Instagram Carousel Size & Dimensions Guide (Every Format Explained)
Instagram carousels get displayed at different sizes depending on where they show up — feed, Reels cover, Stories, TikTok — and getting the ratio wrong is the single most common reason a carousel looks cropped or misaligned. Here's every size you actually need, in pixels.
The 3-step process
- 1
Pick where it'll be seen
Feed, Reels, Stories and TikTok each crop differently. Decide your primary placement before you build — re-slicing a carousel for a different ratio afterward isn't just a resize, it changes where every seam falls.
- 2
Match the aspect ratio
4:5 portrait for feed, 9:16 for Stories, Reels and TikTok, 1:1 square only if you specifically need a grid-consistent profile.
- 3
Use the exact pixel dimensions
Build at the pixel values below, not just the ratio. A slide that's even a few pixels off the rest is what causes visible edge misalignment on a multi-slide post.
Every Instagram carousel size at a glance
| Placement | Aspect ratio | Pixel dimensions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feed (portrait) | 4:5 | 1080×1350 px | Largest in-feed display — the default choice for most carousels |
| Feed (square) | 1:1 | 1080×1080 px | Gets cropped more aggressively on mobile previews than 4:5 |
| Feed (landscape) | 1.91:1 | 1080×566 px | Rarely used — smallest in-feed footprint of the three |
| Stories / Reels cover | 9:16 | 1080×1920 px | Full-screen vertical |
| TikTok photo carousel | 9:16 | 1080×1920 px | TikTok’s native format |
| TikTok photo carousel (ported from IG) | 4:5 | 1080×1350 px | Works fine, reads slightly less “native” than 9:16 |
Why 4:5 wins for feed carousels
Instagram’s feed algorithm gives portrait posts more vertical space than square ones — 4:5 is the tallest ratio the feed will display at full size without cropping. That extra real estate matters most for carousels, where every slide needs to read clearly at a glance before someone decides to swipe. Square (1:1) posts get visually compressed on mobile, which is also why 1:1 is the format most likely to make a multi-slide sequence look cramped.
Reels, Stories and TikTok: the vertical formats compared
9:16 fills the entire screen on Stories, Reels covers and TikTok — it’s built for placements where the app takes over the full display, not a scrollable feed. The practical catch: a carousel sliced at 4:5 for feed will show cropped if you reuse it at 9:16, because the extra height has nowhere to come from after the fact. If Stories, Reels or TikTok is your primary placement, slice at 9:16 from the start rather than stretching a feed carousel to fit.
Common sizing mistakes
- Off-by-a-few-pixels slide width. Even a 1–2 px difference between slides is enough to create a visible seam on a sequential or seamless carousel. Build every slide at the exact same width, not an approximation.
- Reusing a feed carousel for Stories without re-slicing. The aspect ratio difference means content gets cropped, not just resized — re-slice at 9:16 rather than stretching.
- Defaulting to 1:1 square. It’s the easiest ratio to reach for, but it’s also the one most likely to get cropped on mobile previews.
Why Exposure makes sizing a non-issue
Most general-purpose design tools make you calculate exact pixel dimensions by hand before you start — get the source width wrong and every slide after it is misaligned. Exposure sets the correct pixel dimensions the moment you pick a format (4:5, 1:1 or 9:16), and its canvas is large enough that you’re not constrained to one precisely-sized source image — combine multiple photos, crop and transform freely, and Exposure keeps every slide exported at the exact matching width automatically. No manual pixel math, no separate slicing tool. See the full seamless carousel guide for the step-by-step process, or browse 15 carousel post ideas if you’re still deciding what to build at these sizes.