Checked against the source

Instagram portrait post size

Checked 3 sources

Short answer

The tallest portrait Instagram keeps whole is 3:4, 1080 × 1440 pixels. 4:5 (1080 × 1350) is inside the same range. Anything taller, such as 9:16, is cropped to 3:4, per Instagram Help.

Key takeaways

  • 3:4 is the lower end of the range Instagram keeps uncropped (1.91:1 to 3:4), so 1080 × 1440 is the tallest photo that is not cut.
  • 4:5 (1080 × 1350) uses 94% of the area of a 3:4 frame at the same width (computed).
  • A 9:16 image loses 25% of its height when it is cropped to 3:4 (computed).
  • Across our six test pictures the 1080 × 1440 result was 250 KB to 464 KB as a JPG at quality 0.92.

The size

WhatValue
Width1080 px
Height1440 px
Aspect ratio3:4

What the platform publishes

WhatPublished value
Tallest portrait1080 × 1440 px (3:4)
WidthUp to 1080 px. Wider photos are scaled down to 1080 px; photos under 320 px are enlarged to 320 px
Aspect ratios kept uncropped1.91:1 to 3:4, i.e. 1080 × 566 to 1080 × 1440 px
Outside that rangeCropped to the nearest supported ratio

Source: Instagram Help: Image resolution of photos you share (checked 2026-10-05)

Resize it now

Scales and center-crops any image to exactly 1080 x 1440 px, in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, there is no file size cap and no daily limit.

Batch is unlimited and free - every image is processed on your device, so there is no queue and no daily cap.

Which shapes Instagram keeps whole (computed)

Instagram Help says photos in the range from 1.91:1 to 3:4 are not cropped and others are cropped to the nearest supported ratio. Applying that to common shapes:

Photo shapeKept whole?Cropped toShare of the photo kept
2.35:1 (cinema)No1.91:181%
1.91:1Yes-100%
16:9 (1.78:1)Yes-100%
3:2 (1.5:1)Yes-100%
4:3 (1.33:1)Yes-100%
1:1Yes-100%
4:5 (0.8:1)Yes-100%
3:4 (0.75:1)Yes-100%
2:3 (0.67:1)No3:489%
9:16 (0.56:1)No3:475%

The sizes at the two ends of the range are 1080 × 566 and 1080 × 1440 pixels. A 9:16 video frame or screenshot loses a quarter of its height when it is shared as a photo.

What a 1080 × 1440 frame does to common photo shapes

The frame is 3:4. A photo of another shape is scaled until it covers the frame and the excess is cut from the center, which is what the resizer on this page does. This is computed from the shapes.

Photo shapeShare of the photo keptWhat is cut
16:9 (1920 × 1080)42%The sides
3:2 (3000 × 2000)50%The sides
4:3 (4000 × 3000)56%The sides
1:1 (2000 × 2000)75%The sides
4:5 (1080 × 1350)94%The sides
9:16 (1080 × 1920)75%The top and bottom

Computed.

Measured: six pictures through the resizer

The resizer on this page was run in headless Chromium on six test pictures (public domain NASA scans, a PNG graphic and two small pictures made from them): each is scaled to cover 1080 × 1440, drawn on a white background and saved as a JPG at quality 0.92. SSIM compares each result with a Lanczos crop of the same picture made by ffmpeg (1.0 would be identical); it is blank when the frame has an odd side, which ffmpeg's check cannot compare. Other browsers use their own encoders, so sizes can differ.

Each test picture converted to 1080 × 1440.
PicturePixelsScaleResultTimeSSIM
Photo, nearly square3840 × 38770.37×464 KB23 ms0.83
Portrait2122 × 26440.54×321 KB21 ms0.95
Wide document scan3827 × 15880.91×401 KB26 ms0.96
Square PNG graphic5380 × 54320.27×408 KB21 ms0.93
Small portrait (1060 px)1060 × 13201.09× (enlarged)262 KB20 ms0.97
Small landscape (640 px)640 × 4803.00× (enlarged)250 KB22 ms0.97

A scale above 1 enlarges the picture to fill the frame; enlarging adds no detail, so start from a file at least as large as the frame.

Detail decides the file size (measured)

The same frame holds 1.56 megapixels whatever the picture, but the JPG size follows the detail in it. Bits per pixel is the file size in bits divided by the number of pixels in the frame.

PictureResultBits per pixel
Photo, nearly square464 KB2.38
Portrait321 KB1.65
Wide document scan401 KB2.06
Square PNG graphic408 KB2.10
Small portrait (1060 px)262 KB1.35
Small landscape (640 px)250 KB1.28

Smooth areas and flat color compress to a fraction of what fine detail needs; a photograph full of texture is the expensive case. If a size limit matters, check your own picture, not an average.

Using the Instagram portrait post size

  • Start from a file at least 1080 × 1440 pixels so nothing is enlarged.
  • Keep faces, logos and text away from the edges; every crop above cuts the edges.
  • Check the platform's own page before you rely on a figure; sizes change.
  • The resizer above does the crop and the JPG in your browser; nothing is uploaded.

Frequently asked questions

What is the tallest Instagram photo?

3:4, which is 1080 × 1440 pixels at the full width. Taller photos are cropped to it.

What happens to a 9:16 photo?

It is cropped to the nearest supported ratio, 3:4, which removes 25% of its height.

How much of a 16:9 photo is kept in 1080 × 1440?

42% of its area (computed).

What is the aspect ratio of 1080 × 1440?

3:4, 1.56 megapixels.

How big will the file be?

Our six test pictures came out between 250 KB and 464 KB as JPGs at quality 0.92; detailed photographs are the large end.

Is my picture uploaded?

No. The resizer runs in your browser.

Other Instagram sizes

Sources

  1. Instagram Help: Image resolution of photos you share (checked 2026-10-05)
  2. Wikimedia Commons: Buzz salutes the U.S. Flag (NASA, public domain), one of the test pictures (checked 2026-10-10)
  3. MDN: HTMLCanvasElement.toBlob() (JPEG quality) (checked 2026-10-10)