Meta
Facebook & Instagram Stories Ad Specs 2026
Design at 9:16 (1080 x 1920). Below is the full spec, the practical rules for getting it right, and a free validator to check your own files.
Specs last verified July 2026
| Platform | Meta |
|---|---|
| Recommended aspect ratio | 9:16 |
| Accepted ratios | 9:16, 4:5, 1:1 |
| Recommended resolution | 1080 x 1920 |
| Minimum resolution | 600 x 1067 |
| File types | JPG, PNG, MP4, MOV |
| Max file size | 30 MB image · 4 GB video |
| Video length | 1 sec - 120 sec |
| Formats | Image, Video, Carousel |
| Primary text | 125 recommended |
| Headline | Optional - often hidden by the UI |
Keep text and logos inside the center safe zone: Meta's Ads Guide asks you to leave about 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% on each side free. Reels uses the same safe zone, so one 9:16 master covers both.
How to get Facebook & Instagram Stories right
Design it right
Stories are full-screen vertical, so 9:16 at 1080 x 1920 is the only ratio that fills the frame edge to edge. Anything else gets background padding: a 4:5 or 1:1 file runs, but it sits in a letterboxed box with blurred bars above and below, which reads as recycled Feed creative rather than a native Story. Meta's Ads Guide gives Stories and Reels the same safe zone, so a single vertical master covers Facebook and Instagram Stories and Reels.
The common mistake
The mistake that quietly hurts Stories is ignoring the safe zone. Meta asks you to leave about 14% of the top (the profile row), 35% of the bottom (the reply bar and call-to-action) and 6% on each side free, because any text, logo or key subject placed there gets covered by the UI. Keep everything important in the center band. Stories accept both image and video, so a well-composed 9:16 still image is a legitimate Stories ad. Keep video under 120 seconds and design for sound-off with captions.
Check your creative against Facebook & Instagram Stories
Drop your files into the free creative validator - it reads each file's dimensions in your browser, tells you which placements it covers, and flags the aspect ratio your set is missing. For a single file, the aspect ratio checker gives a per-placement verdict.
Facebook & Instagram Stories FAQ
What is the best aspect ratio for Stories ads?
What is the Stories safe zone?
Can I use a static image for a Stories ad?
How long can a Stories ad video be?
Will a Feed creative work in Stories?
Other placement specs
One concept, every ratio, one ad
Once each concept has its 4:5 and 9:16 cuts, uplads reads the placement in every filename and merges them into a single multi-placement ad - the right cut in each surface - across a whole bulk launch.