 161×161 on mobile). That has two consequences: busy photos lose detail at thumbnail size, and a 3×3 mosaic must be built from a square 1080×1080 source so every tile stays proportional. Split one image into nine 360×360 tiles with a grid splitter, then check the layout with a feed preview tool before posting.
Stories and Reels: 1080×1920, keep the safe zone
Stories and Reels fill the whole screen at 9:16. Keep text and faces inside the safe zone — roughly the central 1080×1420 — because the top ~250px (username overlay) and bottom ~310px (reply box / caption) can cover your content in the app.
Practical tips for sharp uploads
- Export as JPG for photos (smaller files, no visible quality loss) and PNG for text, logos, or flat graphics.
- Instagram re-compresses everything — uploading at the exact recommended size (not larger) minimizes the quality hit.
- Use the sRGB color profile; Adobe RGB uploads can look washed out after Instagram's compression.
- Photos must be at least 320px wide; anything smaller gets stretched and blurred.
Summary
Square 1080×1080, portrait 1080×1350, Stories/Reels 1080×1920, profile picture 320×320 — those four sizes cover almost everything you'll post. Building a grid mosaic? Split a square image with the Instagram Grid Maker and preview your layout with the Feed Preview tool — both run locally in your browser.