Short answer: Instagram Reels can be up to 3 minutes in the app, as Instagram's head announced in January 2025. Meta's developer documentation allows Reels up to 15 minutes and 300 MB, in MP4 or MOV, recommends 9:16, and caps captions at 2,200 characters. Instagram is also moving to five hashtags per reel. Export vertical 9:16 at 1080 pixels wide as your default.
The specs
Instagram's help center pages load without their article text for automated readers, so these come from Meta's developer documentation and coverage of Instagram's own announcements.
| Spec | Figure | Source (as of September 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Length, Reels in the app | Up to 3 minutes (from 90 seconds) | Social Media Today, Jan 2025, quoting Adam Mosseri |
| Length, via API | 3 seconds to 15 minutes | Meta for Developers |
| File size | 300 MB max | Same |
| Container | MP4 or MOV, moov atom at the front, no edit lists | Same |
| Video codec | H.264 or HEVC | Same |
| Audio | AAC, 48 kHz max | Same |
| Frame rate | 23–60 fps | Same |
| Width | 1,920 pixels max | Same |
| Aspect ratio | 0.01:1 to 10:1 accepted; 9:16 recommended to avoid cropping | Same |
| Bitrate | Up to 25 Mbps (VBR) | Same |
| Caption | 2,200 characters | Same |
| Hashtags | Moving to 5 per reel or post | Social Media Today, Dec 2025 |
Some coverage reports longer in-app recording limits rolling out to some accounts. Limits vary by account and change often, so check the length selector in your own Reels camera.
Instagram also has a help page on Reels resolution, aspect ratios and cover sizes that is worth opening in the app or a browser.
Export settings that work
These are sensible defaults, not Instagram requirements:
- 1080×1920, 9:16, H.264, 30 fps.
- Keep it under 300 MB. Most 1080p clips of a minute or two are far below that.
- Safe zones. Keep text away from the bottom fifth and right edge, where the caption and buttons sit.
- Clean source. No other app's watermark; see cross-posting without watermarks.
Length: what to aim for
A longer limit is not a target. When he announced three-minute Reels, Instagram's head wrote that Instagram is "still focused on short form video over long form" (Adam Mosseri on Threads, as of September 2026). Make the video as long as the idea needs, then trim. For a comparison with TikTok and Shorts, see TikTok vs Reels vs Shorts and TikTok video specs.
Captions and hashtags
- Put the point in the first line; the rest is behind "more".
- Five relevant hashtags at most.
- Use only content you own or have permission to use; Instagram recommends originals over reposts (TechCrunch, April 2024).
Posting Reels from iPhones
Farmero posts Reels to your own Instagram accounts through the Instagram app on your iPhones. The clip arrives over USB, Farmero confirms the account on screen, posts, applies and reads back the settings you chose, and checks the profile for the new Reel before marking it posted. It does not trim, resize or re-encode clips, so export them to spec first. See Posting. Automating these apps may breach their terms, and nobody can promise an account will never be restricted.
FAQ
How long can an Instagram Reel be?
Up to three minutes in the app for most accounts, per Instagram's January 2025 announcement. Meta's API accepts Reels up to 15 minutes.
What is the best aspect ratio for Reels?
9:16. Meta's developer documentation recommends it to avoid cropping.
What is the maximum file size for a Reel?
300 MB, per Meta's developer documentation as of September 2026.
How many hashtags can a Reel have?
Instagram is moving to five hashtags per reel or post, per its December 2025 statement.