Facebook Ad Sizes and Specs: The Complete 2026 Guide

What Are Facebook Ad Sizes and Specs?

Ad sizes get your creative rejected fast.

Facebook ad sizes and specs are the pixel dimensions, aspect ratios, file formats, and character limits that Meta requires for every ad placement across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and the Audience Network. Upload creative outside these specs and Meta will either crop it, compress it, or reject the ad entirely.

Facebook ad sizes and specs define the exact pixel dimensions, aspect ratios, file types, and text limits Meta enforces across every ad placement. Getting them wrong means auto-cropping, compression artifacts, or outright rejection — all of which waste budget and delay launches.

The challenge is that Meta runs ads across dozens of placements, and each placement has different requirements. A single-image feed ad uses different dimensions than a Story, which uses different dimensions than a Reel. Media buyers running Facebook ads for ecommerce need a reliable reference because these specs change without warning.

This guide covers every current Facebook and Instagram ad size and spec as of 2026, organized by format. Bookmark it. You will come back to it.

What Are the Image Ad Sizes for Facebook and Instagram?

The standard Facebook feed image ad is 1080 x 1080 pixels (1:1 ratio) at a minimum 1080px width. Instagram feed ads share the same spec. For maximum sharpness across all placements, design at 1080 x 1080 and create 1080 x 1920 variants for Stories and Reels.

Image ads remain the most common format on Meta's platforms. Here are the specs for every image placement:

Facebook and Instagram Image Ad Specs

Source: Meta Business Help Center — Image Ad Specifications

Key rules for image ads

Use 1:1 for feed placements. Square images take up more vertical screen space than landscape (1.91:1), which increases stopping power in the scroll. Research from multiple ad accounts confirms that 1:1 outperforms 1.91:1 in feed placements for both CTR and CPA.

Use 4:5 for Instagram Feed. Instagram supports 4:5 portrait images in feed, which occupy even more screen real estate than 1:1. If you are designing specifically for Instagram, use 1080 x 1350.

Keep text outside the crop zone. When Meta adapts a 1:1 image for a 1.91:1 placement (or vice versa), it crops from the edges. Keep your headline, logo, and key product imagery in the center 80% of the frame.

Always export at 1080px minimum width. Lower resolutions will appear blurry, especially on high-DPI mobile screens. There is no penalty for uploading higher resolution — Meta will compress it.

What Are the Video Ad Sizes for Facebook and Instagram?

Facebook feed video ads should be 1080 x 1080 (1:1) or 1080 x 1350 (4:5). Maximum file size is 4 GB with a 241-minute limit, though Meta recommends keeping videos under 15 seconds for feed and under 2 minutes for in-stream placements.

Video ads drive higher engagement than static images across most placements. According to Meta's video ad best practices, video ads with sound get up to 12% more conversions than silent ones. Here are the specs:

Facebook and Instagram Video Ad Specs

Video encoding requirements

• Codec: H.264 compression
• Audio: AAC, 128kbps+ stereo
• Frame rate: 30fps or below (Meta re-encodes higher frame rates)
• Bitrate: No maximum, but file size caps at 4 GB

Keep videos short. Meta's internal data shows that 65% of people who watch the first 3 seconds will watch for at least 10 seconds, but only 33% will watch past 30 seconds. Front-load the hook. For Facebook video ad examples that demonstrate strong hooks in the first 3 seconds, see our breakdown.

Design for sound-off. 85% of Facebook videos play without sound. Add captions, text overlays, and visual storytelling. Sound should enhance, not carry, your message.

What Are the Stories and Reels Ad Specs?

Stories and Reels ads use 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16 vertical). The top and bottom 14% of a Story frame are occupied by the profile name and CTA button — keep critical content in the center 72% of the frame.

Stories and Reels are the fastest-growing placements on Meta's platforms. They are full-screen, vertical, and immersive — but the safe zone is smaller than you think.

Stories and Reels Safe Zones

Stories vs. Reels: key differences

Stories ads support images (5-second display) or video (up to 120 seconds). They appear between organic Stories from accounts users follow. The CTA button sits at the bottom.

Reels ads are video-only (up to 90 seconds). They appear in the Reels feed and compete with organic content creators. The engagement UI (like, comment, share) sits on the right side and bottom, eating more safe zone than Stories.

Reels have a tighter safe zone than Stories. The like/comment/share buttons on Reels overlap more of the right edge and bottom. Keep all text and product imagery left-of-center and above the bottom 18% of the frame.

Design tips for vertical placements

• Fill the entire 9:16 frame. Pillarboxed (letterboxed) vertical ads look amateurish and perform poorly. Never upload a 1:1 or 16:9 video for Stories/Reels — create native vertical.
• Hook in the first 1-2 seconds. Users swipe past Stories and Reels faster than they scroll past feed ads.
• Use movement immediately. Static opening frames get skipped. Start with motion, a face, or text animation.
• Match the organic feel. Ads that look like organic content outperform polished studio creative in Stories and Reels. UGC-style creative works well here. For inspiration, see Instagram ad examples that nail the native format.

Building ad creative and not sure which angles to test? Find what messaging is already resonating in your market — try ConversionStudio's free signal scanner. Takes 3 minutes. Free. No pitch.

What Are the Carousel Ad Specs?

Each carousel card uses 1080 x 1080 pixels (1:1) with up to 10 cards per ad. Individual cards can mix images and video. The primary text appears once above all cards, while each card gets its own headline (40 characters recommended) and description.

Carousels are one of the highest-performing formats for ecommerce. For detailed format strategies and examples, see our Facebook carousel ad examples guide.

Carousel Ad Specs

All carousel cards must be 1:1. Unlike single-image ads where you can choose between 1:1, 4:5, or 1.91:1, carousel cards are locked to square. Design accordingly.

Lead with your strongest card. Unless you enable Meta's automatic card ordering, card 1 gets the most views. Put your best product, strongest claim, or most eye-catching visual first.

What Are the Ad Copy Character Limits?

Primary text is 125 characters before truncation (with a "See more" link), headlines are 40 characters recommended, and descriptions are 25 characters. You can write up to 2,200 characters of primary text, but most users will only see the first two lines.

Ad copy limits are just as important as image dimensions. Truncated text breaks your message and kills conversions.

Ad Copy Limits by Placement

Write the headline for mobile. Desktop shows more characters, but 98% of Facebook users access the platform on mobile at least some of the time. If your headline is longer than 40 characters, it will get clipped on most devices.

Front-load the primary text. The first line before "See more" is all most users will read. Put the hook, offer, or key benefit in those first 125 characters. Use the ad headline generator to test different headline variations before spending budget.

How Do You Avoid Common Facebook Ad Size Mistakes?

The three most common spec mistakes are using landscape (16:9) creative for feed placements, ignoring Stories safe zones, and uploading low-resolution images below 1080px width. Each one either reduces engagement or triggers Meta's quality filters.

Mistake 1: Using one creative size for all placements

Advantage+ placements will serve your ad across Feed, Stories, Reels, Right Column, In-Stream, and Audience Network. If you upload a single 1:1 image, Meta will auto-crop it for 9:16 placements — cutting off text, products, or faces.

Fix: Create at least two versions of every creative:

• 1080 x 1080 (1:1) for feed placements
• 1080 x 1920 (9:16) for Stories and Reels

Mistake 2: Text in the crop zone

Meta no longer enforces the 20% text rule, but text-heavy images still get lower delivery priority. More critically, text near the edges of your creative gets cropped when Meta adapts it for different placements.

Fix: Keep all critical text in the center 80% of your image. Use Meta's Creative Hub preview tool to check how your ad renders across placements before publishing.

Mistake 3: Low-resolution uploads

Uploading images at 600px or 800px width technically meets the minimum, but the result looks blurry on modern phone screens (which run at 2x-3x pixel density).

Fix: Always design at 1080px minimum width. For retina sharpness, design at 2160px and let Meta downscale.

Mistake 4: Ignoring aspect ratio for video thumbnails

When a video ad loads, Meta shows a thumbnail before autoplay. If your video uses a non-standard aspect ratio, the thumbnail gets letterboxed, wasting precious feed real estate.

Fix: Match your video's aspect ratio to the placement. Use 1:1 or 4:5 for feed, 9:16 for Stories and Reels.

What Changed in Facebook Ad Specs for 2026?

Meta increased Reels ad length from 60 to 90 seconds in late 2025, expanded Advantage+ creative enhancements to auto-adjust aspect ratios, and deprecated the Instant Articles placement entirely. The core image and video specs remain stable.

Meta adjusts its ad specs incrementally. Here are the notable changes heading into 2026:

• Reels max length increased: Facebook and Instagram Reels ads now support up to 90 seconds (previously 60 on Facebook Reels).
• Advantage+ creative auto-cropping: Meta's Advantage+ Creative suite now auto-generates 9:16, 1:1, and 4:5 versions of your ad. The results are mixed — always preview auto-cropped versions before approving.
• Instant Articles deprecated: This placement no longer exists. Remove it from any saved placement sets.
• Higher-resolution image support: Meta now processes uploaded images at higher fidelity, reducing compression artifacts on images above 1080px width.
• Text overlay flexibility: The old 20% text guideline is fully gone. Meta no longer penalizes text-heavy images in delivery, though ads with excessive text still tend to underperform organically.

For ongoing spec changes, Meta's official ad guide is the canonical source.

How Should You Set Up Your Creative Workflow?

Build a template library with pre-sized artboards for each placement. Design feed creative first (1:1), then adapt to vertical (9:16), then export. This three-step process eliminates resizing errors and keeps production fast.

A spec-compliant workflow saves hours per campaign. Here is the process used by high-volume media buyers:

Step 1: Create master templates

Set up artboards in your design tool (Figma, Canva, Photoshop) for these three sizes:

• 1080 x 1080 (Feed — Facebook + Instagram)
• 1080 x 1350 (Instagram Feed portrait)
• 1080 x 1920 (Stories + Reels)

Step 2: Design feed-first

Start with the 1:1 feed version. This is the most constrained format — if your message works in a square, it will adapt to other formats.

Step 3: Adapt to vertical

Extend the 1:1 design vertically for the 9:16 version. Add background elements, extra text, or additional product imagery to fill the vertical space. Do not just stretch the 1:1 version.

Step 4: Use ad-level asset customization

In Ads Manager, use the "Edit Placement" feature to assign different creative per placement. Upload your 1:1 for feeds and your 9:16 for Stories and Reels — all within one ad.

This approach is especially useful when running ad creative testing across placements. You can test whether a creative concept works across formats without launching separate campaigns.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best image size for Facebook ads in 2026?

1080 x 1080 pixels (1:1 aspect ratio) is the most versatile size. It works across Facebook Feed, Instagram Feed, Marketplace, and Audience Network without cropping. For Instagram-specific campaigns, 1080 x 1350 (4:5) takes up more screen space and often outperforms 1:1 in feed.

Does Facebook still have the 20% text rule?

No. Meta removed the 20% text overlay rule in 2021 and no longer penalizes text-heavy images in ad delivery. However, images with less text still tend to perform better — users engage more with clean visuals where the primary text does the selling.

What video format does Facebook prefer?

MP4 with H.264 compression and AAC audio is the standard. MOV files are also accepted. Keep the file under 4 GB and the frame rate at 30fps or below. Meta will re-encode your video regardless of upload quality, so there is no benefit to uploading at 60fps or 4K resolution.

Can I use the same creative for Facebook and Instagram ads?

Yes, if you design at 1080 x 1080. Both platforms share the same spec for feed placements. The difference is that Instagram supports 4:5 portrait in feed (which Facebook also supports but displays differently), and Instagram Reels has a slightly different safe zone than Facebook Reels due to UI element positioning.

What happens if I upload an image smaller than the recommended size?

Meta will accept images down to the minimum width (600px for feed, 500px for Stories), but it will upscale them, resulting in visible blur and compression artifacts. This reduces perceived ad quality and hurts engagement metrics. Always upload at 1080px width minimum.

Keep Reading

• Facebook Carousel Ad Examples for Ecommerce
• Instagram Ad Examples That Convert
• Facebook Video Ad Examples That Drive Sales
• How to A/B Test Facebook Ads