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Meta ad specs builder

Pick Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, LinkedIn or X and an ad type, and get the exact specs to build to.

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Platforms

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Ad types

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4 placements

Showing Instagram image ads. Tap more platforms or ad types above to add them.

Instagram

Feed

Image
Ratio4:5
Export at1440 × 1800
File
JPG or PNG, up to 30MB
Minimum
500px wide
Ratio tolerance
1%
Safe zone
Nothing sits over a Feed ad.

Character limits

  • Primary text125
  • Headline40
  • Hashtags30 maximum

Add a call to action and the button row is counted inside the ad block, so a 4:5 upload is cropped back to a square. Export 1:1 and you lose nothing. Meta does not publish this. We see it in live delivery. Meta also says 4:5 on the Ads Guide and 1:1 on its own best practice page.

Ads Guide Instagram Feed image page. Range is 4:5 to 1.91:1.

Instagram

Stories

Image
Ratio9:16
Export at1440 × 2560
File
JPG or PNG, up to 30MB
Minimum
500px wide
Ratio tolerance
1%
Safe zone
14% top, 35% bottom, 6% sides.

Character limits

  • Primary text125

Shows for 5 to 16 seconds. This is the one vertical placement where Meta’s published figure is the deeper one: its own guardrail draws only 20% at the bottom. We keep 35 because that is what Meta tells the world and it costs you nothing to clear it.

Deeper of Meta published and Meta measured.

Instagram

Reels

Image
Ratio9:16
Export at1440 × 2560
File
JPG or PNG, up to 30MB
Minimum
500px wide
Ratio tolerance
1%
Safe zone
15% top, 35% bottom, 6% sides. Plus the action rail down the right.

Character limits

  • Primary text44

44 characters of primary text is the shortest field anywhere on Meta. Write the hook, nothing else.

Deeper of Meta published and Meta measured.

Instagram

Explore home

Image
Ratio4:5
Export at1440 × 1800
File
JPG or PNG, up to 30MB
Minimum
500px wide
Ratio tolerance
1%
Safe zone
Nothing published.

Character limits

  • Primary text125
  • Headline40
  • Hashtags30 maximum

Instagram Explore stopped being a selectable placement in January 2026. Explore home is the one that remains.

Ads Guide Explore home page.

The rules that are not on anybody’s spec page

One export that clears every vertical placement

9:16 at 1440 × 2560, with the top 16% clear, the bottom 41% clear, and 7% down each side. That covers Instagram and Facebook Stories and Reels, Snapchat and TikTok in one file. Instagram Reels sets the top at 15.3% measured, Facebook Reels sets the bottom at 40.4%, and Snapchat sets the sides at 6.4%. The figures here are rounded up so one number covers all of them.

One export that clears every feed

1:1 at 1440 × 1440. Square is the only shape that is never cropped anywhere, and on Facebook and Instagram it is also the shape that does not lose a strip to the call to action row.

Square is not safe on TikTok

Everywhere else a square is the safe universal export. On TikTok the safe zone is anchored to the phone rather than to your file, so a square gets a free top, loses 27% at the bottom and picks up an action rail across nearly a third of its width.

Carousel changes the frame, not just the count

One video card drops an Instagram Feed carousel from 4:5 to 1:1, on every card. LinkedIn does not take video in a carousel at all. TikTok does not either, and requires music. X takes both but every card has to be the same ratio.

Write to the shortest field, not the longest

Instagram Reels gives you 44 characters of primary text. Facebook Reels gives 40. X gives 280 but performs best at 50 to 100. If one line has to work everywhere, write it at 40.

Meta ad specs

Most Meta ad specs come down to 2 shapes. Feed images are 4:5 at 1440 × 1800, Stories and Reels are 9:16 at 1440 × 2560. Images go up to 30MB, most video up to 4GB. The one people miss: add a call to action and a 4:5 Feed image is cropped back to a square, so export 1:1.

The Meta ad specs for Facebook and Instagram share these shapes and split on text limits and safe zones.

Facebook ad specs

Facebook Feed is 4:5 at 1440 × 1800, with 125 characters of primary text, a 27 character headline and a 25 character description. Stories and Reels are 9:16 at 1440 × 2560. Reels is the tight one: 40 characters of primary text, and keep the bottom 40% clear, not the 35% Meta publishes, because its own guardrail draws 40.

Instagram ad specs

Instagram runs on the same Meta ad specs. Feed images are 4:5 at 1440 × 1800 with a 40 character headline. Stories and Reels are 9:16 at 1440 × 2560: keep 14% clear at the top, 15% on Reels, 35% at the bottom and 6% each side. The trap is carousel: one video card turns every card to 1:1.

TikTok ad specs

A TikTok in-feed ad is 9:16 at 1080 × 1920, 5 to 60 seconds with 9 to 15 recommended. The caption is 100 characters, no hashtags, no emojis. Keep 12.8% clear at the top and 37.4% at the bottom. The mistake is a square: TikTok anchors its safe zone to the phone, so a 1:1 loses 27% at the bottom.

Carousel takes images only, 2 to 35 of them, and music is mandatory.

LinkedIn ad specs

A LinkedIn single image ad is 1:1 at 1200 × 1200 or 4:5 at 720 × 900, up to 5MB, with 150 characters of intro text and a 70 character headline. Video runs 3 seconds to 30 minutes and is the only LinkedIn format that takes 9:16. What people miss: vertical images do not deliver to desktop.

Carousel takes no video, and its intro text runs to 255 characters, not 150.

Snapchat ad specs

A Snapchat ad is 9:16 at 1080 × 1920. Video runs up to 3 minutes and 1GB, with 3 to 5 seconds recommended. The brand name is 25 characters, the headline 34. Keep 10% clear at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% each side. Collection Ad tiles sit inside that 35%, so they cost you no room.

X ad specs

An X timeline image ad is 1:1 at 1200 × 1200 or 16:9 at 1200 × 628, up to 5MB. Video runs up to 2 minutes 20, under 15 seconds recommended. A post takes 280 characters, 257 with a link, and the headline 70. X prohibits hashtags and multiple emojis in ad copy, and a GIF shows as a still.

X says the best performing ad copy is 50 to 100 characters.

Ad specs questions

What size should I export a vertical ad at to cover every platform?

9:16 at 1440x2560, with the top 16% clear, the bottom 41% clear and 7% down each side. That single export clears Instagram and Facebook Stories and Reels, Snapchat and TikTok. Facebook Reels sets the bottom: its own Ads Manager guardrail draws 40.4% where Meta publishes 35%. Instagram Reels sets the top at 15.3% measured, and Snapchat sets the sides at 6.4%.

Is a square creative safe on TikTok?

No. Everywhere else a square is the safe universal export. TikTok anchors its safe zone to the phone screen rather than to your file, so a square gets a free top because the reserved band sits above the creative, but it loses 27% at the bottom and picks up an action rail across nearly a third of its width.

Do Snapchat Collection ad tiles reduce the safe zone?

No. We measured a Collection ad against a plain Snap Ad in Snapchat Ads Manager and they are identical: 10% top, 35% bottom, 6% each side. The tile row sits inside the 35% Snapchat already reserves, so a Collection ad has exactly the usable area of a single image or video ad.

What is the character limit for Facebook and Instagram ad copy?

Meta recommends 125 characters of primary text and 40 for the headline on most placements, but the real limits are per placement and much shorter in some. Facebook Feed is 125 primary and 27 headline. Instagram Reels is 44 characters of primary text. Facebook Reels is 40. Meta does not publish a hard cap for Ads Manager at all, only these truncation points.

Can you mix images and video in one carousel?

On Meta and X, yes. On LinkedIn and TikTok, no. And on Meta it costs you: one video card drags an Instagram Feed carousel from 4:5 down to 1:1, on every card including the image ones. On X you can mix formats but every card has to be the same aspect ratio.

How many cards should a Stories carousel have?

Three. Meta gives three different maximums across three of its own live pages, and only shows one to three cards before the viewer has to tap Expand story. Three is the count that always displays and is valid under every answer Meta gives. If Instagram Stories is your only selected placement you can fix the count in Ads Manager rather than letting Meta decide per person.

What are the Meta ad sizes?

Meta ad specs use 3 shapes across Facebook and Instagram. Feed is 4:5 at 1440 × 1800. Stories and Reels are 9:16 at 1440 × 2560. Marketplace and the Facebook Feed carousel are 1:1 at 1080 × 1080 or larger. If you make one feed file only, make it 1:1 at 1440 × 1440: square is never cropped anywhere, and it does not lose a strip to the call to action row.

What are the Facebook ad sizes?

Feed is 4:5 at 1440 × 1800, minimum 600px wide. Stories and Reels are 9:16 at 1440 × 2560. Marketplace and the Feed carousel are 1:1 at 1080 × 1080 or larger, and Meta recommends 1200 × 1200 as the minimum on Marketplace. In-stream video takes 16:9 or 1:1. Images go up to 30MB, video up to 4GB.

Are Facebook and Instagram ad specs the same?

The shapes are. Both follow the same Meta ad specs: Feed 4:5 at 1440 × 1800, Stories and Reels 9:16 at 1440 × 2560. The text limits are not. The Feed headline is 27 characters on Facebook and 40 on Instagram, and Reels primary text is 40 on Facebook and 44 on Instagram. Reels safe zones differ too: 40% clear at the bottom on Facebook, 35% on Instagram.

What are the LinkedIn ad sizes?

A single image ad is 1200 × 1200 square or 720 × 900 vertical. Video runs from 1080 × 1080 up to 1920 × 1920, in 1:1, 4:5, 9:16 or 16:9. Carousel cards are 1:1 at 1080 × 1080 or larger. A spotlight ad takes a 100 × 100 logo with an optional 300 × 250 background, and the message ad banner is 300 × 250, desktop only.

The safe zone figures marked measured came out of the safe zone checker, where you can drop your own creative in and see them drawn on it.