Guide
Instagram video size: format, aspect ratio and file limits
The size of an Instagram video to use for a Reel is 9:16, no wider than 1920 pixels, under 300 MB, as MP4 or MOV with H.264 or HEVC video. Those are the numbers Instagram publishes for its API, which is what scheduling tools use.
App versus API
What the Instagram app lets you post by hand and what its API accepts are not always the same. This page gives the API’s limits, because any tool that posts for you goes through it.
If a video is rejected through a scheduler but looks fine in the app, check it against the list below.
Instagram video size: the file
Container: MOV or MP4, with the moov atom at the front and no edit lists.
Video: HEVC or H.264, progressive scan, closed GOP, 4:2:0 chroma.
Audio: AAC at up to 48 kHz, mono or stereo, at 128 kbps.
Frame rate between 23 and 60 FPS. Video bitrate up to 25 Mbps VBR.
Size: no more than 300 MB.
Shape and length: the ratio for an Instagram video
Width is capped at 1920 pixels. The accepted aspect ratio is wide open, from 0.01:1 to 10:1, but 9:16 is the one Instagram recommends so the Reel isn’t cropped or padded.
A Reel runs from 3 seconds up to 15 minutes.
The cover
A cover image is a JPEG of 8 MB or less, with 9:16 recommended. You can also name a frame from the video to use instead.
In Dripost
Upload once and the file goes to Instagram as it is, never re-encoded and with no watermark. A video can be up to 10 GB in your library, but Instagram’s limits above still apply when it posts, and the preview flags a post Instagram would refuse.
Reel video size and frame size on Instagram
The Instagram Reels video size is the same 9:16 frame for the feed and the Reels tab. Keep titles and faces away from the top and bottom of the frame, where Instagram’s own buttons sit, so the frame stays clear in both views.
Sources
Questions
What size should an Instagram Reel be?
9:16, no wider than 1920 pixels, 300 MB or less, between 3 seconds and 15 minutes.
What file type does Instagram accept?
MP4 or MOV, with H.264 or HEVC video and AAC audio.
Why is my video fine in the app but refused by a scheduler?
Schedulers use the API, which has stricter file rules such as a front moov atom and no edit lists.
Post it with Dripost
- Instagram post previewSee your post or Reel as Instagram will show it, then send it to a client to approve with no login.
- Post a video on InstagramUpload once and Dripost posts it as a Reel, then shows you the live link.
- Instagram from Claude or ChatGPTLet your AI assistant draft and schedule Instagram posts. You approve before anything goes out.