Ask how long a Reel can be and you will find answers ranging from 60 seconds to 20 minutes. Most of them were right at some point. As of October 2026 there are three numbers worth knowing: what the app accepts, what Instagram still recommends to people who don't follow you, and what goes through the API that scheduling tools publish with.
The short version
- The app accepts Reels up to 20 minutes long.
- Reels over 3 minutes are not recommended to new audiences.
- Aspect ratio between 1.91:1 and 9:16, at least 720 pixels and 30 frames per second.
What is the maximum length of an Instagram Reel?
Instagram's help article on recording a reel says you can record and edit videos up to 20 minutes, either as one clip or several clips that add up. A progress bar at the top shows how much you have recorded.
The line right below it matters more for growth: Reels over 3 minutes won't be recommended to new audiences. A five-minute Reel is shown mostly to people who already follow you. If you rely on recommendations to reach new viewers, stay under three minutes.
| Length | What Instagram does with it |
|---|---|
| Up to 3 minutes | Can be recommended to people who don't follow you |
| Over 3 and up to 20 minutes | Allowed, but not recommended to new audiences |
| Over 20 minutes | Not possible in the app |
The 15, 60 and 90 second limits you still see quoted are history. In January 2025 Instagram head Adam Mosseri raised the cap from 90 seconds to 3 minutes, as Social Media Today reported, and the help center now lists 20 minutes for the app.
One file, every platform covered
Upload the video once. BestPost tells you before scheduling if it is too long for one of your platforms.
- Sends the same video to Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and X
- Its own text per platform, the same video file
- Pulls the thumbnail straight from the video
What aspect ratio and resolution should a Reel have?
Instagram's page on Reel size and aspect ratios lists these requirements:
| Property | Instagram's requirement |
|---|---|
| Aspect ratio | Between 1.91:1 (landscape) and 9:16 (vertical) |
| Frame rate | At least 30 frames per second |
| Resolution | At least 720 pixels |
| Cover photo | 420 × 654 pixels recommended, a 1:1.55 ratio |
Landscape video is technically allowed, but Reels are built for vertical viewing. A 9:16 video fills a phone screen, while a landscape one sits small in the middle. Exporting at 1080 × 1920 pixels meets every requirement with room to spare.
Two details from the same page catch people out. You currently can't change the cover photo after uploading, so pick it before you post. And there is a setting for upload quality: go to your profile, tap Menu, then Media quality below Your app and media, and turn on Upload at highest quality. Uploads take a little longer with it on.
How long can Reels be when you use a scheduler?
Schedulers publish through Meta's official API. According to Meta's developer documentation, it accepts Reels from 3 seconds to 15 minutes. A Reel between 15 and 20 minutes has to go up through the app.
BestPost checks the length before a video is scheduled. If it is too long for Instagram, the publishing dialog says so and lets you deselect Instagram for that video, while your other platforms still get it.
Other platforms set their own limits. YouTube, for example, only treats vertical or square videos up to three minutes as Shorts, which is covered in video not classified as a YouTube Short. For preparing one export that works everywhere, see preparing one video file for multiple destinations.
What is the right length for your Reel?
Instagram publishes a recommendation limit, not an ideal length, and any exact number you read elsewhere is a guess about someone else's audience. A better test is to ask three things about your own video:
- Does the point land in the first seconds, or is there a greeting first?
- Are there pauses, filler words or repeated sentences you could cut?
- Does every minute add something new?
Then run a simple comparison. Post the same idea once as a tight cut and once as a longer version, and compare how long people watch each one in the Reel insights. For the cutting itself, see trimming the start and end in the browser and removing silence and filler words.
Tighter edits without an editing app
Cut the intro, drop the pauses, add text on screen. All of it happens in your browser.
- Trims in the browser and cuts silence and filler words
- Creates subtitles, you fix every word, BestPost burns them in
- Every text stays editable until you post
Do scheduled Reels have different limits?
No. The same length and format rules apply whether you post now or later. Scheduling inside the Instagram app gives you up to 30 days ahead without a subscription. The full walkthrough is in how to schedule Instagram Reels.