Instagram carousel size: 1080 x 1350 or 1080 x 1080

One shape for every slide

Instagram shows a carousel at a single shape, and size guides note that later slides are cropped to match the first one. A set that mixes a square cover with portrait inner slides therefore loses the top and bottom of every portrait slide. Decide on 4:5 or 1:1 before designing, build every slide on that canvas, and keep the edge margins the same so headings do not jump as people swipe.

Portrait or square

A 4:5 slide at 1080 by 1350 is 25 percent taller than a square and takes more of the phone screen as people scroll, which is why Meta's feed ad guide uses 4:5 at 1440 by 1800. A square slide is the safer choice when the same artwork will also be posted to LinkedIn, Facebook or X, which all show squares cleanly. For text carousels, such as tips or step by step guides, portrait gives more room for a readable type size.

Designing across the swipe

Carousels that read as a sequence use a consistent title position, a slide number or progress mark, and a final slide with the call to action. Some designers run an image across two slides so the swipe reveals it, which only works if both slides share the exact same size with no gap. Keep important text away from the bottom edge, where the dots that show the slide position are drawn, and away from the very top, where the account name sits above the post.

Common mistakes

Mixing shapes in one carousel. Designing the cover with its title near the top or bottom, so the 3:4 grid crop cuts it. Writing paragraphs on a slide, which become unreadable on a phone. Exporting JPEGs at low quality, which smears text. And making the first slide a logo card: the first slide is the one people see in the feed and on the grid, so it should carry the promise of the set.

Making carousel slides at this size

The flyer editor's Instagram Post canvas is 1080 by 1080, so square carousel slides can be made directly: choose Instagram Post under Format in the generator, add each further slide with Add page, From Library, which keeps the active page size (a Blank page is always A4 portrait), and export each one as a PNG or JPG, which exports the active page at 2160 by 2160. The editor has no 4:5 canvas, so it does not make 1080 by 1350 slides; a square design can be refitted to 4:5 with the image resizer or the flyer size resizer, which shows what a fill crop removes. The blank 1080 by 1350 PNG here is a portrait canvas for other editors.

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