Instagram Story & Reel Dimensions Guide (2026)
Stories and Reels are both full-screen vertical formats, but getting the aspect ratio and framing wrong is one of the most common reasons a mockup video looks off on mobile.
Try Mockly FreeThe aspect ratio that matters
Both Stories and Reels use a 9:16 vertical canvas. Selecting 9:16 in Mockly before you start framing avoids letterboxing or awkward cropping once you upload to Instagram.
Framing for vertical video
An iPhone frame naturally suits the 9:16 canvas since the device itself is portrait by default. For non-mobile screenshots, the no-device option often looks cleaner in a vertical format than trying to force a landscape frame into a portrait canvas.
Keep the motion fast
Vertical, full-screen placements get scrolled past quickly, so a brisk linear scroll with minimal start delay tends to perform better than a slow, deliberate pace.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, both use 9:16 vertical video, so a single Mockly export at that ratio works for either placement.
1080p is more than sufficient for how Stories and Reels render on mobile screens.
Yes, TikTok also uses a 9:16 vertical format, so the same export generally works across all three platforms.