Meta ad image and video specs

This guide collects the image and video figures from Meta's Ads Guide, which Meta describes as the place for dimensions, file sizes, character limits and more, plus the Business Help pages on aspect ratios, video length and the safe zone linked below. It covers single image and single video ads across placements. Stories, Reels, carousel and collection ads have their own guides: Instagram Stories ads, Instagram Reels ads, carousel ads and collection ads. Meta updates these numbers often, so check the Ads Guide page for your placement before a large production run.

Aspect ratios by placement

Meta works with five main shapes: 1.91:1 and 16:9 (horizontal), 1:1 (square), and 4:5 and 9:16 (vertical). Its aspect ratio best practices recommend:

• Feeds: 1:1 and 4:5 are supported for images and videos. 4:5 is recommended for single-image ads in Facebook Feed and 1:1 for single-image ads in Instagram Feed.
• Stories, Status and Reels: 9:16, because Most people hold their mobile phones vertically.
• In-stream video: horizontal 16:9, to fit the videos the ads are in.
• Audience Network: vertical 9:16.

Meta's supported aspect ratios page adds one detail that catches people out: on the computer version of Facebook Feed, video will be shown with a 1:1 aspect ratio, which may cause black bars to appear on either side of the video. How placements are grouped and chosen is covered in our Meta ads placements guide.

Image specs

All image ads take JPG or PNG files up to 30 MB. These are the recommendations and minimums from the Ads Guide pages for each placement:

The Instagram pages express the accepted range as a minimum aspect ratio of 400 x 500 and a maximum of 191 x 100. For Facebook Reels images, Meta recommends that you don’t add text on images because of the small image size. The Facebook Feed page also notes that panoramas and 360 photos can be used with some objectives, recognised from the camera metadata of 360-ready devices.

If an upload fails or looks soft, Meta's image troubleshooting page says most file types are supported but PNG or JPG is recommended, that PNG files larger than 1MB may appear pixelated, and that The most common reason for images not rendering correctly is size.

Video specs

Every Ads Guide video page gives the same encoding advice: H.264 compression, square pixels, fixed frame rate, progressive scan and stereo AAC audio compression at 128kbps+, and videos should not contain edit lists or special boxes in file containers. Ads Manager accepts 27 video file types, from 3G2 to WMV, but Meta's supported formats page says For best results with video ads, we recommend GIF, MOV or MP4 files. The maximum file size is 4 GB for all videos.

Captions and sound are listed as optional but recommended on most pages; for Facebook Reels and in-stream video, sound is Optional, but strongly recommended, and Audience Network rewarded video does not support captions. Instagram Stories and Reels video have extra rules (Reels, for example, cannot use licensed music); see our Stories and Reels guides for those.

One setting changes what people see: if you choose the Awareness objective or the Maximize reach, 2-second continuous video views, impressions or post engagement performance goals, Meta says the ad footer, including the headline, description, and call-to-action button, won't be displayed in Facebook Feed on mobile. If the call to action matters, put it in the video itself or pick another goal.

Video length and looping

Meta's video length page lists the limits by placement and notes that shorter videos are usually more engaging on mobile:

• Facebook: Feed and Marketplace 241 minutes max; in-stream 5 seconds to 10 minutes on mobile and 5 to 15 seconds on desktop; Stories 1 to 120 seconds.
• Instagram: Stories, Feed and Explore 60 minutes max.
• WhatsApp Status: 60 minutes max.
• Audience Network: native, banner and interstitial 1 to 120 seconds; rewarded video 3 to 61 seconds.

If one edit is too long for some placements, asset customization lets you use a different cut per placement. Looping also differs by platform, according to Meta's looping page: Facebook videos of 30 seconds or less loop for up to 90 seconds (sometimes up to 180), Facebook videos over 30 seconds do not loop, and Instagram videos of any length Always loop as long as visible.

Text lengths

The Ads Guide lists these as text recommendations, the length that displays well in each placement, rather than hard limits:

Because Facebook Reels shows only 40 characters of primary text, put the point of the ad in the first few words. When Meta generates or varies the text for you, see our Advantage+ creative guide.

Safe zones

Meta's safe zone page defines it as the area within your ad where important elements — like text overlays and logos — will not be cropped out or covered by the user interface. Its rules:

• For 9:16 ads in Stories, Reels, Feed and Facebook in-stream reels, keep the top, bottom and side edges free of key elements, text and logos. The Facebook Stories Ads Guide pages put it at roughly 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% on each side.
• For Instagram Feed ads in 1:1 or 4:5, keep the bottom and side edges clear. 9:16 video in Instagram Feed follows the Reels and Stories guidance.
• On screens taller than 9:16, Meta may zoom the creative (which can crop outside the safe zone) or show it at 9:16 on a black background.
• Reels ads with disclaimers should leave the bottom 40% free of text, logos and key elements.
• In Ads Manager, the Safe zone guardrail toggle shows the safe zone as a yellow overlay on your creative.

The Stories call-to-action sticker and the Reels interface are covered in the Stories and Reels guides.

When you don't supply every ratio

Ads Manager lets you upload up to 10 images or videos for one ad, and your media is automatically adjusted to fit more placements. According to the aspect ratio page, an aspect ratios view shows every variation (square, vertical, portrait and horizontal) so you can preview, opt in or out and adjust before publishing. If you don't provide all four, Meta fills the gaps with padding, media expansion, cropping and additional AI-enabled features.

Meta's own tips: upload your own variations when possible, review auto-applied padding, cropping and expansion before publishing, and turn off any adjustment you don't want. One point is easy to miss: Cropping alone won't restrict delivery. To keep an asset out of a placement, use placement opt-outs as well.

Where Meta's pages disagree

A few Meta pages give different numbers for the same thing. We show both rather than pick one:

• Facebook Stories video length: the Ads Guide says 1 second to 3 minutes; the video length help page says 1 to 120 seconds. Staying under 2 minutes meets both.
• Longest video: the Ads Guide and length page say 241 minutes for Facebook Feed; the video upload troubleshooting page says limits range from 15 seconds to 240 minutes.
• Image size: the image troubleshooting page says For most ads, the best image size to upload is 1200 x 628 pixels, a 1.91:1 shape, while the Ads Guide recommends 1440 x 1800 (4:5) for Facebook and Instagram Feed.
• Video width: an older video quality page suggests exports no larger than 1280 px wide, at or below 30 fps with 44,100 Hz stereo audio; the Ads Guide recommends 1440 x 1800 or 1440 x 2560.

Where they disagree, the per-placement Ads Guide page is the more specific source, and the Ads Manager preview shows what will actually run.

How we prepare Meta ad files

This is our own practice, not Meta's guidance:

• We design one 9:16 master inside the 14/35/6% safe zone and a 4:5 version for feeds, and add 1:1 or 16:9 only when Marketplace, search or in-stream matter for the campaign.
• We export at the Ads Guide's recommended sizes (1440 x 1800 and 1440 x 2560) as MP4 with H.264 and AAC, and JPG for images.
• Each video carries its message and call to action in the first seconds, with captions burned in or added, so it works without sound and in placements that hide the footer.
• We check every placement in the Ads Manager preview and the aspect ratios view, and turn off automatic adjustments that crop our text.

Frequently asked questions

What size should a Facebook image ad be?

For Facebook Feed, Meta's Ads Guide recommends a 4:5 JPG or PNG at 1440 x 1800 pixels, at least 600 pixels wide, up to 30 MB. Marketplace uses 1:1 at 1080 x 1080 or more, and Stories and Reels use 9:16 at 1440 x 2560.

What is the best aspect ratio for Meta video ads?

It depends on the placement. Meta recommends 4:5 for Facebook Feed, 9:16 for Stories, Reels and Audience Network, and 16:9 for in-stream video. The Ads Guide lists 9:16 for Instagram Feed video.

How long can a Facebook or Instagram video ad be?

Facebook Feed and Marketplace allow up to 241 minutes, Instagram Feed, Stories and Explore up to 60 minutes, Facebook in-stream 5 seconds to 10 minutes on mobile, and Audience Network rewarded video 3 to 61 seconds. Facebook Stories is listed as 1 to 120 seconds on the help page and up to 3 minutes in the Ads Guide.

What is the maximum file size for Meta ads?

30 MB for images and 4 GB for videos. Meta recommends JPG or PNG for images and MP4, MOV or GIF for video, although Ads Manager accepts many other video file types.

Why are my headline and button missing on Facebook mobile?

If the campaign uses the Awareness objective or a goal such as Maximize reach or 2-second continuous video views, Meta does not show the video ad footer, including the headline, description and call-to-action button, in Facebook Feed on mobile devices.

For more on Meta advertising, see our guides to Meta ads basics, placements, Advantage+ creative, ad review and A/B testing.

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