The short version of Meta ads creative size in 2026: make 4:5 (1080 × 1350) for feeds and 9:16 (1080 × 1920) for stories and reels. Add 1:1 for carousels and Marketplace, and 16:9 only if you run in-stream video.
Keep text and logos out of the top 14% and bottom 35% of vertical video. That is where Instagram and Facebook draw their buttons and captions.
Those two files cover almost every placement. The rest of this page has the full table and the creative rules we follow.
Meta ads creative size 2026: Facebook and Instagram ad sizes
Meta publishes its specs in the Meta Ads Guide. Its pages block automated reading, so the figures below come from two detailed 2026 summaries that cite the guide directly (Superscale, May 2026; Hawky, July 2026). Where they agree, we list the figure. Check Ads Manager's preview before you publish; Meta changes details without notice, and some limits differ by placement, objective and account. Treat the table as a working example, not a contract.
| Placement | Ratio | Recommended size | Max video length | Max file size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Facebook feed | 4:5 (1:1 supported) | 1080 × 1350 | about 240 min | 30 MB image, 4 GB video |
| Instagram feed | 4:5 (1:1 supported) | 1080 × 1350 | 60 min | 30 MB image, 4 GB video |
| Stories (Facebook and Instagram) | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 | 120 sec (Superscale) | 30 MB image, 4 GB video |
| Reels (Facebook and Instagram) | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 | 90 sec | 4 GB |
| Carousel, per card | 1:1 (4:5 supported, all cards match) | 1080 × 1080 | long; keep cards short | 30 MB image, 4 GB video |
| Marketplace | 1:1 | 1080 × 1080 | about 240 min | 30 MB image, 4 GB video |
| In-stream video | 16:9 (1:1 supported) | 1920 × 1080 | 5 sec to 10 min | 4 GB |
| Right column (desktop) | 1:1 | 1080 × 1080 | n/a | 30 MB |
File types
- Images: JPG or PNG.
- Video: MP4 or MOV, H.264 video, AAC audio. Superscale notes that HEIC, MKV and AVI fail upload.
- Higher resolution works too. Hawky lists 1440 × 1800 as a sharper 4:5 option.
Text limits
| Field | Shows before truncation |
|---|---|
| Primary text | about 125 characters |
| Headline | about 27–40 characters |
| Description | about 30 characters, not always shown |
Write the important part first. On a phone, everything after the first line hides behind "See more".
Video ad size for Meta: what to actually export
You don't need eight files. For most small campaigns, three exports cover everything:
- 9:16 vertical, 1080 × 1920. Reels and stories on both apps. Since March 2026, Meta uses one shared safe zone for stories and reels, so one vertical file serves both (Billo, 2026).
- 4:5 portrait, 1080 × 1350. Facebook and Instagram feeds. It takes more screen than square.
- 1:1 square, 1080 × 1080. Carousels, Marketplace and the right column.
Add 16:9, 1920 × 1080 only if you run in-stream on Facebook or reuse the cut on YouTube.
Length is separate from the limit. The limits are generous; attention is not. Hawky suggests 15–30 seconds as a sweet spot, and our own reels sit under 30 seconds with the offer early.
Safe zones
Meta overlays its own interface: profile name at the top, caption and buttons at the bottom. Anything placed there gets covered.
| Placement | Keep clear (top) | Keep clear (bottom) | Sides |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stories and reels, 9:16 | 14% (about 270 px) | 35% (about 670 px) | 6% each side |
| Feed, 4:5 | 14% (about 190 px) | 20% (about 270 px) | not specified |
Pixel figures are our rounding for 1080 px-wide files. The percentages come from Superscale and Hawky; Billo notes the reels bottom margin varies with caption length, so it advises treating 35% as the limit.
Ads Manager shows the overlay in its placement preview. Use it every time.
Meta ads creative best practices
Specs get your ad accepted. These rules get it watched. They are what we wrote down for Pisipuu, a campaign we made in the lab for a kids' furniture brand, in four cuts: YouTube 16:9, feed 4:5, story 9:16 and reel.
1. Win the first five seconds
The first frame decides whether someone stops. Open on movement, the product or a face-free close-up of the thing in use. No logo intro, no slow fade.
2. Readable as a thumbnail
Feeds are small and fast. Before you export, shrink the frame to the size of a stamp. If you can't tell what it is, nor can anyone scrolling.
3. Offer by second three
Price, discount or reason to act should appear on screen by second three. If the viewer leaves at second four, they still got the message.
4. Make each placement, don't crop it
A feed ad squashed into 9:16 leaves dead bands or loses its product to the caption bar. Plan the frame for vertical from the start. Pisipuu's story cut was composed for 9:16, not trimmed from the YouTube version. Per-placement cuts are standard in our Creative & campaigns work.
5. Design for sound off, reward sound on
Put key words on screen as large captions inside the safe zone. Use sound to add, not to carry the message.
6. Vary the idea, not the colour
Meta's current delivery system rewards genuinely different creative. Different hooks and angles beat ten recolours of one ad. Our post on ad creative fatigue explains how many versions to run, and ad creative examples by placement shows the patterns.
Static images: rules that still matter
Video gets the attention, but static images are fast to make and easy to test. They also fill carousels, Marketplace and the right column.
- One focal point. A single product or a single detail, large in frame. Busy flat-lays vanish at thumbnail size.
- Contrast with the feed. Feeds are mostly white or dark grey. A coloured background, or a strong light-and-shadow photo, separates your ad from the interface.
- Little text. A short line in the image is fine. The full pitch belongs in the primary text and headline.
- Real proportions. Export at 1080 × 1350 for feed, not a square stretched to fit. Ads Manager will crop what doesn't match.
- Consistent carousels. Every card must share the same ratio. Plan the first card as the hook and the last as the offer.
If you sell physical products, a clean 3D render or studio photo can beat a lifestyle shot in feed, because it reads instantly. Test both.
A pre-upload checklist
- 9:16, 4:5 and 1:1 files exported at 1080 px wide or more
- Nothing important in the top 14% or bottom 35% of vertical files
- Product visible in the first second
- Offer on screen by second three
- Captions burned in, large enough to read at thumbnail size
- Primary text's key point in the first 125 characters
- Landing page matches the ad's offer
- Previewed every placement in Ads Manager
If your ads pass all eight and still underperform, look at why Facebook ads stop working. And for what each placement costs, see Facebook and Instagram ad costs in 2026.
