How Long Can a Video on Instagram Be? A 2025 Guide to Reels, Stories, Live, and Ads

How Long Can a Video on Instagram Be? A 2025 Guide to Reels, Stories, Live, and Ads

Instagram keeps evolving how it handles video. In 2025, most day‑to‑day posting routes through Reels and Stories, with Live for long‑form and Ads for paid distribution. Below is a practical, current snapshot, plus actionable tips to make each second count.

Note: Features and limits can vary by region, account type, and ongoing tests. Always check your in‑app options at the time of posting.

Quick answer by format (2025)

• Reels: Up to 90 seconds for most accounts. Some users may see experimental options beyond 90s. Videos under ~15 minutes posted to feed generally publish as Reels.
• Stories: Up to 60 seconds of continuous video per Story card. Instagram auto‑splits longer clips into consecutive cards. Daily Story limit is about 100 cards.
• Live: Up to 4 hours per session. You can schedule Lives, host with collaborators, and save or repurpose the replay.
• Feed video: Instagram consolidated feed video into Reels for most uploads. Expect sub‑15‑minute videos to publish as Reels with Reels behaviors.

Tip: To verify your current cap, open the Reels camera and tap the duration icon. If you see 15, 30, 60, and 90, your cap is 90 seconds. Some test groups may see higher options.

Reels length explained

The default max duration for most accounts is 90 seconds. This cap applies to the total combined runtime after editing.

• Multi‑clip editing: You can stitch multiple clips. The editor shows a total time bar. Once you hit 90s, you can’t add more. Trimming reduces total runtime.
• Music and templates: Some licensed tracks or template formats may limit your max to 60s or force specific beat‑timed clip lengths. If you pick a template with fixed beats, your total will follow that template’s duration.
• Auto‑captions and timed text: Keep text readable. Average reading speed suggests 150–180 words per minute; on a 90s Reel, that’s at most ~225 words total across all text. Use timed text segments so each overlay sits on screen at least 1.5–2.5 seconds.
• Overshoot behavior: If you upload a file longer than your current cap, Instagram may auto‑trim to the maximum or reject the upload. You’ll usually see a prompt to trim.
• Quality vs length: Heavier filters, effects, and 4K sources increase file size and may trigger extra compression. Export 1080×1920 at 30fps to balance quality and reliability.

When to use the full 90 seconds:

• Tutorials with clear chapters.
• Stories with narrative arcs.
• Product demos that need setup, payoff, and CTA.

When to keep it shorter:

• Teasers, jokes, single‑insight tips, and trend participation often perform better under 30 seconds.

Stories video timing

Stories are designed for quick, ephemeral consumption with 60 seconds per card.

• Recording vs uploading: Recording in‑app allows a continuous 60‑second take per card. Uploading a longer clip prompts Instagram to split it into consecutive 60‑second cards.
• Managing long sequences: Use cards as “beats” (hook, context, value, CTA). Keep sequences to 5–15 cards to reduce fatigue, unless it’s a special event day.
• Pacing tips:
• Hook every 3–5 seconds with a cut, subtitle, or visual change.
• Place stickers and captions inside safe zones (avoid the top/bottom UI chrome).
• Use progress indicators (e.g., “2/7”) so viewers know there’s an arc.
• Accessibility: Turn on auto‑captions. Keep text high contrast. Avoid placing key details under reply or profile UI zones.

Instagram Live

Live sessions support up to 4 hours per broadcast.

• Scheduling: Announce and schedule Lives so followers get reminders. Use countdown stickers in Stories to build intent.
• Resilience: If your connection drops, you can restart and re‑invite guests. Have a backup hotspot and a co‑host who can carry the stream if you reconnect.
• Moderation and safety:
• Assign moderators to remove spam, filter keywords, and manage Q&A.
• Pin a comment with the agenda and CTA.
• Use Q&A mode to structure audience prompts.
• Repurposing: Save the Live to your archive and camera roll. Clip it into 30–90s Reels, and add the best moments to a Stories Highlight. Long Lives can yield weeks of short‑form content.
• Retention tactics for long streams:
• Segment into chapters and reset the hook at each chapter.
• Recap every 10–15 minutes for new joiners.
• Reward watch time with timed giveaways or exclusive tips.

Feed video in the post‑IGTV world

Instagram merged most feed video into Reels behaviors.

• Under ~15 minutes: Expect your upload to publish as a Reel, adopting Reels discovery and editing features.
• Aspect ratio strategy:
• Best: 9:16 vertical to maximize screen real estate.
• Acceptable: 4:5 portrait or 1:1 square for repurposed assets.
• Horizontal 16:9: Works for trailers, demos, or landscape content, but consider adding top/bottom padding and captions to optimize vertical screens.
• Carousels: Use up to 10 slides to present multiple short clips around a theme (e.g., “5 drills,” “3 features”). Keep each video slide concise (≤60s), and maintain a consistent aspect ratio across slides.

Ad placements and their limits

Paid placements come with placement‑specific caps. Always verify current specs in Meta Ads Manager, as limits can change.

Creative guidance:

• Awareness: 10–20s punchy edits with strong branding cues in first 2–3s.
• Consideration: 30–60s with a problem/solution arc and social proof.
• Conversion: 15–45s with clear offer, deadline/urgency, and frictionless CTA.

Choosing the right length for your goal

Match duration to objectives and audience attention.

• Awareness: Shorter wins. 6–15s drives higher completion and shares.
• Engagement: 30–60s allows a story beat or tutorial step without drop‑off.
• Deeper education: Up to 90s, but structure into chapters and add on‑screen signposts.

Benchmark completion rates (will vary by audience and content):

• Under 15s: 60–80% completion common for strong hooks.
• 30–60s: 35–55% completion with purposeful pacing.
• ~90s: 20–35% completion when well‑structured and high relevance.

Hook and CTA structure by length:

• 15s: Hook (0–1s) → Value (1–10s) → CTA (10–15s).
• 30–60s: Hook (0–3s) → Setup (3–10s) → Value (10–45s) → CTA (last 5–10s).
• 90s: Hook (0–3s) → Chaptered value (3–75s) → Recap + CTA (75–90s).

When to split into a series:

• If your script exceeds 90s and you can create natural breakpoints, turn it into 2–3 posts with a playlist‑style cover and consistent titles.

Technical specs that impact usable length

Aim for reliable uploads and crisp playback without triggering over‑compression.

• Aspect ratio: 9:16 vertical (1080×1920) is the default for Reels/Stories.
• Resolution: 1080×1920 preferred; capture higher if you’ll crop/zoom, but export 1080p for upload.
• Frame rate: 30 fps standard. Keep a constant frame rate to avoid sync issues.
• Codec/container: H.264 video in MP4, High Profile, Level 4.1; AAC audio at 44.1–48 kHz, 128–192 kbps.
• Bitrate targets (1080p30): 6–10 Mbps VBR for clean motion; go higher for fast action, lower for talking heads.
• File size: Instagram doesn’t publish a strict limit for every placement, but very large files increase processing time and rejection risk. Keep most uploads under 100–150 MB for snappy delivery.
• Color and audio: Loudness around −16 LUFS integrated; avoid clipping. Use sRGB/Rec.709 color space.
• Upload source:
• Mobile app: Fastest, but rely on strong Wi‑Fi. Avoid backgrounding during upload.
• Desktop/web: Stable for longer cuts; Business Suite supports Reels scheduling for some accounts.
• Avoid recompression: Don’t upload HEVC/H.265 unless necessary; Instagram re‑encodes it anyway. Turn off “HDR” when exporting to prevent washed‑out colors on SDR pipelines.

Compression recipe (FFmpeg example for a 1080×1920 Reel):

ffmpeg -i input.mov -vf "scale=1080:1920:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease,format=yuv420p" \
 -r 30 -c:v libx264 -profile:v high -level 4.1 -pix_fmt yuv420p \
 -b:v 8M -maxrate 10M -bufsize 16M -movflags +faststart \
 -c:a aac -b:a 160k -ar 48000 output_reel.mp4

Workflow and repurposing

Make length a creative lever, not a constraint.

• Script to time: Write a beat sheet with timestamps and on‑screen text durations. Aim for a hook inside 0–3 seconds.
• Batch exports: Cut variants at 15s, 30s, and 60–90s. The same session can serve Stories (micro‑cuts), Reels (30–90s), and Ads (placement‑specific).
• Platform variants:
• Instagram/TikTok: 9:16, subtitle‑heavy, fast hooks.
• YouTube Shorts: 9:16 with slightly longer lead‑ins; add context in description.
• X/LinkedIn: 1:1 or 4:5 snippets with burned‑in headline bars.
• Covers and metadata: Design custom covers that telegraph value (“3 Ways to…”). Use clean, keyword‑rich captions and relevant hashtags.
• Insights loop: In Instagram Insights, track watch time, average playback, and drop‑off points. Note the timestamp of the first big drop and test a tighter hook or earlier payoff in the next cut.

Sample beat sheet for a 30‑second Reel:

0.0–1.0s  Cold-open hook (problem statement on screen)
1.0–3.0s  Quick credibility (result/benefit)
3.0–12s   Step 1 with on-screen caption
12–21s    Step 2 with demo close-up
21–27s    Step 3 + before/after
27–30s    CTA (save/share, link in bio)

Final checks before you post

• Verify your current length options inside the Instagram app; caps can vary by account and region.
• Watch your edit on a phone. Ensure text isn’t hidden by UI elements.
• Add captions and alt text for accessibility.
• If using music, confirm the track doesn’t shorten your max duration.
• Test multiple cuts. Let data inform your “ideal length” for each goal.

By aligning your video length with your objective—and designing to the constraints of each placement—you’ll ship content that’s both algorithm‑friendly and viewer‑first.

Summary

In 2025, Instagram video revolves around Reels (up to 90s), Stories (60s per card), Live (up to 4 hours), and ads with placement‑specific caps. Choose your length based on objective, keep vertical 9:16 as the default, and optimize hooks, captions, and pacing for completion. Verify in‑app limits before posting, and repurpose longer sessions into shorter, high‑retention clips.