The short version
- The Snapchat story size is 1080×1920 pixels, a 9:16 vertical frame that fills the phone screen.
- Snapchat shows your name and story progress at the top and reply and action controls at the bottom, so text belongs in the middle of the frame.
- A working rule is to keep roughly the top 250 and bottom 300 pixels free of words and logos.
- Designed stories can be posted from the phone's camera roll through Memories, then finished with Snapchat's own text and stickers.
- The same 1080×1920 frame is used for Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp stories, so one vertical design serves all of them.
On this page
The Snapchat story size is 1080×1920 pixels, a 9:16 frame that fills the phone screen edge to edge. Snapchat lays its interface over the top and bottom: your name, avatar and the story progress above, reply and share controls below. Design the background to run full bleed, and keep your words and logo in the middle, roughly between 250 and 1620 pixels from the top, so nothing important sits under the interface.
Snapchat story dimensions
Value
Value
Value
Value
Value
Snapchat story 9:16
1080 × 1920
Portrait post 4:5
1080 × 1350
Square post 1:1
1080 × 1080
Phones are not all 9:16, and on taller or wider screens Snapchat may trim a little from the edges to fill the display. That is another reason to keep text away from the left and right sides as well as the top and bottom. A margin of about 60 pixels on each side is a sensible minimum.
Snapchat safe zones
What covers it
Use it for
What covers it
Use it for
What covers it
Use it for
The pattern is the same across every vertical platform, which social media safe zones lays out side by side. When in doubt, give the bottom band a little more room than the top: that is where stickers, links and replies gather.
How to post a designed story on Snapchat
- 1
Export at 1080×1920
PNG for graphics and text, JPEG for photos, MP4 for anything that moves.
- 2
Save it to your phone
Send the file to your phone's photo library, or export straight on your phone.
- 3
Open Memories and choose Camera Roll
Swipe up from the camera screen, pick the Camera Roll tab and select your design.
- 4
Add Snapchat's own touches
A sticker, a link, a mention or a poll. Leave space in your design for them in the lower middle.
- 5
Send it to your story
Choose My Story, or your Public Profile if you post as a business or creator.
Snapchat story design tips
Snapchat is where people talk to their friends, so polished graphics can feel out of place if they look like an advert. The stories that work feel made for the app: one bold statement, big type, a strong colour, and Snapchat's own stickers and text layered on top. Think of your design as the base, not the whole story. A heavy sans serif at a large size, a single accent colour and plenty of empty background suit the app far better than a busy flyer squeezed into the frame.
One word, very large. A DJ night reads in a single tap.
A product drop with an empty lower middle for a link sticker.
Avoid
- A feed post dropped into a story
- Paragraphs of text
- Small type near the edges
- Words where the reply field sits
- A different look on every story
Do
- A full 1080×1920 design
- One idea, three to eight words
- Big type in the middle band
- Space left for a sticker or link
- One background family across stories
Stories are tapped through quickly, so each frame gets a moment. Split anything longer into a sequence: a hook, a detail, an action. A story series with the same background on every frame reads as one piece and makes the next tap feel natural. Ideas for sequences are in Instagram Story ideas, and they translate to Snapchat almost directly.
If you post as a business, a few story types earn their place again and again:
- Today's offer or special, with the time it ends.
- Open now or changed hours, in one large line.
- New in: the product, its name and where to find it.
- Event night: the date, the time, the place.
- A question with space for a poll sticker, to start a conversation.
Motion and one design for every story platform
A still image on Snapchat sits beside video from everyone else. A slowly moving background under still words holds attention without needing a shoot. Keep the motion soft and the words fixed, and make sure the loop joins cleanly. Animated Instagram story explains the method, which works the same way here.
Because Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp share the 1080×1920 frame, one story design can go everywhere. With Gradiently, your Mark renders live behind the words and keeps them readable on its own, choosing light or dark type per line; on Pro you can export the same design as MP4 so the background moves. For the other vertical formats, see Instagram Story size and WhatsApp status size.
Questions people ask
What size is a Snapchat story?
1080×1920 pixels, a 9:16 vertical frame.
Where should text go on a Snapchat story?
In the middle of the frame. Keep roughly the top 250 and bottom 300 pixels free, because Snapchat's name, progress bar and controls sit there.
Can I upload a designed image to my Snapchat story?
Yes. Save it to your phone, open Memories, choose Camera Roll, select the image and send it to your story.
Is Snapchat Spotlight the same size as a story?
Yes, Spotlight also uses a vertical 1080×1920 frame.
Can I reuse an Instagram story on Snapchat?
Yes. Both use 1080×1920, so the same design works, as long as words stay in the middle band.
Written by Gradiently
The team behind Gradiently, a design tool built around Marks: living gradients that make everything you design look like yours.
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