The standard Instagram story size is 1080 x 1920 pixels, the vertical 9:16 frame Meta recommends, at the 1,080-pixel width Instagram gives for photos. Meta recommends 9:16 for story images and videos “to avoid cropping or blank space”. Keep text and other key elements out of the top 14% and bottom 35% of the frame, the margins Meta’s ads guide gives for stories, and plan videos in clips of up to 60 seconds.
Key Takeaways
- Size: 1080 x 1920 pixels, which is 9:16 at Instagram’s 1,080-pixel photo width. Meta’s ads guide lists 1440 x 2560 for story ads, the same shape at a higher resolution.
- Safe zone: leave about 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% on each side free of text. On a 1080 x 1920 story that keeps a central area of about 950 x 979 pixels clear.
- Video length: a story video of up to 60 seconds plays as one clip. Instagram splits a longer video into several clips.
- Scheduled stories: through Meta’s publishing API a story image must be a JPEG of 8 MB or less, and a story video can run 3 to 60 seconds and up to 100 MB. Stickers cannot be published through the API.
- Other shapes: a photo that is not 9:16 does not fill the screen, so crop or design it at 9:16 first.
Instagram story dimensions at a glance
The table collects the story specifications Meta publishes, from its developer documentation for publishing stories (what scheduling tools must meet) and from its ads guide for story ads, read in October 2026. The 1080 x 1920 size is the 9:16 shape at the 1,080-pixel width Instagram’s help center gives for photos; Meta’s story pages name the ratio, not the pixels.
| Spec | Story image | Story video | Story ad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size to export | 1080 x 1920 px (9:16 at 1,080 wide) | 1080 x 1920 px (9:16 at 1,080 wide) | 1440 x 2560 px |
| Ratio | 9:16 recommended | 9:16 recommended | 9:16 |
| File type | JPEG through the API | MP4 or MOV | JPG or PNG; MP4, MOV or GIF |
| Maximum file size | 8 MB through the API | 100 MB through the API | 30 MB image, 4 GB video |
| Length | Not applicable | 3 to 60 seconds through the API | 1 second to 60 minutes |
| Safe zone | Not stated | Not stated | 14% top, 35% bottom, 6% each side |
For stories posted from the app, the pages we read give a 60-second clip length and no file-size cap, so a phone photo or a standard vertical video export fits. The tighter limits in the table apply when a tool publishes the story through the API, covered in the scheduling section below.
What size is an Instagram story?
Make it 1080 pixels wide and 1920 pixels tall. That is the 9:16 shape of most phone screens, and it is the ratio Meta recommends for both story images and story videos. A larger file in the same shape, such as 1440 x 2560, also fills the screen; it is what Meta’s ads guide asks for in story ads.
The width matters less than the shape. Instagram’s help page on photo resolution says photos are uploaded at up to 1080 pixels wide and larger ones are sized down, so a 4K export does not look sharper in a story. A 9:16 image at 1080 pixels wide shows edge to edge. A story that looks soft even at the right size usually has an upload or compression cause, which our guide to why Instagram stories turn blurry walks through.
If you only need a plain background, such as a black or white card to type on, create a canvas of 1080 x 1920 in that colour. Any design tool can make one in a few seconds.
What is the Instagram story safe zone?
It is the middle of the frame, where nothing covers your content. Meta’s ads guide for stories suggests leaving roughly 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% on each side free of text, logos and other key elements, so the profile icon and call-to-action do not hide them. Organic stories have their own overlays, the account name at the top and the reply bar at the bottom, so the same margins are a safe default.
Here are those percentages in pixels, rounded to whole numbers.
| 1080 x 1920 story | 1440 x 2560 story | |
|---|---|---|
| Keep clear at the top (14%) | 269 px | 358 px |
| Keep clear at the bottom (35%) | 672 px | 896 px |
| Keep clear on each side (6%) | 65 px | 86 px |
| Safe area left in the middle | about 950 x 979 px | about 1267 x 1306 px |
Put headlines, prices, faces and any sticker you plan to add inside that central area. Backgrounds can run to the edges. An organic story has no ad button, but text kept inside this area also stays clear of the reply bar and of a Link sticker if the story has one. Our guide to adding a link to an Instagram story covers where that sticker sits.
What happens to photos that are not 9:16?
Photos that are not 9:16 do not fill the screen. Meta’s documentation recommends 9:16 precisely to avoid “cropping or blank space”, which is what a square or landscape photo gets in a vertical story: either part of it is cut off, or blank space is left around it.
For a clean result, crop or design the image at 9:16 first. A portrait feed photo at 4:5 (1080 x 1350) needs extra height above and below to become a story, so give it a background colour or a blurred copy of itself. If you share several photos in one story, the main site’s guide to putting multiple pictures on an Instagram story covers the layout options. Feed posts follow different rules, covered in our guide to Instagram post size.
How long can an Instagram story video be?
One story clip holds up to 60 seconds. Instagram’s stories page says a video up to 60 seconds long “will appear as one clip”, and longer videos “will be broken up into multiple clips” that you can trim; the trimmer is only on iOS for now. Each story stays visible for 24 hours unless you add it to a Highlight.
Through Meta’s publishing API the limit is firmer. A story video sent by a scheduling tool must be between 3 and 60 seconds and 100 MB or smaller, in MP4 or MOV with H.264 or HEVC video and AAC audio. The 60-second cap applies to the whole file, so cut a longer video into separate stories before scheduling.
What changes when a scheduler posts your story?
Stickers. Meta’s documentation states that “publishing stickers (i.e., link, poll, location) is not supported” through the API, though mentioning users without a sticker is. So a story that needs a Link sticker, a poll or a location sticker has to be created in the Instagram app. Everything else, the image or video itself, can be scheduled.
The file rules also tighten, as the table above shows: a scheduled story image must be a JPEG of 8 MB or less, in sRGB colour, ideally at 9:16. A PNG export or a photo in a wide colour profile is better converted before upload.
How does PostNext handle Instagram stories?
PostNext schedules image stories through Meta’s official API: choose Story in the composer, add the image and pick a time. The composer previews the story before it is scheduled, so you can check that nothing important sits in the margins. Video stories are not supported yet, and stories that need captions, stickers or links are made in the Instagram app, because the API does not publish them.
PostNext uploads the file you give it without resizing it, so a 1080 x 1920 JPEG reaches Instagram as you exported it. The PostNext Instagram scheduler puts stories on the same calendar as feed posts, carousels and Reels, and connects Business and Creator accounts. For timing and planning, see our guide to scheduling Instagram Stories.
Frequently Asked Questions
What size is an Instagram story in pixels?
1080 x 1920 pixels, a 9:16 vertical frame. Meta recommends 9:16 for story images and videos to avoid cropping or blank space, and its ads guide lists 1440 x 2560, the same shape at a higher resolution, for story ads.
What is the aspect ratio of an Instagram story?
9:16. A story in that shape fills the screen. Meta recommends 9:16 for story images and videos, and a square or landscape photo leaves part of the frame cropped or empty.
How much space should I leave at the top and bottom of a story?
Meta’s ads guide for stories suggests keeping roughly 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% on each side free of text and logos. On a 1080 x 1920 story that means about 269 pixels at the top, 672 at the bottom and 65 on each side.
How long can an Instagram story video be?
Up to 60 seconds plays as one clip. Instagram splits a longer video uploaded in the app into several clips. A story video published through Meta’s API, as scheduling tools do, must be between 3 and 60 seconds.
Can a scheduled Instagram story include a link sticker?
No. Meta’s publishing documentation says link, poll and location stickers cannot be published through the API, which scheduling tools publish through. Create stories that need a sticker in the Instagram app and schedule the rest.
Related reading
- Instagram Post Size: Every Feed Dimension in 2026
- Instagram Reel Size: Dimensions and Safe Zones
- How to Add a Link to an Instagram Story in 2026
- Why Is My Instagram Story Blurry? 4 Causes and Fixes
Sources
- Meta for Developers, Instagram API: IG User Media reference, story image and story video specifications, sticker limits (October 2026)
- Meta, Ads Guide: Instagram Stories image ads and video ads, resolution, file size and safe zone (October 2026)
- Instagram, Stories feature page, clip length and Highlights (October 2026)
- Instagram Help Center, Image resolution of photos you share on Instagram (October 2026)
- PostNext, postnext.io/instagram-scheduler (October 2026)
