In 2026, three ratios carry nearly all of ad creative work: 9:16 (1080x1920) for Stories and Reels, 4:5 (1080x1350) for feed placements, and 1:1 (1080x1080) as the universal fallback. Size lists get updated alongside the platforms every year, but the production logic does not change: shoot one vertical master, adapt it to three ratios, protect the safe zone. This guide puts the current specs and that flow in one place.
What sizes apply on Meta (Instagram and Facebook)?
Meta placements sit on three ratio families. Per platform documentation, images are accepted as JPG or PNG up to 30 MB, and videos as MP4 or MOV up to 4 GB.
- Stories and Reels: 9:16 at 1080x1920. Reels record up to 90 seconds; longer uploads are supported.
- Instagram feed: 4:5 at 1080x1350 performs best; 1:1 is also accepted.
- Facebook feed: 1:1 (1080x1080) or 4:5 (1080x1350).
- Carousel: 1:1 or 4:5; keep the same ratio across all cards, mixed ratios break the layout.
What does the Google side require?
Google's visual campaign type, Demand Gen, asks for three image shapes: landscape 1200x628, square 1200x1200 and portrait 960x1200, with a 5 MB cap per image; JPG and PNG are recommended. On video, MP4 with at least 720p resolution is advised; placements span the YouTube feed, Shorts, Gmail and Discover. For the campaign side, see our Demand Gen guide.
Why does the safe zone matter more than the size?
Even a perfectly sized creative breaks if text sits in the wrong place: in the Story and Reels interface, buttons overlay the bottom and profile info overlays the top. The rule is simple: leave roughly 15% margin off the edges and keep critical text in the center region. Place logos and prices in the middle third, not the corners.
How do you go from one shoot to every format?
Efficient teams run a one-way flow: start from the richest format, vertical, and derive the rest. Going the other way, stretching landscape into vertical, always costs quality.
- Shoot the master vertical: 1080x1920 in one take, with the critical action kept in the center region.
- Adapt to three ratios: 9:16 directly, 4:5 and 1:1 derived by center cropping.
- Verify the safe zone: check in every ratio that text and logo stay inside the margin.
- Compress and preview: reduce file size and review every placement preview before launch.
Which format does your creative actually win in?
Ads Sensor analyzes your campaigns with AI and shows format and creative driven performance gaps with reasoning attached.
What quality rules apply beyond size?
Rejection and weak delivery usually come from quality rules, not dimensions. Low-resolution assets look blurry in placements and get served less. Text-heavy images also underperform; move the message into the ad copy and keep only a short headline on the visual. Imitating interface elements such as fake play buttons inside the image is a direct rejection cause. For the content side of creative, see our short-form video guide, and for producing assets with AI, image generation for ads.
What do you do when specs change?
Platforms update dimensions and limits regularly; the values here reflect current documentation at publish time. The way to stay unaffected is not memorizing pixel values but producing by ratio family and safe zone. To catch creative wear-out early, use the checks in our ad fatigue guide.
The right format makes good creative visible; the data tells you which creative actually sells. To see format and campaign level performance in one dashboard, join the Ads Sensor beta.