What aspect ratio should I use for Reels?

Use 9:16. Instagram accepts 1.91:1 to 9:16 for uploads, but Meta recommends 9:16 for Reels, and Meta says it is the ratio that captures the whole screen, because most people hold their phones vertically.

What size are Instagram Reels in pixels?

Instagram's help page gives a minimum of 720 pixels and no target size. We recommend 1080x1920. Reels ads use 1440x2560, but that figure is for ads, not for ordinary uploads.

Can I upload a Reel in 4K?

Instagram's help pages give no maximum resolution for the app. The publishing API sets a maximum width of 1920 pixels, so a 1080x1920 file is the safe choice. We cannot say how larger files are handled.

Is 4:5 or 1:1 allowed for Reels?

Inside the range, yes: 1:1 and 4:5 sit between 1.91:1 and 9:16, so they upload. They will not fill the screen, and we found no Instagram page that recommends them for Reels.

Does the cover photo need a different ratio?

Yes. Instagram recommends a cover photo of 420 by 654 pixels, a 1:1.55 ratio, and says the cover cannot be edited after you upload the reel.

How often do Reels specs change?

Instagram does not publish a change log on the pages we read, so we date every figure. If a number matters for an ad or a client job, open the linked page and check it again.

Platform specs

Instagram Reels aspect ratio and size

By the KeyMo team · Updated October 11, 2026

Instagram's help page says you can upload a reel with an aspect ratio anywhere from 1.91:1 to 9:16, at 30 FPS or more and at least 720 pixels. It names no single recommended size. Meta recommends 9:16 for Reels, and our recommendation is 1080x1920. KeyMo clips are exactly that: 9:16, 1080x1920, 30 fps.

Reels size and ratio numbers Instagram states

These figures were read from Instagram's own pages on 11 October 2026. Specs change without notice, so each row links to where it came from.

As of 11 October 2026.
Item	What Instagram says	Page
Aspect ratio for uploads	Between 1.91:1 and 9:16	Reel size & aspect ratios
Minimum frame rate	30 FPS	Reel size & aspect ratios
Minimum resolution	720 pixels (the page does not say width or height)	Reel size & aspect ratios
Cover photo	420 px by 654 px (1:1.55) recommended; cannot be edited after upload	Reel size & aspect ratios
Upload quality	A setting uploads reels at the highest quality, which may take longer	Reel size & aspect ratios
Resolution advice	"Upload the highest resolution possible", with no pixel figure	Instagram for Creators FAQ
Preferred ratio for Reels	9:16, because most people hold phones vertically	Meta aspect ratio best practices

9:16 is the tall end of Instagram's range and 1.91:1 is the wide end, so a landscape video is allowed. A 16:9 video is inside the range, but it fills only a band across the middle of a phone held upright. Full-screen Reels are 9:16.

What Instagram does not say

No recommended pixel size for ordinary (organic) Reels. The pages above give a minimum, not a target.
No maximum file size for uploading in the app. The only file sizes in Meta's documents belong to ads and to the publishing API.
No crop figure for how the profile grid trims a reel. The size page we read does not mention it, so we do not give one.
No codec or bitrate advice in the Help Center. Those appear only in the API and ad documents.

Ad and API numbers that get mistaken for Reels rules

You may see 1440x2560 quoted for Reels. In Meta's documents that figure belongs to Reels ads, not to organic uploads. The table keeps the three contexts apart.

Ad figures from the Meta Ads Guide; API figures from Meta for Developers.
Context	Ratio	Size and format
Organic upload in the app	1.91:1 to 9:16	Minimum 720 px, minimum 30 FPS
Reels video ads	9:16	1440 x 2560 px, MP4 or MOV, H.264, AAC at 128 kbps or more, up to 4 GB
Publishing through the Instagram API	0.01:1 to 10:1, 9:16 recommended	Maximum width 1920 px, 23 to 60 FPS, H.264 or HEVC, up to 300 MB

The sources do not match each other, and that is expected: they describe different ways in. A creator posting from the app follows the first row. If you plan to run a clip as an ad later, read the ad row first and see the safe zone page for the margins Meta asks for.

Fitting a 16:9 podcast into 9:16

A podcast filmed at 1920x1080 is 1080 pixels tall. A 9:16 crop that keeps the full height is about 608 pixels wide (1080 x 9 / 16 = 607.5). To fill a 1080x1920 frame that strip is scaled up by roughly 1.78 times, so the source needs to be sharp. The aspect ratio calculator does this sum for any size.

There is a second problem. A wide shot of two guests will not fit in a 608-pixel strip. The crop has to follow whoever is talking, which is what auto reframe does. If you do it by hand, expect to keyframe the crop every time the speaker changes.

Single speaker, centred: one fixed crop is usually enough.
Two guests side by side: use a tracked crop or cut between them.
Screen share or slides: a 9:16 crop will cut the content, so keep these for the long version.

How KeyMo's output compares

KeyMo figures are the product's own export settings.
Spec	Instagram	KeyMo clip
Ratio	1.91:1 to 9:16	9:16 only, never 16:9
Resolution	720 px minimum	1080x1920
Frame rate	30 FPS minimum	30 fps
Video and audio	H.264 or HEVC and AAC listed for the API	H.264 and AAC
Watermark	Not a spec	None on any plan

The frame rate sits exactly at Instagram's minimum, so it meets the rule without room to spare. Face-tracking reframing is automatic, so you do not set a crop by hand. For the 1080p question behind the pixel counts, see what 1080p means.

Sources: Reel size & aspect ratios on Instagram (Instagram Help Center) (checked 11 October 2026); Instagram for Creators: Frequently Asked Questions (checked 11 October 2026); Best practices for aspect ratios (Meta Business Help Center) (checked 11 October 2026); Awareness Video Ad Specs on Instagram Reels (Meta Ads Guide) (checked 11 October 2026); IG User Media (Meta for Developers) (checked 11 October 2026).