Sociale medier

Instagram Story size and safe zones

A story fills the whole phone screen, and Instagram lays its own interface over the top and bottom. Here is the size, the zones to keep clear, and how to design inside them.

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Denne guide findes ikke på dit sprog endnu, så her er den på engelsk.

Kort fortalt

  • The Instagram Story size is 1080×1920 pixels, a 9:16 vertical frame that fills a phone screen.
  • Instagram places the profile name and progress bar at the top of a story and the reply field and buttons at the bottom.
  • A common working rule, based on Meta's guidance for story ads, is to keep roughly the top and bottom 250 pixels free of text and logos.
  • Reels use the same 1080×1920 frame but carry more interface at the bottom and down the right side, so they need wider margins there.
  • The same 1080×1920 size works for Facebook, Snapchat and WhatsApp stories, TikTok covers and YouTube Shorts covers.
På denne side

The Instagram Story size is 1080×1920 pixels, a vertical 9:16 frame that fills the phone screen. Instagram lays its own interface over the top and bottom of every story: the profile name and progress bar above, the reply field and buttons below. So design for the whole frame, but keep words and logos in the middle. A widely used rule, based on Meta's guidance for story ads, is to leave roughly the top and bottom 250 pixels free of text.

Instagram Story dimensions

PropertyValue
Size1080×1920 px
Aspect ratio9:16
OrientationVertical, full screen
Same frame asReels, Facebook and Snapchat stories, WhatsApp status, TikTok and Shorts covers
Colour profilesRGB
Design at exactly 1080×1920. A story made in any other shape is scaled or letterboxed to fit.

For still stories, export PNG when the design is mostly text, flat colour or gradients, because Instagram recompresses uploads and those suffer most. Use a high-quality JPEG for photographs. For moving stories, export MP4 video at the same 1080×1920 size, so the app has nothing to rescale.

Because the frame is shared by so many platforms, one well-made vertical design travels a long way. The full list is in social media image sizes.

Instagram Story safe zones

The safe zone is the part of the story that nothing covers on any phone. Phones have different screen shapes, so the interface sits in slightly different places, which is why the margins below are generous.

ZoneFrom the top (px)What sits therePut here
Top0 to 250Progress bar, profile photo, name, close buttonBackground only
Middle250 to 1670NothingHeadlines, logo, key details
Bottom1670 to 1920Reply field, share and like buttonsBackground only
The three bands of a story. Treat the top and bottom as bleed: part of the design, but never home to words.

Story 9:16

1080 × 1920

Feed post 4:5

1080 × 1350

Square 1:1

1080 × 1080

A story next to a portrait and a square post, to scale. The story is much taller, which is why feed layouts don't transfer to it by stretching.

Stories and Reels are not quite the same

Reels use the same 1080×1920 frame, but their interface is heavier. The caption, the audio label and the account name sit along the bottom, and the like, comment and share buttons run down the right side. Keep text further up and further left of the right edge than you would in a story.

Story

  • Profile and progress bar at the top
  • Reply field and buttons at the bottom
  • Tap to advance, so each frame is seen briefly
  • Stickers, links and polls can be added in the app

Reel

  • Caption, audio and account name along the bottom
  • Action buttons down the right side
  • Plays as a video, often on loop
  • The cover is also shown in the profile grid, cropped

How to design an Instagram Story

  1. 1

    One message per frame

    A still story is on screen for a few seconds. Say one thing, clearly, and put the next thing on the next frame.

  2. 2

    Set the headline in the upper middle

    Just below the top safe line is where eyes land first, above any stickers or links you'll add in the app.

  3. 3

    Leave room for stickers

    If you'll add a link, poll or question sticker, keep an empty area in the lower middle for it.

  4. 4

    Make the background do the brand work

    Stories are full-bleed, so the background is most of what people see. A consistent colour or material makes every frame recognisably yours.

  5. 5

    Check contrast everywhere the words sit

    On a gradient or photo, contrast changes across the frame. Text on a gradient shows how to keep every line readable.

Words in the middle band, background running full bleed behind the interface.

A question frame with space left underneath for a poll sticker.

For more formats and ideas, see Instagram Story ideas.

Motion in stories

Stories are where motion earns its keep. A background that drifts slowly under still words catches the eye without asking for a video shoot. Keep the words still, the motion gentle, and make sure the loop joins without a visible jump. Animated Instagram posts and Reels backgrounds go deeper. Gradiently exports any design as a 5 to 30 second seamless loop, which is exactly the right length for a story frame.

Spørgsmål, folk stiller

What size is an Instagram Story?

1080×1920 pixels, a 9:16 vertical frame.

What is the safe zone for Instagram Stories?

Keep text and logos out of roughly the top and bottom 250 pixels, where the profile name, progress bar, reply field and buttons sit.

Is the Instagram Reel size the same as a story?

Yes, 1080×1920, but Reels carry more interface along the bottom and down the right side, so keep text further from those edges.

Can I use the same design for Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat stories?

Yes. They all use a 1080×1920 vertical frame, so one design works across them, as long as words stay in the middle band.

What happens if my story isn't 9:16?

Instagram scales it to fit and fills the leftover space, usually with a blurred or coloured background, so it looks less deliberate than a full-frame design.

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