The short version
- The best Instagram carousel size is 1080×1350 pixels, a 4:5 portrait frame, used for every slide.
- Instagram applies the first slide's shape to the whole carousel, so a slide in a different shape is cropped to match.
- Square slides at 1080×1080 and landscape slides at 1080×566 also work, as long as every slide in the post uses the same one.
- On your profile grid the first slide appears as a 3:4 tile cut from its centre, so its headline belongs in the middle.
- A panorama carousel is one wide image, 1080 pixels per slide by 1350 tall, cut into equal slides.
On this page
The best Instagram carousel size is 1080×1350 pixels for every slide: a 4:5 portrait frame that fills the most screen in the feed. The rule that matters most is consistency, because Instagram takes the shape of your first slide and applies it to the whole post. Any slide made in a different shape is cropped to fit, usually from the edges where your words were.
Instagram carousel dimensions
Ratio
When to use it
Ratio
When to use it
Size
Ratio
When to use it
Portrait 1080×1350
1080 × 1350
Square 1080×1080
1080 × 1080
Landscape 1080×566
1080 × 566
Portrait wins for almost every carousel that carries words. It gives you a quarter more height than a square for the same width, which means larger type, more breathing room and more of the screen. The only strong reason to choose square is reuse: a 1080×1080 set also posts cleanly to LinkedIn, Facebook and Threads. Aspect ratios explained shows how the shapes relate.
Why the first slide decides the shape
When you select several images, Instagram asks you to frame the first one, and the frame you choose becomes the frame for every slide. If slide one is 4:5 and slide four is square, slide four is cropped or padded into 4:5. If slide one is square and the rest are portrait, every portrait slide loses its top and bottom.
Mixed shapes
- First slide square, rest portrait
- Tops and bottoms of later slides trimmed
- Headlines placed high get cut
- Page numbers at the foot disappear
- Swiping feels jumpy
One shape
- Every slide made at 1080×1350
- Nothing cropped, nothing padded
- Type sits exactly where you set it
- Footers and page numbers survive
- Swiping feels like turning pages
How the first slide looks in your profile grid
Only the first slide appears in your profile grid, and the grid shows it as a 3:4 tile cut from the centre. A 1080×1350 slide loses about 34 pixels from each side there, which is barely anything. A square first slide loses far more. Keep the headline and logo of slide one in its middle and it reads in the feed and the grid alike; Instagram grid crop has the exact numbers.
Slide one at full size in the feed: a clear promise, centred, with a nudge to swipe.
Slide two in the same frame, same background, same type. It reads as the next page.
Panorama carousels: one image across slides
A panorama carousel looks like one long image that slides along as you swipe. It is made by designing a single wide canvas and cutting it into equal slides. The width is simply 1080 pixels multiplied by the number of slides, at the same 1350 height.
Cut every
Cut every
Cut every
Cut every
The tricky part is the seams between slides: elements that cross them look great, but text that lands on one gets split in two. The full method, including a one line command to cut the slides, is in seamless Instagram carousels.
Carousel sizes on other platforms
The same 1080×1350 slides work on Threads and as a Facebook portrait post with several images, so one set travels well. LinkedIn is different: its swipeable carousels are usually PDF documents, where each page becomes a slide. Export the same pages as a PDF and they keep their shape, though many people use square 1080×1080 pages there so the set fits LinkedIn's feed and its square post size.
Whatever the platform, the principle holds: one shape for every slide, decided before you design the first one.
Exporting carousel slides
- 1
Make every page 1080×1350
Set the size once for the whole carousel, so no page can drift to another shape.
- 2
Name files in order
Export as
01.png,02.pngand so on. Instagram keeps the order you select, and numbered files make that order obvious. - 3
Use PNG for text slides
Instagram recompresses uploads. Gradients and type survive better from a PNG; photographs are fine as high quality JPEG.
- 4
Keep videos the same shape
A video slide in a 4:5 carousel should be 1080×1350 too, or it will be cropped like any other slide.
- 5
Check the last slide
End with a clear next step: save, share, visit, book. Then preview the whole carousel before posting.
In Gradiently a carousel is one design with several pages, all at the same size, so every slide shares the shape, the type and the Mark behind it. When a set needs to go to LinkedIn or Facebook as well, Pro resizes the whole design in one step and each page is laid out again for the new shape. For what to put on the slides, read Instagram carousel design and our ideas for a tips carousel.
Questions people ask
What size should Instagram carousel slides be?
1080×1350 pixels, a 4:5 portrait frame, for every slide. Square 1080×1080 also works if every slide is square.
Can Instagram carousel slides be different sizes?
No. Instagram applies the first slide's shape to the whole carousel and crops or pads any slide that differs.
How many slides can an Instagram carousel have?
Up to 20 photos and videos in a single post.
What size is a panorama carousel?
1080 pixels wide per slide by 1350 tall. A three slide panorama is 3240×1350, cut into three 1080×1350 images.
Why is my carousel cropped on my profile?
The profile grid shows the first slide as a 3:4 tile from its centre. Keep the main words of slide one in the middle of the frame.
Written by Gradiently
The team behind Gradiently, a design tool built around Marks: living gradients that make everything you design look like yours.
See our profile