Design4 min read
Instagram Carousel Size, and Cutting a Seamless One
Instagram carousel size is 1080x1350 per slide, and every slide must share the first one's ratio. Here is how to split one wide image so the seams disappear.
Instagram carousel size is 1080×1350 per slide for portrait, or 1080×1080 for square — and the rule that catches people out is that every slide takes the ratio of the first one. Mix ratios and Instagram crops or letterboxes the whole set.
The Instagram carousel size rules
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Slides per post | Up to 20 |
| Ratio | Set by the first slide; all others are forced to match |
| Portrait | 1080×1350 (4:5) — the most feed space |
| Square | 1080×1080 |
| Grid preview | Only the first slide appears, cropped square |
The last two rows interact awkwardly: a 4:5 carousel takes the most space in the feed, but its first slide is squared in your profile grid. Compose the first slide so it survives both crops.
FreeMentioned in this article
Social Image ResizerOne image, cropped to every size the networks actually use.Splitting one image across slides
A panorama that reads as one image when you swipe is the most eye-catching thing you can do with the format, and it fails visibly if the maths is off by a few pixels.
The arithmetic: for n slides at 1080 wide, the source needs to be 1080 × n pixels wide at the correct height, cut at exact multiples. Doing that by hand in an editor is where the seams come from — a two-pixel drift is invisible in the editor and obvious in the feed.
FreeMentioned in this article
Carousel SplitterOne wide image, sliced into panels that line up when you swipe.The splitter takes one wide image and produces the panels at exact boundaries, so the seams line up when someone swipes.
Designing for the swipe
A carousel is a sequence, and sequences have rules:
Slide 1 is the whole post. It decides whether anyone swipes at all. Put the promise there — not a title card, and not your logo.
Slide 2 has to justify slide 1. The biggest drop-off in any carousel is between the first and second slides.
The last slide asks for something. A save, a follow, a comment — one thing, and only because the reader got value first.
Design for the phone. Text is read at about 400 pixels wide. If it needs zooming, it does not exist.
Why carousels are worth the effort
Two mechanisms. They hold attention longer than a single image, and time spent is what Instagram distributes on. And they are the format most likely to be saved, because a carousel is usually a reference — a list, a comparison, a set of steps — and saves are weighted heavily.
That combination is why carousels punch above their weight for accounts without large followings. The wider strategy is in Instagram growth, and the engagement effect is visible in the numbers:
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Engagement Rate CalculatorWork out your engagement rate — and whether it is actually any good.Where the format actually earns its keep
A carousel is the only Instagram format that lets a reader control the pace. That sounds minor and is not: a video plays at your speed, a single image is taken in at a glance, but a carousel is read at the reader's own rate, which is why it suits anything that needs a moment of thought per step.
The content types that consistently work in the format:
- A comparison. One option per slide, the verdict last.
- A process. One step per slide, with the finished result first so people know why
they are swiping.
- A mistake and its fix. The mistake on one slide, the fix on the next, repeated.
- A list with substance. Not "5 tips" - five things each worth a slide.
What does not work is a blog post cut into slides. If a slide is a paragraph, the reader is doing work the format was supposed to save them, and they stop after the second one.
Common failures
- A square slide in a portrait set. The whole carousel is cropped. Check every
slide's ratio before uploading.
- Text near the edges. Instagram's own interface and the swipe affordance sit
there.
- A seamless panorama with the subject on a seam. The join is where the eye
travels; put nothing important on it.
- Twenty slides. Nobody swipes twenty times. Five to eight is where attention runs
out.
Meta documents the placement geometry it supports in its Business Help Centre, and the full ratio reference is Instagram image size.
What size should an Instagram carousel be?
1080×1350 for portrait or 1080×1080 for square, and every slide must use the same ratio as the first.
How many slides can an Instagram carousel have?
Up to 20, though attention usually runs out around five to eight.
Why is my carousel cropped?
Because one slide has a different ratio from the first. Instagram forces the whole set to the first slide's shape.
How do I make a seamless Instagram carousel?
Build one wide image at 1080 × the number of slides, then cut it at exact boundaries - a splitter avoids the pixel drift that produces visible seams.
Cut one wide image into exact panels with the carousel splitter.
Put it to work
Tools for the job you just read about
Free to run, most of them without an account.
FreeImages & video
Social Image Resizer
One image, cropped to every size the networks actually use.
Resize →5 runs
FreeImages & video
Carousel Splitter
One wide image, sliced into panels that line up when you swipe.
Split →4 runs
FreeAnalytics & growth
Engagement Rate Calculator
Work out your engagement rate — and whether it is actually any good.
Calculate →
FreeContent
Jargon & Acronym Detector
The words that make sense to you and not to whoever just arrived.
Detect →
FreeContent
Sentence Rhythm Analyzer
Why a draft with nothing wrong with it still reads flat.
Analyze →
FreeContent
Crutch Phrase Finder
The phrases you use every time, which you are the last to notice.
Find →1 runs
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