Instagram Story Size 2026: Dimensions and Safe Zones

The Instagram Story size is 1080 × 1920 pixels, a 9:16 vertical format that fills the phone screen. Keep your text, stickers and logo away from the top and bottom edges, where Instagram shows your profile, the reply bar and, on ads, a call-to-action button.

This guide covers the exact dimensions, the safe zones Meta publishes, how long a Story can be, and the specs to follow when you schedule Stories instead of posting them live. All figures were checked on September 29, 2026.

Instagram Story dimensions at a glance

Instagram Story safe zones

Instagram overlays several elements on every Story: your profile picture and name at the top, the reply bar and reactions at the bottom, and, on ads, a call-to-action button. Meta's ads guide gives the safest margins: keep roughly 14% of the height free at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% on each side for text, logos and other key content.

On a 1080 × 1920 canvas, that means:

• Top: about 270 pixels free.
• Bottom: about 670 pixels free.
• Sides: about 65 pixels free on each side.

These margins are written for ads, which carry an extra button at the bottom. Organic Stories have fewer overlays, so treat them as a conservative rule: if your design fits inside them, nothing will ever be covered. Backgrounds, photos and video should still fill the whole frame.

How long can an Instagram Story be?

Each Story clip lasts up to 60 seconds. When you share a longer video, Instagram splits it into several clips that play in a row, and on iPhone you can trim them with the video trimmer. Every Story disappears after 24 hours unless you add it to a Highlight on your profile.

For how Stories compare with Reels, TikToks and YouTube Shorts, see how long Reels, TikToks and Shorts can be.

What if your image isn't 9:16?

Instagram accepts other shapes in Stories, but they don't fill the screen: a 4:5 feed photo appears smaller, on a background, with empty space above and below. You have three options:

1. Rebuild it at 1080 × 1920, placing the photo on a designed background, which also gives you room for text inside the safe zones.
2. Zoom in to fill the frame, accepting that the edges will be cropped.
3. Share the feed post to your Story, where it appears as a card that links back to the post.

When you plan content for several formats, start from the vertical version: a 1080 × 1920 design adapts more easily to Reels and TikTok than a square one does to Stories.

Story size vs. Reels, posts and TikTok

Stories, Reels, TikToks and Shorts share the same canvas, so one vertical design can serve all four with small adjustments to text placement. Feed posts need their own 4:5 version: see our full Instagram post size guide and the TikTok video size guide.

Scheduling Instagram Stories

Scheduling tools publish Stories through Instagram's official API, available to professional accounts (Meta for Developers). Its rules:

• One photo or video per Story: each scheduled Story is a single frame.
• Photos: JPEG, up to 8 MB.
• Videos: 3 to 60 seconds, up to 100 MB.

In Wavnil, choose Story as the post type for your Instagram account, add your photo or video, and pick a time on the calendar. Stories sit next to your feed posts and Reels, so you can see a whole week of Instagram at a glance.

Your Instagram Story checklist

Design at 1080 × 1920, keep text and stickers inside the safe zones, fill the whole frame with your background, keep each video clip under 60 seconds, and export JPEGs under 8 MB if you schedule. Then post when your audience is online: our guide to the best time to post on Instagram shows where to start. Try Wavnil free for 7 days to plan Stories, posts and Reels on one calendar.

Sources

Checked on September 29, 2026:

• Meta Ads Guide, Instagram Stories image ad specifications.
• Instagram Help Center, Tips for uploading, recording and editing your Instagram story.
• Meta for Developers, IG User Media reference.