What size should an Instagram photo be?

Instagram's Help Center says photos are shared at the best quality resolution possible, up to 1080 pixels wide (1080 × 1080 for a square). For a 4:5 portrait post, third-party guides give 1080 × 1350; for a 9:16 story, 1080 × 1920.

Does a bigger photo look better on Instagram?

Not past 1080 pixels wide — larger uploads are resized down. A photo already at the right size avoids that extra resize; it does not avoid the app's own compression.

How do I send a photo on WhatsApp without losing quality?

Choose HD in the send screen before sending, or change the default under Settings → Storage and data → Media upload quality. Standard quality compresses the photo. Sending as a document keeps the file exactly as it is.

What does Fit for do?

It renders the filter on the whole photo at full size, then crops the chosen frame (you place the crop) and resizes it with high-quality resampling to exactly 1080 × 1080, 1080 × 1350 or 1080 × 1920.

Sizes for Instagram and WhatsApp

Three frames cover almost every post and story, and one setting decides whether WhatsApp keeps your photo sharp. Here is which numbers come from the apps themselves and which are observations.

The frames

Instagram frames and where each figure comes from
Frame	Size	Source
Square post	1080 × 1080	Official: Instagram Help Center, 'up to 1080x1080 pixels'
Portrait post (4:5)	1080 × 1350	Third-party size guides
Story or reel cover (9:16)	1080 × 1920	Third-party size guides

Sources: Instagram Help Center for the 1080-pixel figure; the 4:5 and 9:16 sizes are what third-party size guides report and Instagram does not state them on that page.

WhatsApp: Standard or HD

WhatsApp offers a per-send choice between Standard and HD quality, and a default under Settings → Storage and data → Media upload quality. It does not publish pixel figures for either. Standard is compressed noticeably; HD is sharper; sending the file as a document sends it untouched.

After a JPG export at 1,600 pixels or more on its long edge, the lab shows a dismissible reminder: “Sending on WhatsApp? Choose HD in the send screen, or it may be compressed.”

What Fit for does

In the lab’s Export panel, Fit for chooses the frame. The filter, strength, tone and texture are rendered on the whole photo at its full size first; only then is the frame cut — at the position you set, shown dashed on the photo — and resized to the exact pixels above with high-quality resampling, in halving steps for large reductions so fine grain and dots do not alias. If the crop is smaller than the frame, the panel says how much it is being enlarged.

The photo filters for Instagram page opens the lab with the portrait frame already chosen; the batch page applies the same frame to a whole set.

Questions

What size should an Instagram photo be?: Instagram's Help Center says photos are shared at the best quality resolution possible, up to 1080 pixels wide (1080 × 1080 for a square). For a 4:5 portrait post, third-party guides give 1080 × 1350; for a 9:16 story, 1080 × 1920.
Does a bigger photo look better on Instagram?: Not past 1080 pixels wide — larger uploads are resized down. A photo already at the right size avoids that extra resize; it does not avoid the app's own compression.
How do I send a photo on WhatsApp without losing quality?: Choose HD in the send screen before sending, or change the default under Settings → Storage and data → Media upload quality. Standard quality compresses the photo. Sending as a document keeps the file exactly as it is.
What does Fit for do?: It renders the filter on the whole photo at full size, then crops the chosen frame (you place the crop) and resizes it with high-quality resampling to exactly 1080 × 1080, 1080 × 1350 or 1080 × 1920.

Back to the lab

Rendered on your computer, not on a server.