Edits / Instagram Reels / Dimensions, size & length
Export at 1080 × 1920, 9:16, MP4, under 3 minutes - and keep text out of the edges. That's the short version. Below is every Reels spec for with the numbers behind it, so your video posts sharp and nothing gets cropped.
Bookmark this table. Everything else on the page explains why each number is what it is and what happens if you miss it.
| Spec | Recommended | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 1080 × 1920 px | Instagram's display size; anything smaller is upscaled and looks soft |
| Aspect ratio | 9:16 vertical | Fills the screen in the Reels tab; 4:5 and 1:1 get letterboxed |
| Min length | 3 seconds | Shorter clips won't publish as a Reel |
| Max length | 20 minutes | Only Reels under 3 minutes are recommended to non-followers |
| Best length | 7–30 seconds | Highest completion and replay rates |
| File format | MP4 (H.264 + AAC) | MOV works too; avoid HEVC/H.265 and AVI |
| Max file size | 4 GB | A 60 s 1080p Reel is ~90 MB, so this is rarely an issue |
| Frame rate | 30 fps | 24–60 fps accepted; keep it constant, not variable |
| Bitrate | 10–15 Mbps | Below 8 Mbps Instagram's recompression shows as blur |
| Audio | AAC, 128 kbps+, stereo | Mono is fine for voice; music should be stereo |
| Cover photo | 1080 × 1920 px | Profile grid crops it to about 3:4, so centre the subject |
| Safe zone | Centre ~1080 × 1250 px | Top ~250, bottom ~420 and right ~120 px sit under the UI |
Note: Instagram publishes the resolution, ratio, length and file-size limits; safe-zone margins and bitrate are measured from the current app and can shift a few pixels between versions.
Spec 01
Reels are built for a phone held upright, so the native size is 1080 pixels wide by 1920 tall - a 9:16 ratio. Export at exactly that and Instagram displays it pixel-for-pixel. Upload 4:5 or 1:1 and it still works, but with dark bars above and below in the Reels tab.
Spec 02
Instagram draws its own interface over your Reel - username and search at the top, caption and audio at the bottom, action buttons down the right. Anything you put there gets covered. Keep captions, faces and logos inside the centre area.
Spec 03
The hard limits are a 3-second minimum and a 20-minute maximum, recorded in-app or uploaded. The number that actually matters is 3 minutes: Instagram does not recommend longer Reels to people who don't follow you, so anything past that only reaches your existing audience.
Spec 04
Instagram accepts files up to 4 GB, but size isn't the problem - compression is. Every Reel is re-encoded on upload. Give it a clean MP4 (H.264 video, AAC audio) at 10–15 Mbps and 30 fps and the recompression is invisible. Hand it a low-bitrate or variable-frame-rate file and it comes out blurry.
Spec 05
The cover is the frame people see on your profile and in search. Upload it at 1080 × 1920, the same as the video. Instagram's profile grid now shows Reels as roughly 3:4 rectangles, so the top and bottom of your cover are cut off there - put the subject and any title text in the centre.
Whatever editor you use, these five settings produce a file Instagram won't degrade. In Edits they're the defaults, with no watermark added.
Re-export at 10–15 Mbps, constant 30 fps, and upload on Wi-Fi with highest-quality uploads on. Full guide.
The source is 16:9 or 4:5. Reframe to 9:16 in the editor - crop, or add a blurred background behind a landscape clip.
Move captions up and left so they sit inside the centre 960 × 1250 px. Edits' caption tool keeps them there automatically.
Trim to under 3 minutes, or split into parts. Watch time per view matters more than total length. Why Reels get low views.
Convert HEVC to H.264, confirm the file is MP4 or MOV, and check it's under 20 minutes and 4 GB. Export failed in Edits?
Upload a dedicated cover with the subject centred, or pick a frame where the action sits in the middle third.
For the basics of the format, start with What are Instagram Reels?; to make one, see how to make a Reel.
Edits exports 1080 × 1920 H.264 at 30 fps by default - no watermark, safe zones shown on the timeline.