Instagram ad sizes for all post formats in 2024
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If you're planning to run ad campaigns on Instagram, you need to know the right ad sizes and specifications. You're competing with others for your ad spot on Instagram, and you want your ad to stand out from the crowd - for the right reasons, not because it's ugly. But there's a wide range of Instagram ad types, and they all have different recommended sizes.
We've rounded up the different types of Instagram ads and listed the correct sizes. This way, you can always be sure that your ads will be fit for purpose and won't risk being rejected by Instagram for technical reasons.
What are the correct sizes for Instagram ads?
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Instagram is part of the Facebook family of applications
Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012. Since then, Instagram has been an integral part of Facebook's growth. That $1 billion figure was considered by some to be ridiculously high at the time - Instagram had just 13 employees. But considering that some analysts now estimate Instagram to be worth more than $1.6 billion, Facebook probably now considers it a bargain.
It took Facebook some time to integrate Instagram into its internal systems. Today, however, the two applications have many points in common, as do other Facebook applications such as WhatsApp.
In particular, Facebook and Instagram share the same ad network. This means that when you create ads for the network, and when you get to the part of the ad creation process that asks you where you want your ads to appear, you can choose from a range of places, including both the main Instagram feed and Instagram Stories.
While advertising on Facebook and Instagram can be quite complicated, the ad creation process boils down to six essential steps:
- Select your audience
- Decide where to place your ad
- Define your budget
- Choose a format
- Place your order
- Measure and manage your advertising
Step 4 is crucial. You can start creating your ad with a good idea of how you want it to look. If you don't, you'll have to make decisions about how precisely you want your ads to look. One thing is clear, however. Whatever ad size and format you choose, you'll want your ads to look as good as possible. You don't want to use images that aren't the right shape or resolution, or that have been ruthlessly manipulated by Facebook/Instagram to fit into the space allotted to you.
Although there are a large number of ad types available for both Facebook and Instagram, not all Facebook ad formats are suitable for Instagram.
Unique image ads on Instagram
Instagram image ads are the bread and butter of advertising on Instagram. A single Instagram image takes up an Instagram user's entire screen, so you don't have to compete with everyone else's statuses for attention - until the user scrolls to the next post, anyway.
Although Instagram started with square images, you can now create ads with both vertical and horizontal images.
You'll need to decide which image format best suits your photo. Landscape images are wider than square or vertical images, and may be ideal for a horizontal image such as, as the name suggests, a landscape. Square images are narrower than landscape images, but take up more vertical space, making them ideal for many portraits. You just have to make sure that the square format doesn't crop your images too much.
The vertical image format is obviously ideal for displaying portrait photos. These can take up a lot of the space available on a phone, giving your ad a full-screen look.
You can also buy ads for Instagram Explore. Image specifications are the same as for ads in the Instagram feed.
Specifications
- File type: .jpg or .png
- Maximum file size: 30 MB
- Image size: Instagram recommends uploading the highest resolution image available that meets the ratio requirements (i.e. horizontal, square or vertical). No minimum resolution
- Minimum image width: 500 pixels
- Minimum aspect ratio: 400×500
- Maximum aspect ratio: 191×100
- Aspect ratio tolerance: 0.01
- Text limit: two rows of text will be displayed
Video ads on Instagram
Video ads are becoming increasingly popular on Instagram thanks to improved phone capacity and increased internet speed. As with still images, you can create videos in landscape, square or vertical format. Again, it's advisable to choose the format that best suits the subject of your video. Although you may not be particularly familiar with vertical videos, they are becoming increasingly popular, with most people using their phones to view their Instagram videos. They're the standard format on Instagram's IGTV.
You can also buy ads to show on Instagram Explore. The video specifications are the same as for ads shown in the Instagram News Feed.
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Specifications
- Video formats: .mp4 or .mov - recommended, many others acceptable
- Recommended resolution: Upload the highest resolution video available that respects file size and aspect ratio limits.
- Source ratio: 1.91:1 to 4:5 (horizontal 16:9, square 1:1, vertical 4:5)
- Minimum video size: 500 pixels
- Maximum video file size: 30 MB
- Video subtitling: optional
- Video ratio: 400×500, max. 191×100
- Video length: 1 to 120 seconds
- Text limit: two lines of text will be displayed
- Video thumbnails containing more than 20 % of text are less likely to be displayed.
Instagram Carousel ads
Carousel ads allow you to use up to ten images or videos in your ad. They can be particularly useful when you're trying to advertise several products, or if you want to include photos of your product from different angles. Each card can have its own link.
The easiest way to spot a carousel ad is to see a series of small dots below the visible image. This indicates that there are other images to view.
Source : instagram.com
Specifications
- Number of cards: 2 (minimum) to 10 (maximum)
- File type: jpg or png (image) or .mp4 or .mov (video - recommended, many others acceptable)
- Maximum video file size: 4 GB
- Video length: 60 seconds maximum
- Recommended image resolution: at least 1080 x 1080
- Carousel ratio: 1:1
- Text limit: two rows of text will be displayed
- Title: A line of text will be displayed
- Images composed of more than 20 % of text may be reduced in size.
Carousel ads in Instagram Stories
Instagram now offers two types of carousel ads within stories. Native Stories Carousel automatically displays up to 3 cards with full-screen creative and can only be purchased as a standalone placement within Instagram Stories. The expandable Stories Carousel automatically displays 1, 2 or 3 cards, but gives people the option of tapping "Continue Viewing" to see the remaining cards, for a total of 10 cards.
Source : instagram.com
Specifications - Native Stories Carousel
- Minimum number of cards: 2
- Maximum number of cards: 3
- Ratio: 9:16
- Recommended resolution: 1080×1920
- Maximum video length in seconds for carousel videos: 15
Specifications - Expandable story carousel
- Maximum number of cards: 10
- Ratio: same as News Feed
- Images containing more than 20 % of text may not be displayed as well
- Maximum video length in seconds for carousel videos: 60
Slideshow ads on Instagram
You can create a slideshow ad that uses a selection of images and/or videos, overlaid with a musical soundtrack. Make sure that if you use music in your ad, you have all the legal rights necessary to use a song in the ad, either by obtaining a license for the song, or by owning the legal rights to the song. You can use up to 10 images to create a video loop.
Specifications
- File type: jpg or png for images; wav, mp3, m4a, flac and ogc for sound files
- Minimum image width: 600 x 600 pixels, max. 1080 x 1080 - any images or videos you use that are not square will be cropped to comply with this format.
- Text limit: two lines of text will be displayed
- Frame duration: up to 50 seconds / frame
Image ads on Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories is fast becoming the star of Instagram, so it was inevitable that Instagram would eventually approve ads for this format. Perhaps the biggest advantage of Instagram Stories ads is that you can use many of the features available for normal Instagram Stories, including stickers, GIFS and filters. You also have the huge advantage of including a clickable swipe-up link in your ad.
These appear as full-screen vertical ads between Instagram users' Stories. Photo Stories are visible for five seconds or until the user swipes out of the Story.
Instagram recommends leaving around 14 % (250 pixels) of the top and bottom of the image free of text and logos to avoid covering these key elements with the profile icon or call to action.
Source : instagram.com
Specifications
- Usage: jpg, png
- Maximum file size: 30 MB
- Recommended image size: 1080 x 1920 pixels
- Images composed of more than 20 % of text may be reduced in size.
Instagram Stories video ads
Instagram Stories video ads include all the benefits of Instagram Stories image ads, combined with the appeal of video ads. You can also include sound in these ads, as studies show that many people watch these ads with sound turned on. Full-screen vertical ads appear between Instagram users' Stories, and people can take steps to watch for up to 120 seconds.
As with image ads on Instagram Stories, Instagram recommends leaving around 14 % (250 pixels) of the top and bottom of the image free of text and logos to avoid covering these key elements with the profile icon or call to action.
Source : business.instagram.com
Specifications
- Usage: mp4, mov
- Maximum file size: 4 GB
- Recommended image size: 1080 x 1920 pixels
- Resolution: 720p
- Source ratio: 1.91:1 to 4:5 (horizontal 16:9, square 1:1, vertical 4:5)
- Video length: 15 seconds
Frequently asked questions
Can Instagram ads be 16:9 format?
Instagram ads must have an aspect ratio between 9:16 and 16:9. All file formats used for Instagram ads must be JPG or PNG. All image files used for Instagram ads must have a maximum size of 30 MB.
Does Instagram apply the 20 % rule?
Instagram and Facebook apply the 20 % text rule. This means that Facebook or Instagram will reject your ad - or significantly reduce its reach - if you have text on more than 20 % of your image. On Instagram, the 20 % rule is even stricter. It's important to remember that ads shouldn't look like real ads.
What are the image sizes for Instagram?
Images uploaded to Instagram must be 1080 pixels wide and 566 to 1350 pixels high. The maximum resolution supported by Instagram for images is 1080 pixels wide. Instagram ads can also feature images that aren't simply square. You can publish landscape images in a ratio of 1.91 to 1, the same size as a Facebook link preview image.
What are the requirements for Instagram ads?
The technical requirements for Instagram ads are as follows:
-JPG or PNG file types
-Maximum file size: 30 MB
-Maximum image width of 600 pixels
-Minimum aspect ratio of 4:5, maximum 16:9
-a maximum length of 60 seconds for the video
How many images does an Instagram advert take?
An Instagram ad must be 15 seconds long. You can't string together three 15-second videos to make a longer 45-second video.
