Your Instagram Post Size Could Make or Break Your Feed!

Profile photo of Karen Lin, author

Karen Lin

Instagram 101 | May 15, 2023

Want More Real Instagram Followers?

We’ve come a very far way. Users could only upload photos with a 1:1 aspect ratio when Instagram launched about ten years ago. Content creators who wanted to exhibit their magnificent landscape and portrait images had to crop their photos. They had to use a square or other programs to devise workarounds. This Instagram post size limited content creators, as you can imagine. Beach scenery needs landscape photos, and the Eiffel Tower is better in portrait format.

The photos suffered, but Instagram understood the struggle. The photo-sharing app took user feedback into account and added horizontal and vertical photo features. You have so many options now. In light of this, let’s discuss the ideal image size for Instagram photo posts.

Person Holding iPhone 
Smartphone

Instagram Post Size Image Resolution

The resolution or size of an image or video is the number of pixels that make up the width and height of the image. Like the aspect ratio discussed above, we describe size using two numbers, the first of which denotes width and the second height. For instance, a photo that is 1080 pixels by 1080 pixels is substantially bigger than one that is 100 pixels by 100 pixels.

Posting at a high resolution is always preferable, even though Instagram reduces the size of your images and videos. So, when Instagram reduces the size of your image, the photo will maintain the same quality.

What’s the Best Instagram Post Size to Upload Your Content?

Scrolling deeply enough into some Instagram feeds, you’ll see low-resolution photos shaped in perfect squares. This was par for the course for early Instagram. Luckily, in 2023, the Instagram post size can be more than just square photos. Make sure the images you’re uploading are of the best quality.

Instagram Post Size: Horizontal Posts

Although Instagram advises 1.91:1 for post ratios, you can go as high as 16:9. In any event; you should make your horizontal image’s height a minimum of 1080 pixels. Doing this should ensure that the quality of the file should be pretty decent, even after compression by Instagram.

Instagram Post Size: Vertical Posts

Your vertical images should have a 4:5 aspect ratio. Instagram will crop your content if the height is taller than this. Photos appear as squares on an Instagram profile. It’s a good idea to consider how they’ll seem when Instagram crops them for the Instagram profile grid.

We advise using a size of 1080 by 1350 pixels. When Instagram reduces its file size, the image should be 480px by 600px. Vertical posts are more optimal than horizontal ones since they occupy more space as users go through their home feed. Make these posts count!

 Instagram Post Size:  Square Posts

The Instagram profile grid crops content to a 1:1 ratio. Your square images should be 1080 pixels by 1080 pixels in size. In this manner, Instagram compresses the file while maintaining good quality.

Square posts are still popular on Instagram, even though the platform accepts horizontal and vertical photographs. Therefore, it is still worth knowing how to optimize for a square.

Your Instagram Photo Size Matters

Instagram claims to help you upload photos at their best possible resolution. 1080 pixels is the sweet spot for an Instagram post size. Upload an image 1080 pixels wide if you want your pictures to look their best on Instagram. Instagram will reduce an image that you share to 1080 pixels when the original is larger than that. If its resolution is less than that, Instagram will resize a photo you share to 320 pixels.

When your post is between 320 and 1080 pixels wide, Instagram will maintain that image’s original resolution. Well, that is so as long as the photo’s aspect ratio is between 1.91:1 and 4:5. This translates to an Instagram photo size with a width of 1080 pixels and between 566 and 1350 pixels in height. The platform will automatically crop your Instagram image to fit a supported ratio if it has a different aspect ratio than the one you uploaded.

Apple iPhones on Instagram 
Showing Feeds

Instagram Image Size for Profile Photos

It might be challenging to keep track of everything that goes into creating a curated look. Your profile picture is an essential part of your Instagram bio. Don’t forget that. Knowing your Instagram post size is helpful, of course. However, the Instagram image size you choose for your profile is also critical.

When you think about it, people see this photo thumbnail far more often than an Instagram post. It shows up at the top of feeds where stories are featured. You should ensure it’s visible and adequately represents your brand.

Follow these tips when choosing a profile picture:

  • Instagram shows your profile picture at 110 × 100 pixels. It, however,  stores them as 320 x 320 pixels on Instagram. In light of that, make sure to upload a picture that has a minimum dimension size. 
  • Remember that Instagram profile images are shown as circles even if the dimensions are square. Make sure that the essential portions are in the center. 
  • Also,  ensure the photo isn’t overwhelmed with too much background imagery. You may need to upload a cropped version. To prevent them from being cut out of the picture, center any items you wish to draw attention to in the image.

Person Holding White Polaroid Land Camera

Choosing the Instagram Photo Size for a Carousel Post

Interested in posting multiple photos and videos on Instagram? A single post, commonly called a carousel, can contain up to ten images and videos and be shared to your Instagram Feed. 

Instagram carousel posts may have a square, horizontal, or vertical shape and may contain still images and moving pictures. This is an excellent place for a photo dump. It sounds great, but there’s a catch. After choosing your first Instagram photo size, the app crops all subsequent images and videos you choose.

Choose an Instagram post size. Examine the material you want to post and decide which parts of the picture or video you want to emphasize and keep in focus. After making these adjustments, you can crop and resize your photographs using a photo or video editing program before uploading.

Don’t want to be limited? Consider Adobe. When resizing your images for Instagram, you should utilize a square shape with a ratio of 1:1. Use a ratio of 4:5 for vertical posts, and a ratio of 1.91:1 for horizontal posts. 

The Adobe Express picture resizer has all these sizes fixed for you, so you can rapidly resize your images. Remember that the posts that appear in your feed will all become  a square shape. In light of this, alter the cropping of your images so that the subject of the image is kept as close as possible to the image’s center.

You can easily resize your photographs with the image resizer. Then you can head to Adobe Express to personalize your images with pictures, fonts, animation, and other features.

Person Holding Black iPhone 
Turned on Near Macbook Pro

Learn How to Post Full Size Photos on Instagram

It’s difficult to achieve perfection in an Instagram feed. We have tips on creating an aesthetic Instagram feed that you should check out. Using the appropriate Instagram post sizes is crucial. This significantly impacts how users engage with your content and view your brand.

Instagram still has a maximum file size of 4:5 for image and carousel posts, even though it no longer restricts users to only posting square images. If you publish a tall vertical or horizontal image, you may have trouble fitting the entire image on Instagram without cropping. Follow these tips on how to post full size photos on Instagram.

  1. To make an image fit on Instagram, add a border. 

Perhaps your photo size differs significantly from the Instagram size, and you don’t want to lose any of the picture’s content. In that case, you can select to add a border to the image. In addition to adjusting the photo size to fit Instagram, consider adding a white or colored border that matches the content of your image. This can also give it a fashionable touch, thanks to the frame’s aesthetic impact.

Paintings With Black Frame on White Wall
  1. Use photo-editing software. 

Want to make it simpler to fit photographs on Instagram? Choose third-party software. In general, they provide better and more complete photo editing options, allowing you to perform more operations that Instagram does not allow.

You must manually resize the image for Instagram to display the entire image.  Use an image resizing tool to center the image and add a 4:5 canvas to the background of your picture. To make the canvas less obvious, change the color to white or black to make the canvas less obvious. After that, export, don’t crop, and upload on Instagram.

Photo of Person's Hand Holding Instant Picture

How to Post Different Size Photos on Instagram

You shouldn’t have to be limited in your Instagram post size. There are a variety of tools that can assist in the process of creating the ideal aspect ratios for your photographs. As a result, you can upload a mix of landscape and portrait photographs while maintaining their appropriate orientation and quality. You can achieve the same aspect ratio for your pictures using other photo editing tools. This is how to post different size photos on Instagram:

  1. To get started, go to the tool’s website and upload the photographs you wish to share in your post there. Make sure that all of your pictures have the same aspect ratio, such as a square that is 1:1.
  1. You can give the pictures a background; if you feel it’s essential, you can crop your photos while examining the final result preview. This could be a black or white background. After that, you can export and download your photographs.
  1. Repeat the processes for all images. Upload the cropped pictures, and use the correct aspect ratios that you now have for all of your images.

Your post will have all the photographs appearing as you intended when you’re through. Rest assured that the quality won’t degrade like it would if you left it up to Instagram. This is how you can publish numerous photographs on Instagram, including landscape and portrait orientations. It may be time-consuming, but you will have the desired result.

Person Holding White Printer Paper With Photos

Instagram Post Size: Let’s Focus On Your Stories

Everyone uses stories. Knowing the ideal Instagram post size for these is essential. The perfect Instagram Stories image size is 1080 by 1920 pixels, with a 9:16 aspect ratio. This is the ideal image size to guarantee no black border and that the image fully complements the Story.

However, you can add any image between 1.91:1 and 9:16 in Instagram Stories. Crop the image to fit the Story size; otherwise, Instragram will add a black border to fill the empty space.

You can submit landscape photos to Stories, but they don’t look as beautiful as possible, as it’s not the ideal Instagram post size. Since your Stories are essentially vertical and you want them to be viewed as such, you should upload portrait-style photographs whenever possible. ​​

Attempt to upload a vertical image in any other dimension if you cannot upload an image with precisely a 9:16 aspect ratio. Regarding the aspect ratio of your material, it is always preferable to use a 9:16 ratio. 

Wooden Framed Pictures Hanging on the White Wall

Found the Best Instagram Post Size

We want you to succeed. Make sure your photographs look their best by adhering to these rules.  The platform continues to support a square Instagram post size, for which it was once famous. However, your Instagram profile will have many options for photo dimensions now. Instagram accepts both vertically and horizontally aligned pictures. Having all these options makes getting the correct post dimensions more overwhelming. Hopefully, our Instagram post size tips were helpful.

Over the past decade, our team here at Path Social has developed a proprietary AI targeting algorithm and our internal platform of Instagram influencers. Our client reviews speak for themselves.

We can attract focused, enthusiastic, and engaged organic users in this way. Because, to date, no one has been able to copy our findings successfully, you can create a thriving Instagram community by following our tips. Begin increasing your Instagram following right away. Start growing and gaining Instagram followers today.