Instagram Reels ad specs: size, length, safe zone and text limits

Instagram Reels ad size and file specs

Meta keeps its specs in the Ads Guide, one page per placement and format. The Instagram Reels video page (shown for the Awareness objective) lists these requirements:

1. 01

   Aspect ratio: 9:16 vertical.

2. 02

   Recommended resolution: 1440x2560 pixels. 1080x1920 is the same ratio and is the size most editors export by default.

3. 03

   Minimum width: 250 pixels for ads under 30 seconds, 500 pixels for ads of 30 seconds or longer.

4. 04

   File type: MP4 or MOV.

5. 05

   Maximum file size: 4 GB.

6. 06

   Duration: 0 seconds to 15 minutes.

7. 07

   Video encoding: H.264, square pixels, fixed frame rate, progressive scan, and no edit lists or special boxes in the file container.

8. 08

   Audio encoding: stereo AAC at 128 kbps or higher.

9. 09

   Sound and captions: both optional, both recommended.

The Reels safe zone: 14% top, 35% bottom, 6% sides

Meta states the safe zone as percentages, not pixels. The Reels video and image pages both say to consider leaving at least 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% on each side of your asset free from text, logos or other important creative elements. The image page gives the reason: the profile icon, caption and call to action sit over those areas. Meta's Instagram Stories pages use the same 14/35/6 figures, so one layout covers both placements.

Converted to pixels, that is our arithmetic, not Meta's: on a 1080x1920 frame, keep the top 269 px, the bottom 672 px and about 65 px on each side clear. On a 1440x2560 frame, the numbers are 358 px, 896 px and 86 px. What is left is a box in the upper-middle of the frame, a little over half the height of the video.

Third-party guides sometimes quote other figures, such as a 40% bottom margin or numbers measured from ad previews. Meta's own pages say 14/35/6, and its Reels ads page points to downloadable safe zone files (PPT, PSD and Keynote) for checking layouts. Use those files, or the preview in Ads Manager, before you export a final.

For creator-style ads this decides where things go. Put the face and the product at chest height in the middle of the frame. Put on-screen hook text just below the top margin, not at the very top. Never put a price, a discount code or a product label in the bottom third, because the caption and button cover it.

How long should an Instagram Reels ad be?

The spec allows up to 15 minutes, but that is an upload limit, not advice. Meta's Reels ads page gives no recommended length. It does give the creative rules it measured: in Meta's own figures, campaigns using 9:16 video with audio and key messages in the safe zone got 2x higher delivery to the Reels placement and a 34.5% lower cost per result than image ads. Those are Meta's numbers about format, not about duration.

Length is a creative choice. Short cuts of 15 to 30 seconds force you to state the offer early, which is where most of the result is decided. Whatever the length, the first seconds carry the ad. Start from a tested opening in our UGC hooks library, then fit the rest into a UGC script template built for the length you chose.

Measure the opening once the ad runs. Meta reports 3-second video plays, and our hook rate calculator turns those into a hook rate and tells you whether a gap between two openings is real. For what a good number looks like, see the Meta hook rate benchmarks.

Primary text, captions and sound

Meta's Reels pages list one text recommendation: primary text of 44 characters. That is much shorter than the 125 characters Meta suggests for Instagram Feed and Stories, because the Reels caption sits over the video and wraps quickly. Meta lists these under text recommendations, so longer text is not rejected; it is cut off behind a tap. Write one short line that makes sense on its own, and put the detail on screen or in the voiceover.

Sound matters more on Reels than on most placements. Meta's Reels ads page says Reels ads play with sound on by default unless the viewer has turned sound off. Use a voiceover or a person talking to camera, and add burned-in captions anyway for the viewers who watch muted.

Music has a specific rule. The Reels video page says licensed music is not allowed in Reels ads and suggests original audio or royalty-free tracks from Meta's Sound Collection. Advantage+ creative can also add music for you, either picked by AI from a royalty-free library or chosen by you from up to five songs. A trending song you heard in an organic Reel is not cleared for ads.

Where Reels ads show and what you cannot use

Meta's Reels ads page says ads are eligible only after someone taps into the full-screen Reels viewer, which people reach from the Reels tab, Reels in Explore or the Reels unit in Feed. Reels ads do not show on Audio pages. You get the placement by choosing Advantage+ placements, or by ticking Instagram Reels under Stories and Reels in manual placements. Meta recommends selecting six or more placements.

You can upload new Reels creative or pick an existing post. The Reels video page adds some limits for existing content: Reels published before October 15, 2021 cannot be used, and ads cannot include face or camera effects, GIFs or product tags. For branded content made with a creator, Meta's page points to the Partner content option and the creator setting that allows business partners to promote. Our post on partnership ads vs whitelisting covers how that permission works.

Image ads can run in Reels too. The Instagram Reels image page asks for 9:16 at 1440x2560, JPG or PNG, up to 30 MB, with a minimum width of 500 pixels and the same 14/35/6 safe zone. For Feed, Stories, carousel and image specs across Facebook and Instagram, see our Meta ad specs 2026 guide. If you also run on TikTok, the TikTok ad specs differ mainly in safe zone files and caption limits.

A pre-export checklist for Reels ads

Most Reels ads that look wrong in the feed fail on layout, not on file specs. Run this list before every export:

1. 01

   Export 9:16 at 1080x1920 or 1440x2560, H.264 MP4, stereo AAC audio at 128 kbps or more.

2. 02

   Overlay Meta's safe zone file and check that the face, product, logo and any text sit inside the 14/35/6 box.

3. 03

   Read the first second with the sound off. Is the hook visible as text?

4. 04

   Read it again with the sound on. Is there a voice or original audio in the first second, and no licensed music?

5. 05

   Cut the primary text to one line of about 44 characters.

6. 06

   If a creator or an AI actor appears, check the disclosure rules in our AI ad disclosure rules post.

7. 07

   Write the brief for the next round with the UGC brief template, so the next shoot or generation starts from the safe zone and the length you tested.

Making Reels-ready ads with AI actors

FireplaceUGC exports every take as a 9:16 MP4 with sound, with a choice of 500+ AI actors. Product in Hand frames the product at chest height, which keeps it inside the Reels safe zone, and Virtual Try-On suits fashion brands that need outfit shots for Reels. You own the ads you make and upload them to Ads Manager yourself; FireplaceUGC does not run or track ads.