Carousel Maker

What this tool is for

Instagram supports three carousel aspect ratios, and they don't all behave the same way. The same design renders differently in the feed than on your profile grid, the first slide locks the format for every other slide, and Portrait carousels lose ~34 pixels off each side when displayed in the grid. This tool lets you pick a format, drop in up to 20 slides, see them auto-cropped to spec in a phone preview, watch the profile-grid crop applied live, and download every slide as a PNG at the exact pixel size Instagram expects.

The three valid sizes

Portrait — feed (recommended)1080 × 1350 px (4:5)
Portrait — grid crop1012 × 1350 px (~3:4)
Square1080 × 1080 px (1:1)
Landscape1080 × 566 px (1.91:1)
Max slides20
Supported formatsJPG, PNG, HEIC
Max file size per slide30 MB

Which format should you pick?

  • Portrait (1080×1350) — recommended for most posts. Takes up the most vertical space in the feed, which is where most views happen. Trade-off: profile-grid crop slices ~34px off each side.
  • Square (1080×1080) — safe default. No crop surprises in the grid. Slightly less feed real estate than Portrait.
  • Landscape (1080×566)— only when you're repurposing wide imagery (event photos, YouTube thumbnails, product shots already shot wide).

How to use it

  1. Pick a format. If unsure, start with Portrait — it is what most creators ship.
  2. Drop in up to 20 slides. Each gets auto cover-fit to the chosen aspect ratio.
  3. Drag thumbnails to reorder. Slide 1 is the hook, the last slide is the CTA.
  4. Use the phone-mockup arrows to swipe through and verify continuity.
  5. Toggle the profile-grid crop overlay on Portrait to confirm titles and faces stay inside the visible area.
  6. Download all slides as a ZIP — every PNG arrives at exact spec, ready to upload.

Design notes that matter

  • Slide 1 has to earn the swipe — make it the most provocative line, not a title card.
  • Visible swipe affordance on slides 1–9. Keep it inside the right ~80px so it survives the grid crop.
  • Last slide is a CTA: save, share, follow, or click. Skip thank-you cards.
  • 7–10 slides is the sweet spot for most narratives. Drop-off after slide 5 is steep.

Related

Posting Stories or Reels too? Instagram Story Size guide or Instagram Story Safe Zone Checker.

Carousel MakerFrom the makers of this tool

Sized your slides — now design them

This tool gets the dimensions right. Carousel Maker handles the rest: AI-generated copy from a single prompt, 100+ professional templates, drag-and-drop editing, and PDF/PNG export with no watermarks.

Build a carousel→

FAQ

What size should an Instagram carousel be?+
Portrait 1080×1350 (4:5) is the recommended size — it takes up roughly 20% more screen space in the feed than square. Square 1080×1080 (1:1) and landscape 1080×566 (1.91:1) are also valid. The first slide locks the aspect ratio for the entire carousel.
Why do my Portrait carousels look wrong on the profile grid?+
Profile grid thumbnails are cropped to a near-square (3:4) viewport. For a 1080×1350 Portrait carousel, only the center 1012×1350 is visible — about 34 pixels are cut off the left and right. Keep titles, faces, and logos inside the inner blue rectangle in this tool.
Can I mix aspect ratios within one carousel?+
No. Instagram locks the entire carousel to whatever ratio the first slide uses. This tool resizes every slide to your chosen format automatically.
Can I mix images and videos?+
Yes — Instagram supports mixed media in carousels (up to 20 items). The aspect-ratio-locking rule still applies: every video and image must match slide 1.
How many slides can a carousel have?+
Up to 20. Instagram bumped this from 10 in 2024. Completion rates drop steeply after slide 5, so plan for the swipe-fatigued reader, not the cap.
Does the ZIP preserve quality?+
Yes. Slides are exported as PNG at the exact pixel size for your chosen format. PNG is lossless — what you preview is what you upload.