Instagram Reel cover: size, format and how to choose one

Two ways to set it, and the size of an Instagram Reel cover

Upload a separate image: a JPEG, 8 MB or smaller, with 9:16 recommended.

Or name a frame in the video, counted in milliseconds from the start. The default is 0, the first frame.

If you give both an image and a frame, Instagram uses the image.

Picking a good cover

Choose a frame where the subject is clear and not mid-blink or mid-motion. A blurry transition frame makes a poor first impression.

If you add text, keep it large and away from the edges so it survives cropping when the Reel appears in a smaller tile.

Make the cover match the video’s promise. Someone who taps expecting one thing and gets another leaves.

Feed or Reels tab

Through the API a Reel can be shared to the Feed as well as the Reels tab, or kept to the Reels tab. Your cover is what people see in either place.

Posting the Reel with Dripost

Dripost posts a video to Instagram as a Reel, to a professional (Business or Creator) account, without a custom cover, so Instagram uses the first frame. To use a different cover, change it in the Instagram app once the Reel is live.

Instagram Reel cover photo

A Reel cover photo is the still people see on your profile grid and in the Reels tab. Choose a frame with the subject in the middle, so the 3:4 grid crop does not cut it off. See our Instagram grid guide for how that crop works.

Sources

• Instagram API: IG User media (Reels specifications)