Instagram grid size
Instagram’s profile grid shows every post as a 3:4 portrait thumbnail, not a square. Upload at 1080 × 1440 px and nothing is cropped. Upload the older square 1080 × 1080 px and the grid trims your top and bottom. This page lists the sizes that matter and what each one costs you in the grid.
| Instagram profile grid tile | 1080 × 1440 px (3:4) |
|---|---|
| Instagram portrait post | 1080 × 1350 px (4:5) |
| Instagram square post | 1080 × 1080 px (1:1) |
| Instagram landscape post | 1080 × 566 px (1.91:1) |
| Instagram story or reel | 1080 × 1920 px (9:16) |
Every size that matters for a grid
- Profile grid tile: 1080 × 1440 px (3:4). What the grid actually displays. Upload at this ratio and nothing is cut.
- Portrait post: 1080 × 1350 px (4:5). The tallest ratio Instagram accepts in the feed, and the best all-round feed size. In the grid it loses only thin strips from the left and right.
- Square post: 1080 × 1080 px (1:1). Still accepted, no longer what the grid is built for. Loses its top and bottom in the grid.
- Landscape post: 1080 × 566 px (1.91:1). The widest the feed accepts. Cropped hard in the grid, so avoid it for anything grid-based.
- Carousel slide: 1080 × 1350 px (4:5). Covered in detail on Instagram carousel size.
- Story or reel: 1080 × 1920 px (9:16). Not a grid format, listed because reels appear in the grid on most accounts and get the same 3:4 crop.
A note on sourcing before you build a strategy on these: Meta does not publish pixel dimensions for Instagram feed posts. Every number above comes from cross-checking current guides against observed behaviour, which is also why the figures drift between sites. The ratios are the stable part; the exact pixel counts are a recommendation, not a rule Instagram enforces.
The portrait profile grid crop
Instagram switched the profile grid from square to 3:4 portrait in January 2025. It has not been reverted since, and the feed gained native support for taller uploads shortly afterwards.
What the change does: whatever you post, the grid thumbnail is a centred 3:4 crop. A square post loses a band off the top and a band off the bottom. A 4:5 post loses a thin strip from each side. A landscape post loses most of its width.
What the change does not do: it never alters the post itself. Tap the thumbnail and the image appears at its real aspect ratio, uncropped, exactly as you uploaded it. The crop lives only in the grid view.
Instagram also lets you adjust the thumbnail after posting, by zooming, repositioning, or fitting the image with a white or black border. That is a per-post fix, and it is useful for rescuing an old square post. It is not a substitute for uploading at the right ratio in the first place, because a fitted thumbnail with borders will not line up with its neighbours in a split-image grid.
The safe zone
The practical rule is short: whatever ratio you upload, keep anything that must survive inside the centred 3:4 area.
For a 4:5 post, that means keeping faces, text, and logos away from the left and right edges. For a square post, keep them away from the top and bottom. For a landscape post there is very little safe area at all, which is the reason not to use landscape for grid work.
The failure most people hit is text. A caption typeset to the full width of a 4:5 image reads perfectly in the feed and loses its first and last letters in the grid. Pull the text in and it survives both.
How a 3×3 split maps onto the grid
A nine-tile grid is three rows of three posts. The tiles must be the same ratio as the grid thumbnail, or the joins will not meet.
Cut a 3:4 source into a 3×3 grid and each tile is also 3:4, so every piece displays whole. A 1080 × 1440 px source gives tiles of 360 × 480 px, which is smaller than Instagram wants for an upload. Start larger: a 3240 × 4320 source gives 1080 × 1440 px tiles, each of which is a full-size post in its own right.
Cut a square source into 3×3 and each tile is square, so the grid crops a band off every one of them. The tiles still tile, but the picture inside them is missing horizontal slices, and the effect is a mosaic that looks slightly wrong without it being obvious why. If you have a square source you want to use, pad it to 3:4 first rather than splitting it square.
Posting order runs backwards. Instagram puts the newest post in the top-left slot, so upload the bottom-right tile first and the top-left tile last. The grid maker numbers the files in that sequence.
Other grid shapes work the same way. A 3×2 uses six posts and takes up two visible rows. A 3×4 uses twelve. The column count is always three because Instagram’s grid is three wide; only the row count is yours to choose.
Which ratio to upload
If the grid is what you care about, upload at 1080 × 1440 px. Nothing is cropped anywhere.
If the feed is what you care about, upload at 1080 × 1350 px. It occupies the most vertical space in the feed, which is where reach comes from, and the side strips it loses in the grid are narrow.
If you need one file to do both jobs, 1080 × 1350 px is the better compromise. Losing thin side strips in the grid costs less than losing bands off the top and bottom of a square.
Square uploads still have a place: cross-posting to a platform that wants square, or an account whose whole visual identity is built on it. Just know what the grid does to it.
Sizes last verified: September 7, 2026. Instagram does not publish official figures for feed post dimensions, so treat the pixel values as current best practice and the aspect ratios as the reliable part.
FAQ
What size is the Instagram grid in 2026?
The profile grid displays each post as a 3:4 portrait thumbnail, around 1080 × 1440 px. Three tiles fit across the width of the profile page regardless of screen size. The grid has been portrait rather than square since January 2025, and the change applies to reels as well as photos.
Is the Instagram grid still square?
No. Instagram replaced the square profile grid with 3:4 portrait thumbnails in January 2025. Square posts are still accepted in the feed and still display as squares when opened, but their grid thumbnail is a centred crop that removes a band from the top and the bottom.
What size should each tile be for a 3x3 grid?
Match the grid ratio: 3:4 per tile. Start from a source of about 3240 × 4320, which splits into nine tiles of 1080 × 1440 px. That leaves every tile above Instagram’s preferred upload width, so nothing is upscaled after posting.
Does Instagram crop my post or just the thumbnail?
Only the thumbnail. The grid shows a centred 3:4 crop for layout purposes, but the post itself keeps the aspect ratio you uploaded and displays uncropped when opened from the feed or by tapping the thumbnail. Nothing is re-saved or permanently trimmed.
What is the safe zone for an Instagram grid image?
The centred 3:4 area of whatever you upload. For a 4:5 post, keep faces, text, and logos clear of the left and right edges. For a square post, keep them clear of the top and bottom. Landscape posts have almost no safe area in the grid.
Can I change a grid thumbnail after posting?
Yes. Instagram lets you adjust an existing post’s grid preview by zooming, repositioning, or fitting it with a white or black border. It is a per-post fix worth using on older square posts, but a fitted thumbnail with borders will not align with neighbouring tiles in a split-image grid.