Meta Ads Specs 2026: Sizes, Ratios and Limits for Every Placement

Meta's Ads Guide recommends 4:5 at 1440 x 1800 pixels for Facebook Feed ads and Instagram Feed images, 9:16 at 1440 x 2560 pixels for Stories and Reels, and 1:1 of at least 1080 x 1080 pixels for Marketplace, Facebook search results and Facebook Feed carousels. Images can be JPG or PNG up to 30 MB and videos MP4 or MOV up to 4 GB, and most placements take about 125 characters of primary text and a 40-character headline, with much shorter text on Reels.

Below are the full Meta ads specs for every placement in the Ads Guide, placement by placement, plus the safe zones, the text limits and the two placements Meta removed from its API this year.

Meta ad sizes at a glance

Four shapes cover almost every placement. Meta's advice for mobile is to cover as much of the screen as possible, and it recommends 4:5 for Facebook Feed and 9:16 for Stories and Reels.

From Meta's Ads Guide and its help page on supported aspect ratios. 1080 x 1350 and 1080 x 1920 are the same shapes at a lower resolution; they clear every minimum width in the guide.

If you only make two versions of an ad, make a 4:5 and a 9:16. Meta's own advice is to upload assets in specific aspect ratios when you want precise control, for example a 9:16 asset when Stories matters, instead of relying on automatic crops of one file.

What changed in Meta ad placements in 2026

According to the changelog, delivery that would have gone to Instagram Explore shifts to other eligible placements, and requests that still name Explore return an error. For Messenger Stories, Meta says Advantage+ placements need no action. Two things are easy to misread:

• Instagram Explore home is a separate placement. Meta's Ads Guide still has spec pages for it, and the changelog does not mention it.
• Old spec pages stay online. The Ads Guide still lists Messenger Stories, and still has an image page for Facebook video feeds, a placement Meta deprecated earlier, in Marketing API v24.0 (October 8, 2025), naming Facebook Reels as the replacement.

Meta's help pages also say that ads on Facebook, Instagram and Threads now display an "Ad" label instead of "Sponsored", which matters if you build mockups for approval.

Aspect ratios each placement supports

Meta's help centre publishes one table of the shapes each placement accepts for images and videos you upload yourself. "Recommended" is Meta's own label; a dash means the shape is not listed for that placement.

Meta's help page "Aspect ratios supported by placements in Meta Ads Manager". Meta notes that on the desktop version of Facebook Feed a 4:5 video shows at 1:1, which can add black bars at the sides.

Where Meta's pages disagree: Meta's "Best practices for aspect ratios" page recommends 1:1 for single-image ads in Instagram Feed, while the Ads Guide and the table above recommend 4:5 for Instagram Feed images. Both shapes are accepted, so 4:5 is the safer default when one file has to serve Facebook and Instagram feeds.

Image ad specs by placement

Recommended sizes, minimums and text lengths for single-image ads, as Meta's Ads Guide lists them. Text lengths are Meta's recommendations for how much shows, not hard limits.

Meta's Ads Guide and, for Threads, Meta's Threads help page, sizes in pixels and text in characters. Every image placement in the Ads Guide takes JPG or PNG up to 30 MB (the right column page lists no file size). Aspect ratio tolerance is 3% on most Facebook placements, 1% on Instagram placements, Facebook Stories and Messenger Stories, and 0% on Ads on Facebook Reels. On Threads, images taller than 4:5 are cropped and centred to 4:5.

A few rules sit outside the table:

• Image Stories have a set screen time. Meta says an image ad shows for eight seconds in Facebook Stories, five seconds in Messenger Stories, and between 5 and 16 seconds in Instagram Stories, or until the viewer swipes.
• Some placements should skip text on the image. Meta recommends no text on images for in-stream video, the right column, Facebook Reels and Ads on Facebook Reels.
• WhatsApp Status has no Ads Guide page. Meta's other help pages recommend 9:16 there, with a recommended minimum image of 500 x 320 pixels and video of up to 60 minutes.

Video ad specs by placement

Every video placement in Meta's Ads Guide takes MP4 or MOV up to 4 GB, and most also take GIF. Lengths vary far more than sizes do.

Meta's Ads Guide and, for Threads, Meta's Threads help page. Where the guide shows a description field for video (search results and Audience Network 30 characters, Business Explore 27), it follows the image limits above. Meta's separate video length page lists Facebook Stories at 1 to 120 seconds, shorter than the Ads Guide's 3 minutes, so stay under 2 minutes to be safe. On Threads, video taller than 4:5 is cropped and centred to 4:5, and captions are not supported.

How long an ad plays before it is cut or split matters more than the maximum:

• Facebook Stories plays ads of 15 seconds or less in full. Longer ads are split into cards, and Facebook shows one to three before offering Play Full.
• Instagram Stories plays ads under 16 seconds in full. Ads of 16 seconds or longer may be split into cards, one to three shown automatically.
• In-stream video plays ads of 15 seconds or less in full and may make them skippable after 5 seconds. Longer ads stop at 15 seconds, and viewers can resume from a card under the video.
• Instagram Reels ads should not contain licensed music, face or camera effects, GIFs, product tags, or reels published before 15 October 2021.
• Facebook Feed video on mobile hides the headline, description and button when the objective is awareness or the performance goal is reach, impressions, 2-second video views or post engagement.

Carousel ad specs

A carousel holds 2 to 10 cards, each with its own link. The shape depends on the placement, and some placements take images only.

Meta's Ads Guide and its Threads help page. Image cards up to 30 MB, video cards up to 4 GB. Aspect ratio tolerance is 3% on Facebook Feed, Marketplace, search and the right column, and 1% on Instagram placements and Facebook Reels.

• 4:5 carousels have a catch. The Ads Guide lists 4:5 for image-only carousels in Instagram Feed, but Meta's aspect ratio best practices page says 4:5 carousels are only available for Advantage+ catalogue ads built from catalogue images. If Ads Manager does not offer 4:5 cards for your ad, use 1:1.
• Keep every card the same shape. Meta recommends consistent ratios across cards to avoid automatic adjustments, and square cards for any video in a carousel.
• Reels carousels look different. In Facebook Reels the cards show as product tiles under the ad; to link each tile, Meta says to use a catalogue as the creative source.

Collection ad specs

A collection ad shows a cover image or video with products underneath, and needs an Instant Experience: the cover is the first media asset in it. Threads does not deliver collection ads.

Meta's Ads Guide. Images up to 30 MB, video up to 4 GB. The guide also keeps a collection page for Instagram Explore (9:16 recommended, at least 1080 x 1080, 125 / 40); check the placement changes above before you rely on it.

Safe zones for Stories and Reels

On 9:16 ads in Stories, Reels, feeds and Facebook in-stream reels, interface elements such as the profile icon and the call-to-action button can cover the edges of your creative. Meta's guidance for Reels and most Stories is to keep text, logos and key visuals out of the top 14%, the bottom 35% and 6% on each side. Its diagram also blocks a notch in the lower right corner: 40% up from the bottom and 21% in from the right edge.

Our pixel conversions of Meta's percentages, rounded to the nearest pixel.

• Disclaimers need more room. If a Reels ad carries a disclaimer, Meta says to keep the bottom 40% free.
• Some pages still use older numbers. The Facebook Stories video and Facebook Stories carousel pages say about 14% (250 px) at the top and 20% (340 px) at the bottom, and the Messenger Stories video page 14% (250 px) at the top and bottom. Designing to 14%, 35% and 6% clears all of them.
• Instagram Feed in 1:1 or 4:5 needs the bottom and side edges kept clear. 9:16 video in Instagram Feed follows the Reels and Stories safe zone.
• Tall phones can zoom your ad. On screens taller than 9:16, Meta may zoom the creative, which crops anything outside the safe zone, or show it at 9:16 on a black background. Ads Manager has a Safe Zone guardrail toggle that draws the zone on your preview.

Text limits by placement

Meta's text numbers are recommendations for how much shows before the text is cut, so write the hook first:

• Primary text: 125 characters in most placements, 50 to 150 in Facebook Feed, 80 in Facebook Feed carousels, 40 in Facebook Reels, 44 in Instagram Reels, 60 in Ads on Facebook Reels and 80 to 160 on Threads.
• Headline: 40 characters in most placements, 27 in Facebook Feed and Business Explore, 55 in Facebook Reels, 25 on Marketplace video, 20 on Facebook Feed carousels and 10 on Ads on Facebook Reels images.
• Description: 30 characters where it shows (Marketplace, search results, in-stream video and Audience Network), 27 in Business Explore, and 18 or 20 on carousels.
• Hashtags and links: up to 30 hashtags on Instagram and Threads. Threads does not support URLs in primary text.

File types and technical requirements

• Images: JPG or PNG, up to 30 MB. Meta says to use the highest-resolution image you have.
• Video: MP4 or MOV (GIF in most placements; not in Instagram Reels or Ads on Facebook Reels), up to 4 GB.
• Video settings: H.264 compression, square pixels, a fixed frame rate, progressive scan and stereo AAC audio at 128 kbps or more. Files should not contain edit lists or special boxes in the container.
• Captions and sound: optional but recommended almost everywhere, and sound is "strongly recommended" for Reels and in-stream video. Audience Network does not support captions.
• Minimum image sizes: Meta's help centre lists recommended minimums of 1080 x 1080 pixels for Facebook Feed at 1:1 (1440 x 1800 at 4:5), for Stories and Reels on Facebook and Instagram, and for Instagram Feed; 1200 x 1200 for Marketplace, the right column and the Messenger inbox; 500 x 320 for WhatsApp Status; and 398 x 208 for Audience Network.

How Meta fills missing sizes

When you create an ad, Ads Manager adjusts your media to fit more placements. Its aspect ratios view shows every variation, square, vertical, portrait and horizontal, in one place, and if you do not supply all four, Meta fills the gaps with padding, media expansion, cropping and other AI features.

Two rules from Meta's help page are worth remembering. Review the automatic crops before you publish, because text near an edge is what gets cut. And cropping does not limit delivery: if an asset should only run in certain placements, you also need to opt out of the others.

A checklist before you upload

• Make 4:5 and 9:16 masters at 1440 pixels wide. Add a 1:1 version if you run carousels, Marketplace or search.
• Design inside the safe zone. Keep text and logos out of the top 14%, bottom 35% and 6% sides on anything vertical.
• Keep video short where it is cut. 15 seconds or less for Stories and in-stream, 4 to 15 seconds for ads after a reel loops.
• Write the hook in the first 40 characters. Meta says primary text longer than that may be cut on Facebook Reels.
• Check every automatic crop in the aspect ratios view before you publish.
• Refresh creative on a schedule. The same ad in every placement wears out faster; our guide to fixing Meta ad fatigue covers how often to rotate, and static vs ASMR vs hyper-motion ads compares formats to test.

For what to put inside these frames, see our guide to ad creative that sells, and for the settings side of running Meta campaigns, Facebook ads automation.

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How we checked

We opened every placement in the image, video, carousel and collection sections of Meta's Ads Guide, in the default view Meta shows under the Awareness objective. We also read Meta's Business Help Centre pages on supported aspect ratios, aspect ratio best practices, minimum image sizes, video lengths, safe zones and Threads ads, and Meta's Graph API v26.0 changelog and v24.0 changelog for placement removals.

We copied the numbers as Meta lists them and saved screenshots. Specs can differ slightly by objective, so check the guide for yours. Where two Meta pages disagree, we show both. Three Ads Guide pages repeat another placement's text word for word (the right column video page, the Audience Network rewarded video image page and the Messenger Stories carousel page), so we left those rows out rather than guess. We did not count a placement as removed unless Meta's own documentation says so.

Frequently asked questions