Instagram Story Size
Upload Instagram Stories at 1080×1920 px (9:16). That is the only ratio that fills the whole screen with no bars. The catch is the safe zone: the top ~250 px and bottom ~250 px are hidden behind the profile row, close button and the reply bar — keep text there and it gets covered.
| Placement | Pixels | Ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Story — full frame Upload size; fills the screen |
1080×1920 | 9:16 | |
| Safe zone (text/logo) Centre band; keep 250px clear top & bottom |
1080×1420 | ~2:3 | |
| Top UI reserved Profile name, close button live here |
1080×250 | — | |
| Bottom UI reserved Reply bar / CTA sticker area |
1080×250 | — | |
| Link/CTA sticker zone Put swipe-up / link stickers ~1250–1650px down |
centre-lower third | — |
1080×1920 is the only size that fills the screen
Instagram accepts anything from 1.91:1 to 9:16 in Stories, but only 9:16 (1080×1920) covers the full phone screen with no black or blurred bars. Anything wider is letterboxed and looks amateur. Design at exactly 1080×1920.
The 250px safe zone, top and bottom
Instagram lays its own interface over your Story. The top ~250 px hold your profile name and the close (×) button; the bottom ~250 px hold the reply bar, and on ads the CTA button. Keep all readable text, logos and faces inside the centre band — roughly 1080×1420, i.e. 250 px in from the top and bottom. This is the single most common Story mistake.
Where to put link and poll stickers
Interactive stickers (link, poll, quiz, question) are tappable, so they should sit in the lower-middle, around 1250–1650 px down — reachable by a thumb but clear of the reply bar. Don't stack them in the bottom 250 px.
File specs
JPG or PNG, up to 30 MB for a still image. For video Stories use MP4/MOV, up to 60 seconds per segment. Instagram re-compresses on upload, so export at high quality and don't pre-shrink below 1080 px wide.
FAQ
What is the Instagram Story size in 2026?
1080×1920 pixels at a 9:16 aspect ratio. That is the only ratio that fills the screen without bars.
What is the Instagram Story safe zone?
Keep text and logos inside the centre 1080×1420 px — leave the top 250 px and bottom 250 px clear, because Instagram's UI covers them.
Can I post a landscape photo to a Story?
Yes, but anything wider than 9:16 gets letterboxed with blurred bars. For a full-screen look, crop to 1080×1920.
What file size can an Instagram Story image be?
Up to 30 MB for a JPG or PNG image; up to 4 GB and 60 seconds per segment for video.