Instagram · Image size

Instagram Story Size

Stories fill the phone at 1080×1920. Keep faces out of sticker and menu zones, leave room for polls and link stickers, then download a sharp vertical frame in your browser—no signup.

Crop to this size View all specs

Last verified 2026-08-10

Based on Instagram UI as of 2026-08-10. Exact crops and pixels can shift—preview before you publish.

Browser tool · nothing leaves your device

Crop your Instagram Story

Output 1080 × 1920

1Upload or try the sample
2Drag so the subject stays in the mobile guide
3Download 1640×624 (or your selected size)

Click to upload

Upload a vertical photo—or try the sample—then keep faces between the UI risk bands. Leave extra bottom room if you will add a link or poll sticker.

Drop an image onto the canvas, click inside it, or try the sample

Size specs

Export 1080×1920, but leave the top and bottom quieter—stickers, menus, progress bars, and reply UI sit there after you publish. Bleed backgrounds full-bleed; protect only the message.

Publish

Export this for Instagram upload.

Story / fullscreen

Recommended

1080×1920 9:16

Standard vertical frame for Instagram Stories. Design the mid-frame first.

Use in tool

Asset	Pixels	Ratio	Notes	Action
Story / fullscreen Recommended	1080×1920	9:16	Standard vertical frame for Instagram Stories. Design the mid-frame first.	Use in tool

Stickers sit on your pixels

A Story fills the screen, then Instagram draws link stickers, polls, menus, progress bars, and reply fields on top. Design the mid-frame as the only guaranteed visible area—edges that look empty in a design tool often disappear once stickers go on.

Stories also disappear quickly and are often watched one-handed outdoors. One idea per frame beats a poster full of paragraphs. Save dense offers for a feed post or a follow-up swipe, and keep on-image type large enough to read at arm’s length in bright light.

Export at 1080×1920 so the image stays sharp after Instagram’s compression. Soft phone screenshots and tiny type get worse after upload, especially on bright screens. Prefer sRGB JPG for photos and PNG when you need hard-edged graphics.

When you reuse a Reels cover or a Facebook Story still, re-check Instagram’s sticker and reply placement—layouts are similar at 9:16, but chrome is not identical on every surface. Close Friends and business stickers can stack differently than a personal Story, so leave more bottom margin than you think you need if a link sticker, poll, or music chip is part of the plan.

Good vs weak crop

Same full-screen frame—top and bottom UI chrome cover anything glued to the edges.

Survives Story stickers

Subject mid-frame between risk bands
Headline in the clear center band
Quiet top and bottom for menus / replies

Hidden by UI

Title under the profile / progress row
CTA sitting on the reply field
Only important detail at the extreme edge

Before you upload

Tick these off against your crop preview—nothing is saved.

Subject sits in the middle third—not in top menu or bottom reply zones.
No critical text under progress bars, stickers, or the reply field.
On-image text is large enough to read at arm’s length outdoors.
Export 1080×1920 sRGB JPG or PNG.
You left room if you plan to add polls, links, or music after upload.
Background edges can bleed full-bleed; only the message needs the safe band.
Sequence frames each protect their own mid-band—not only the first slide.

Related surfaces compared

Similar-looking slots often use different ratios—do not reuse one export for all of them.

Story frame

1080 × 1920

This page. Full-screen vertical with Story stickers and menus.

Reels

1080 × 1920

Same pixels; captions and action buttons differ—re-check chrome.

Feed post

1080 × 1350

Shorter portrait for the main feed—not a Story export.

Profile photo

640 × 640 upload

Tiny circle in Story chrome, not the Story art itself.

Surface	Typical size	Note
Story frame	1080 × 1920	This page. Full-screen vertical with Story stickers and menus.
Reels	1080 × 1920	Same pixels; captions and action buttons differ—re-check chrome.
Feed post	1080 × 1350	Shorter portrait for the main feed—not a Story export.
Profile photo	640 × 640 upload	Tiny circle in Story chrome, not the Story art itself.

UI chrome to keep clear

Treat the top band as reserved for progress segments, profile chips, and close controls, and the bottom band as reserved for replies, music, and sticker stacks. Exact padding varies by device and app version—design with margin, not pixel-perfect assumptions.

Corners are risky after publish: link stickers, polls, and quizzes often land there even if the crop looked empty in your editor.

Top: progress bars, name, close / more controls.
Bottom: reply field, reactions, swipe hints.
Corners: link stickers, polls, and quizzes often land here after publish.
Center band: safest place for faces and short headlines.

What works in a short Story

Stories are glanceable. One product, one face, or one short line of type is enough. If you need steps, use a sequence of frames instead of cramming a flyer into one still.

Think in sequences: frame 1 hooks, frame 2 shows the detail, frame 3 points to a reply or link. Each frame still needs its own mid-band safe zone—do not assume viewers will pause to read micro type.

Prefer high contrast—Stories often play outdoors in bright light.
Keep busy backgrounds behind the subject, not over the text.
Export a still first; add motion or music inside Instagram if needed.
Match brand colors, but do not rely on thin light-grey type.
Leave a calm lower area if a link or poll sticker is part of the plan.

File requirements

Export 1080×1920 in sRGB. JPG is fine for photos; PNG helps for flat graphics. Very heavy files may take longer to upload on mobile data without looking better after Instagram re-encodes them.

Export size: 1080 × 1920 px (9:16)
Safe content: Keep critical elements between the UI risk bands
Formats: JPG or PNG (sRGB)
Color: sRGB preferred
Duration (video): Short clips; confirm limits in Instagram for your account
Still vs video: Same frame size for vertical video Story frames

Common mistakes

Reusing a 4:5 feed crop with empty bars or stretched edges.
Putting the only headline at the top edge under progress / profile.
Adding five stickers that cover the product you meant to show.
Low-contrast text on a busy photo that fails outdoors.
Using a wide cover-style crop as a Story background.
Designing only on a desktop preview that hides mobile chrome and reply UI.

How to use the crop tool on this page

Upload a vertical (or any) photo, lock the Story preset at 1080×1920, then drag until faces and headlines sit between the UI risk bands. Download when the unsafe top and bottom strips only contain background.

Bleed backgrounds to the full frame; protect only the message.
Nothing leaves your device while cropping.
Add stickers in Instagram only after a phone preview.
If you need a feed version next, switch to the Post size guide—do not reuse this 9:16 export blindly.

After you download

From this download to a live upload in a few minutes.

1
Download the 1080×1920 JPG from the tool.
2
Open Instagram → Stories → add photo (or add to an existing sequence).
3
Add stickers, polls, or links only after confirming the subject still reads clearly.
4
Preview once with stickers on—stickers can cover what looked safe in the crop tool.
5
If you publish a multi-frame sequence, spot-check each frame’s mid-band on your phone—not only the first—then open the Story from another account if you can before sharing widely.

Frequently asked questions

What size is an Instagram Story in 2026?

1080×1920 pixels (9:16). That fills a typical phone screen, but Instagram UI still covers the top and bottom—keep important content in the middle band.

Where should I place text on a Story?

In the middle band—away from top menus/progress and bottom reply UI. Leave extra room if you will add stickers, polls, or a link after upload.

Is Story size the same as Reels?

Same frame size (1080×1920). Re-check chrome because stickers, captions, and buttons differ between Stories and Reels—do not assume one export is safe for both.

Can I upload a square photo as a Story?

Instagram will pad or crop it. Start from 9:16 in this tool so you control what stays before you publish, instead of letting the app guess.

Can I use a Facebook Story on Instagram?

Often yes as a starting point—both are 9:16—but re-check sticker and reply placement after upload on Instagram. Business stickers and Close Friends layouts can differ.

JPG or PNG for Stories?

JPG for photos; PNG for sharp logos or type-heavy graphics. Keep sRGB either way, and avoid huge files that only slow mobile upload.

How long should a Story video be?

Keep clips short and check Instagram’s current limits for your account. Still frames should still follow the same 1080×1920 safe zones, including the mid-band for text.