Back to all tools

Instagram Size Checker (FREE TOOL)

Drop one image in and see, for every Instagram format, whether it is kept, cropped or too small, with the crop drawn on your photo. Then download the fixed file.

Simon Beno Co-founder, CEO & CMO, Selzee Updated September 30, 2026 10 min read

Upload photo

Runs in your browser. Your photo is never uploaded or stored.

The short answer

An Instagram size checker tells you what Instagram will do to one specific file before you post it.
Instagram keeps a photo as it is when it is 320 to 1080 pixels wide and its shape is between 1.91:1 and 3:4, which at 1080 wide is 566 to 1440 pixels tall (Instagram Help Center). Wider is sized down to 1080, narrower is enlarged to 320, and any other shape is cropped.
1080 × 1350 (4:5) is the safe pick for a feed post, and 1080 × 1440 (3:4) is the tallest.
A 4:3 phone photo is inside the range, so Instagram posts it whole.

Get Selzee's guides in your Google results.

Add Selzee as a preferred source

How to check an Instagram image

Drop one image in

Choose a JPG, PNG or WebP, or press Try an example. The browser reads its size, so nothing is uploaded.
Read the top line

It says what Instagram does to your file as a feed post: keeps it, sizes it down, enlarges it or crops it.
Pick your format

Eight tiles, one per format, each with its output size and a verdict. Select the one you are posting.
Check the crop

The preview draws Instagram's crop on your own photo for the selected format, with the safe-zone bands on Story and Reel.
Download the fix

The one Download fixed file button saves the selected format as a JPG at the size Instagram keeps.

What each verdict means and what to do

Each tile shows the format, the output size and a verdict. Under the preview, action lines such as the safe-zone band note come first, then Download. The fix is a JPG made in your browser.

Kept as is

Post it. Instagram keeps the file at its own resolution, and the tile says Nothing to fix. Already this shape and Fills the screen mean the same.

Sized down to 1080 wide

Post it, or download the 1080 wide copy so the resampling happens where you can see it.

Cropped

The preview shows the cut and the share you lose. Download the centred crop, or pick it yourself in the Instagram image resizer.

Enlarged to 320 wide

Start from a bigger original. Enlarging a small file adds no detail, so it stays soft.

Cropped to fill, on Story and Reel

Download the 9:16 crop, or fit the whole photo on a fill in the resizer. The bands are drawn, not judged: no tool can read your text.

Instagram publishes a range, not a size

Instagram publishes a range, not a size: a photo is kept as it is when it is 320 to 1080 pixels wide and its shape is between 1.91:1 and 3:4 (Instagram Help Center). At 1080 wide, that is any height from 566 to 1440 pixels. A size chart prints one number from inside that range and leaves you to guess where it came from.

The checker tests the shape before the width, because Instagram crops to a supported shape before it resizes. A 4000 pixel panorama is a crop problem, and fixing its width would not save it.

Story and Reel follow separate rules, covered below. The Instagram post size guide lists every surface, and the carousel guide covers building a set. The story size checker draws the story crop and its safe zone, and a picture split across your profile is a job for the Instagram grid maker.

Organic posts and ads are not the same spec

This checker is for organic posts, which is what the 1080 ceiling belongs to. Paid creative runs on Meta's ad specs, which ask for larger files: the Instagram feed ads guide recommends 1440 × 1800 for a 4:5 image. Both are correct. Mixing the two up is how a team exports ad-sized files for the grid.

Why other checkers fail a photo Instagram keeps

Some free checkers mark a 4:3 photo, straight off an iPhone, as the wrong size. Instagram keeps it: 1.33:1 is inside its range (Instagram Help Center). A checker that accepts only 4:5, 3:4, 1:1 or 1.91:1 fails every shape in between, and that includes a phone's default landscape photo. This checker tests the range Instagram publishes, so a 4:3 photo gets the verdict Instagram would give it.

Of the 10 free checkers we tried on 30 September 2026, 3 marked a 4032 × 3024 photo wrong or in need of a crop, and none stated Instagram's range. The test is described in how we checked these figures.

A worked example: an iPhone photo

The file: 4032 × 3024

A photo straight off an iPhone. The checker reads those two numbers and nothing else.
The shape: 1.33, inside the range

4032 divided by 3024 is 1.33, between 0.75 and 1.91. Nothing is cropped.
The width: nearly four times the ceiling

4032 is over 1080, so Instagram sizes the whole photo down. The verdict reads Sized down to 1080 wide.
The fix: 1080 × 810

1080 divided by 1.33 is 810. Download that file, or export it yourself at 1080 × 810.
The other tiles

On this photo, 1:1 cuts 25% of the width, 4:5 cuts 40% and Story cuts 58%. You don't need any of them to post it.

Instagram sizes by format

One row per format. Instagram publishes ranges for the feed and Reels; most single sizes are convention, and each row says which. Every other platform is in the social media image size checker.

Format	Size	Shape	Where it shows	Official or convention	Source
Feed photo range	320 to 1080 wide, 1080 × 566 to 1080 × 1440	1.91:1 to 3:4	Feed	Official	Instagram Help Center
Feed square	1080 × 1080	1:1	Feed	Size is convention, shape is inside the official range	Instagram Help Center
Feed portrait	1080 × 1350	4:5	Feed	Size is convention, shape is inside the official range	Instagram Help Center
Tallest feed post	1080 × 1440	3:4	Feed	Official ceiling	Instagram Help Center
Widest feed post	1080 × 566	1.91:1	Feed	Official limit	Instagram Help Center
Story	1080 × 1920	9:16	Stories, full screen	Size is convention	Meta ads guide
Reel	1080 × 1920	9:16	Reels, full screen	Size is convention. Reels accept 1.91:1 to 9:16 at 720 pixels or more: official	Instagram Help Center
Reel cover	420 × 654	1:1.55	Reel cover	Official recommendation, not editable after upload	Instagram Help Center
Profile picture	320 × 320, shown as a circle	1:1	Profile	Convention, widely cited, not published by Instagram. The profile picture size checker labels every figure	Instagram Help Center (gives no size)
Profile grid window	3:4 tile	3:4	Profile grid	Since January 2025 (announced by Adam Mosseri on Threads), not on an Instagram help page	Kapwing

Specs checked 30 September 2026. Meta lists 9:16 for stories and reels.

Story and reel safe zones

Meta's ads guidance is to keep roughly 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% of each side of a Story or a Reel free of text and logos: about 269, 672 and 65 pixels on a 1080 × 1920 file (Stories ads guide, Reels ads guide). It is ads guidance and approximate: Instagram publishes no organic safe-zone page.

The checker draws these bands on the Story and Reel tiles, and only there. They are drawn, not judged: no tool can read your text, so you decide whether it sits clear of them. For what to put in the middle, see the Instagram story ideas.

Why check before you post

Instagram publishes its rule. Four things follow from it that most exports get wrong.

Exporting bigger does not buy quality

Instagram uploads at the best resolution possible up to 1080 pixels wide (Instagram Help Center). Anything larger is sized down out of your sight.

1080 × 1350 is not the tallest option

The ceiling is 3:4, or 1080 × 1440, which most charts do not list: 90 more pixels of height.

A story file in the feed loses a quarter

A 1080 × 1920 file keeps 1440 of its 1920 pixels of height, and you drag the crop to pick which quarter goes.

A small file is enlarged, and it shows

Anything under 320 pixels wide is enlarged to 320, which adds no detail. That is why an old logo looks soft.

Who this checker is for

1

Anyone who posts from a design tool

Canva, Figma and Photoshop all offer sizes Instagram changes on upload. One check before posting settles which export to pick.

2

People posting phone photos

A phone photo is almost always in range and almost always too wide. The download sizes it down before Instagram does.

3

Designers handing files to someone else

The person posting is rarely the person who made it. A check before handover stops the round trip.

4

Brands reusing story artwork in the feed

Story artwork is the wrong shape for the feed. The preview shows what the feed keeps before it goes out.

Instagram size: FAQ

What size is an Instagram post?

A feed post is 1080 pixels wide and 566 to 1440 pixels tall. Instagram keeps a photo at its own resolution when it is 320 to 1080 pixels wide and its shape is between 1.91:1 and 3:4 (Instagram Help Center). If you want one number, use 1080 × 1350. The Instagram post size guide lists every format.

What is the best size for an Instagram post?

1080 × 1350 pixels, a 4:5 portrait. It fills more of a phone screen than a square, and it sits inside the supported range instead of at its edge. Use 1080 × 1440 (3:4) when the image is the whole point and you want every pixel of height.

Does exporting at a bigger size give better quality?

No. Instagram sizes anything wider than 1080 pixels down to 1080 (Instagram Help Center), so a 4000 pixel export only moves the resampling from your design tool to Instagram. Export at 1080 wide and the file arrives as you made it.

What happens if my aspect ratio is outside the range?

Instagram crops it to a shape inside the 1.91:1 to 3:4 range (Instagram Help Center). The crop is centred, and you can drag to reposition it. A 1080 × 1920 story-shaped file posted to the feed loses 25% of its height. Drop the file into the checker and the Feed as posted tile draws the cut before you upload.

Can the checker fix my file for me?

Yes. The Download fixed file button saves the selected format as a JPG, cropped from the centre to that shape and written at the size Instagram keeps. It is made in your browser, so nothing is uploaded, and a format where nothing changes has no button. It only enlarges a feed file up to 320 pixels wide, the floor Instagram enlarges to anyway. To pick the crop yourself, use the Instagram image resizer. To make the ad itself, try Selzee's Instagram ad maker.

What is the Instagram carousel size?

The same as a single photo: 1080 pixels wide, with 1080 × 1350 the safe portrait choice. A carousel slide follows the feed rules, so a file outside the range is cropped like any other post. The carousel guide covers building the set, and the Instagram carousel generator makes the slides.

What size should a story or a reel be?

1080 × 1920 pixels, a 9:16 frame that fills the phone screen. That size is convention: Reels accept anything from 1.91:1 to 9:16 at 30 frames per second and 720 pixels or more (Instagram Help Center). A reel cover is 420 × 654 pixels and cannot be changed after posting. The story size checker draws the story safe zone.

Is a 4:3 photo the right size for Instagram?

Yes. A 4:3 photo is 1.33:1, inside Instagram's range, so Instagram posts it whole (Instagram Help Center). At 4032 × 3024, straight off an iPhone, it is sized down to 1080 × 810 with nothing cropped. A portrait phone photo, 3024 × 4032, is exactly 3:4 and is kept whole too, sized down to 1080 × 1440. Some checkers mark a 4:3 photo wrong because they accept only 4:5, 3:4, 1:1 or 1.91:1.

What is the Instagram profile picture size?

320 × 320 pixels is the size most guides give, shown as a circle. Instagram's profile photo page gives no size (Instagram Help Center), so 320 is a convention. The circle hides about 21% of a square, in the corners, so keep the face or logo in the middle. The profile picture size checker has its own page.

What is the Instagram story safe zone?

Meta's ads guidance is to keep roughly 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% of each side of a Story or a Reel free of text and logos: about 269, 672 and 65 pixels on a 1080 × 1920 file (Stories ads guide, Reels ads guide). It is ads guidance and approximate: Instagram publishes no organic safe-zone page. The checker draws these bands on the Story and Reel tiles.

Is 4:5 or 3:4 better for the profile grid?

3:4 fills the grid tile whole, and 4:5 loses about 6% of its width there. Instagram's profile grid has shown a 3:4 tile since January 2025, when Adam Mosseri announced the change on Threads (Kapwing); it is not on an Instagram help page. A 4:5 post still shows in full when opened, and the feed treats both the same.

How we checked these figures

Last checked: 30 September 2026. Every rule on this page comes from Instagram's own help pages (feed photos, Reels) and from Meta's safe-zone guidance (Stories ads guide, Reels ads guide), read at the source that day, not from other size charts. Convention and third-party figures are labelled.

To compare checkers, we opened 10 free ones on 30 September 2026 and dropped the same 4032 × 3024 photo into each.

We ran this checker on a 4032 × 3024 phone photo on 30 September 2026: all 8 formats matched the figures worked out by hand.

Shape and width range: from the feed photo page.
Crop per format: a centred cut to each format's shape; the tile shows how much is cut.
Safe zones: Meta's ads guidance, drawn on Story and Reel only.
Labels: official, convention or third-party on every size.