Platform specs
Instagram Reel cover size
By the KeyMo team · Updated
Instagram's Help Center recommends a Reel cover of 420 by 654 pixels, a 1:1.55 ratio, and says you cannot edit the cover after you upload. For a 1080x1920 reel, design the cover as 9:16 and keep its text near the middle, because other views crop the edges.
The recommended size
The Help Center page on Reel size and aspect ratios says: the recommended size for cover photos is 420px by 654px, or a 1:1.55 ratio, and right now you cannot edit your cover photo after you have uploaded it. We took this from the page as recorded on 11 October 2026. The page loads with scripts, so a plain fetch returned its heading only, and we confirmed the wording through a search excerpt. Re-check it in the app before you build a template around it.
| Item | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended cover | 420 x 654 px (1:1.55) | Instagram Help Center |
| Reel upload range | 1.91:1 to 9:16 | Instagram Help Center |
| Minimums | 30 FPS, 720 px | Instagram Help Center |
| Edit cover after upload | Not possible, per the page | Instagram Help Center |
A cover at 420x654 is small. A 1080x1920 reel, which is 9:16, has a ratio of about 1:1.78. The recommended cover is a bit wider than that, so the page's own figures already imply some cropping or letterboxing between the cover and the video frame.
How a non-9:16 cover is cropped
Meta's developer documentation for publishing reels through the API describes a cover in more detail: a JPEG, up to 8 MB, in sRGB, 9:16 recommended. If the image is not 9:16, Meta says it crops the image and uses the middle-most 9:16 rectangle. That is about the API route, and the Instagram app may differ, but it tells you which part survives: the centre.
- Make the cover 9:16, for example 1080x1920, then export a copy at 420x654 if you want to match the Help Center size.
- Put the title text in the middle of the frame, not against the left or right edge.
- Check the cover on a real phone after posting. You cannot swap it later, so a bad crop means re-uploading the reel.
Where text on the cover should go
The cover is not the video, but the reel's buttons and caption cover part of the frame once the reel plays. Using our conservative guide of 14% top, 35% bottom and 6% each side, the central box on 1080x1920 runs from 269 to 1248 px down. A cover title set inside it is safe in both views. The safe zone checker will draw the box for you.
- Two to four words beat a sentence.
- Keep the speaker's face above 1248 px down.
- Pick a frame from the clip where the mouth is closed and the eyes are open.
- If you cut clips with KeyMo, each export is 1080x1920, so a frame grab already has the right shape.
Sources: Reel size & aspect ratios on Instagram (Instagram Help Center) (checked 11 October 2026); IG User Media (Meta for Developers) (checked 11 October 2026).