Instagram ad sizes for video: Feed, Stories and Reels

What aspect ratio do Instagram video ads use?

Use 9:16. Meta's current Ads Guide pages for Instagram Feed, Stories and Reels all list 9:16, and the Feed page gives a 1 percent tolerance on the ratio.

That makes Instagram the simplest Meta platform for AI video: one vertical master can serve all three placements. Generate in 9:16 from the first shot rather than cropping a wide clip, so faces and products stay sharp and fill the frame.

If your AI tool only outputs another ratio, the video aspect ratio converter turns it into 9:16 with a crop or a blurred-background fill. A crop keeps more of the frame filled; a fill keeps the whole original shot.

How long can an Instagram ad be?

Meta allows up to 60 minutes for Feed and Stories video, and up to 15 minutes for Reels, per the Instagram Reels specs. Reels also lists a minimum length of 0 seconds.

Length affects resolution on Reels. Ads under 30 seconds need a minimum width of 250 px, and ads of 30 seconds or longer need 500 px. Export at the recommended 1440x2560, or at least 1080x1920, and you clear both.

What are the caption limits for Instagram ads?

Meta lists 125 characters of primary text for Feed and Stories video, and 44 characters for Reels. The Feed page also sets a maximum of 30 hashtags.

The 44-character Reels figure is short. Write a caption that works at that length, and put the offer in the video itself as a super added in the edit. Do not ask the AI model to render on-screen text; add it afterwards so you can correct it and place it.

Which export settings does Meta recommend for Reels?

The Reels page recommends H.264, square pixels, a fixed frame rate, progressive scan and stereo AAC audio at 128 kbps or higher. Files can be MP4 or MOV, up to 4GB.

If your AI tool or editor exports with a variable frame rate or different audio settings, re-encode the final cut to match Meta's recommendations before upload.

Where is the Instagram safe zone?

On Reels and Stories, Meta asks you to keep 14 percent of the top, 35 percent of the bottom and 6 percent of each side free of text, logos and key elements. On a 1080x1920 frame that is about 269 px top, 672 px bottom and 65 px each side.

Meta's safe zone help article adds that a Reels ad with a disclaimer should keep the bottom 40 percent clear. Check a frame in the Instagram Reels safe zone tool or the safe zone checker.

For AI shots, this means framing the product and the face in the upper middle of the frame. Write it into the prompt: product held at chest height, face in the upper third, empty space at the bottom for the caption.

What does Meta not state officially?

The current Instagram Feed video page does not mention 4:5 or 1:1. Other guides may still list them; the tables show only what Meta's page states today. The Feed and Stories pages also give no headline limit, so the tables show "Not stated".

The specs shown are from the Awareness objective pages. We did not check the pages for other objectives.

How did we handle conflicts between Meta's pages?

We use the current Ads Guide and note the older source. Meta's older video requirements one-sheet gives 1 to 120 seconds for Instagram Stories, while the Ads Guide gives up to 60 minutes. The Ads Guide value is in the table.

Preview the finished cut with a caption and button in the ad mockup generator. If your AI ads already perform and you want to make versions of winning scripts, see how Anglr works for creators.