The Instagram Reel size that matters is 1080 × 1920 pixels (9:16), an MP4 or MOV between 3 seconds and 15 minutes, up to 300 MB, at 23 to 60 frames per second. That is the shape Instagram recommends and the window its publishing API accepts for a Reel. Other shapes pass, but 9:16 is the only one that fills the screen. This page keeps what is *recommended* apart from what the API *accepts*, because only the second decides whether a scheduled Reel goes out.
Reel size at a glance
| Rule | |
|---|---|
| Recommended size | 1080 × 1920 pixels |
| Recommended ratio | 9:16 |
| Ratio the API accepts | 0.01:1 to 10:1 |
| Width | At most 1,920 pixels |
| Length | 3 seconds to 15 minutes |
| File size | Up to 300 MB |
| Format | MP4 or MOV; H.264 video and AAC audio |
| Frame rate | 23 to 60 fps |
| Cover | A frame of the video, or a picture you upload (JPEG, up to 8 MB) |
Every video published to the feed through the API is a Reel, and a video that is not a story goes out as a Reel whatever you called it. A story video has its own rules: 3 to 60 seconds, up to 100 MB.
What fails, and when
The frame rate is the one that surprises people. A phone clip recorded at 120 fps for slow motion, or at 24 fps by a cinema mode, can sit outside 23 to 60 fps, and Instagram checks it while it processes the container, not when you upload. A scheduler that does not measure the file finds out at the scheduled minute. Preflight reads the frame rate when you upload and refuses the file in the composer with the number; the same window applies to TikTok.
The length is 3 seconds to 15 minutes, so a 2-second loop is refused and a 20-minute video is not a Reel at all. A vertical video up to 3 minutes is also what YouTube treats as a Short; the same file can serve both.
The size of 300 MB is counted on the file you send. A 4K export of a long Reel can pass the length and fail the size.
The shape is permissive, since the API takes anything from 0.01:1 to 10:1, but 9:16 is the shape Instagram recommends. A video of another shape can be shown with bars or cropped, so if you want it to fill the Reels tab, make it 9:16.
Pictures as covers follow the picture rules: JPEG only, 8 MB, and the middle 9:16 of the cover is what the Reels tab shows. The profile grid uses the middle of the picture, so keep titles away from the edges. See the picture sizes.
Options on a Reel
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Share to feed | Off keeps the Reel off the profile grid and in the Reels tab only |
| Trial reel | Shown only to people who do not follow you |
| Collaborators | Credits other accounts; a trial reel takes none, so they are left off |
| Cover | A frame or an uploaded picture |
| First comment | Posted straight after the Reel; see the first comment guide |
| Audio name | Names the audio track |
Alt text applies to feed pictures only, not to Reels or stories.
One file for four networks
The same vertical file usually passes Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Facebook Reels, if it is 9:16, 23 to 60 fps and under the shortest length: one vertical video for four networks gives the numbers. The free video and image checker reads a file's length, size, shape and frame rate in your browser and says which networks accept it.
How Preflight handles a Reel
The composer checks length, size, format and frame rate against these figures as the file is added, and the REST API and MCP validate_post run the same rules. A MOV from an iPhone is accepted as it is. Instagram processes the video after upload, which takes from seconds to minutes, so Preflight creates the container and checks it once a minute until Instagram is done, instead of publishing early and reporting success for a post that never appears. A daily cap of API-published posts applies, 100 per account when read on 30 October 2026, and a Reel counts as one. Scheduling a Reel is described on how to schedule Instagram posts, and it works on every plan, the free one included.
Reel figures from Meta's Instagram content-publishing documentation and Preflight's checks, read on 30 October 2026.
Questions people ask
- What is the best Instagram Reel size in 2026?
- 1080 × 1920 pixels, 9:16. It is what Instagram recommends and the only shape that fills the Reels tab. The API accepts other ratios, but they are shown with bars or cropped.
- How long can an Instagram Reel be?
- From 3 seconds to 15 minutes through the publishing API. The file can be up to 300 MB, as MP4 or MOV, at 23 to 60 frames per second.
- Why was my Reel refused or never published?
- Most often the frame rate is outside 23 to 60 fps, the file is over 300 MB, or it is shorter than 3 seconds. Instagram checks the frame rate while processing, so a tool that does not measure the file finds out at the scheduled time.
- Can I schedule an Instagram Reel from a computer?
- Yes, through a scheduler that uses the Instagram API. Preflight checks the file, creates the container at the scheduled minute and publishes when Instagram has processed the video.
- What size should the Reel cover be?
- A JPEG up to 8 MB, ideally 1080 × 1920. The Reels tab shows the middle 9:16 of it and the profile grid shows the middle, so keep text away from the edges.