An Instagram carousel is a single post that holds multiple photos or videos, which people swipe through one slide at a time. If you have wondered what a carousel on Instagram is, that is the whole idea: one post, many slides, one caption, one set of likes and comments.
This page explains what a carousel is, how to do a carousel on Instagram step by step, which sizes to use, and the mistakes that make slides look cropped or boring.
What is an Instagram carousel?
A carousel in Instagram is a multi-slide feed post. Instead of one image, you attach several. Viewers swipe sideways, and small dots under the post show how many slides there are and where they are.
People also call it a carousel post, a swipe post, or a photo dump. They all mean the same format. Creators use it for tutorials, tips lists, before and after shots, product details, app screenshots, and storytelling.
What can go in a carousel?
Organic carousels can hold up to 20 photos and videos. Accepted file types in the carousel spec are JPG, PNG, MP4, MOV, GIF. The Instagram Help Center does not list file types for organic carousels, so those come from Meta’s Ads Guide.
Mixing rules matter: Photos and videos can be mixed in one carousel. The orientation you choose (square, portrait or landscape) applies to all items; it cannot differ per item. Carousel videos are not treated as reels.
How a carousel works
Each slide is its own file, but the post shares one caption, one location tag, one audio choice if you add music, and one set of engagement. Viewers swipe, and you can design slides to flow into each other so the swipe feels natural.
Because the orientation applies to all slides, the first slide you choose usually sets the ratio for the whole post. Plan that before you design anything.
How to do a carousel on Instagram
Menus can differ by app version, but the general flow looks like this:
- Open the app and start a new post.
- Look for an option to select multiple items, often shown as a stacked squares icon.
- Tap the photos and videos you want, in the order you want them.
- Choose the crop or orientation. Remember it applies to every slide.
- Apply filters or edits to all slides, or adjust each one individually.
- Add a caption, tags, and a location, then publish.
You can usually reorder slides before posting. Check how your first slide looks in the grid preview, since that slide is the one people see first.
Making slides outside the app
Most people design slides in a design tool, export them as images, and then upload them together. If you want one wide image to flow across several slides, the Instagram Carousel Splitter cuts it into evenly sized pieces. The Image Splitter works for general grid cuts.
Instagram carousel sizes
The Instagram Help Center gives a supported range for photos of 1.91:1 to 3:4. Unsupported ratios are cropped. Within that range, these are the sizes we list for carousel slides:
| Orientation | Size | Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Portrait, tallest | 1,080 × 1,440 px | 3:4 |
| Portrait | 1,080 × 1,350 px | 4:5 |
| Square | 1,080 × 1,080 px | 1:1 |
| Landscape | 1,080 × 566 px | 1.91:1 |
The minimum width is 320 px. No official page names one recommended organic carousel slide size, so treat these as safe choices inside the supported range, not as a rule. For more detail, see the Instagram carousel size page.
Which one should you pick?
Portrait slides take up more screen space in the feed, which helps text-heavy slides stay readable. Square is a flexible middle ground and is easy to reuse elsewhere. Landscape suits wide photos but leaves slides small on a phone screen.
If you are comparing formats, the Instagram post size page covers single image posts too.
Carousel ads
Ads follow different rules from organic posts. Carousel ads use 2 to 10 cards. The ratio is 4:5 for image-only carousels; 1:1 only for carousels containing videos (Boost: 1:1 or 4:5). Max file size is Image 30 MB; video 4 GB, and video length is 1 second to 2 minutes. Do not assume organic posts follow these limits.
How to do a carousel well
Make slide one earn the swipe
The first slide acts like a cover. Give it a clear promise, such as a question, a bold claim you can back up, or a visual that invites curiosity. Large, readable text works better than a busy layout.
Give each slide one job
One idea per slide keeps things easy to follow. If a slide needs a paragraph, split it. Short lines at a readable size beat dense blocks of text.
Keep a consistent look
Use the same fonts, colors, and margins across slides so the set feels like one piece. If you want styled text for captions or a cover, the Instagram Fonts generator can help, but keep slide text readable and check that special characters display correctly.
Leave breathing room
There is no official safe zone for carousel posts, so leave generous margins on every side. That protects text from being clipped by the grid crop or by the interface.
End with a next step
Use the last slide to invite a save, a comment, a follow, or a click through to your profile link. One clear ask works better than several.
Check on a real phone
Preview slides at phone size before posting. A mockup can help you see how the design sits on a device. The iPhone Mockup Generator is handy for showing app screens in a post.
Mistakes to avoid
- Mixed ratios. Because one orientation applies to every slide, a slide in a different ratio gets cropped. Design everything in the same ratio from the start.
- Unsupported ratios. Anything outside the supported range is cropped, which can cut off text.
- Low resolution. Photos wider than 1080 px (wider photos are sized down to 1080 px) are sized down, and smaller ones are enlarged, which can look soft. Export at the width you need.
- Tiny text. Slides are viewed on small screens. If you need to squint, make it bigger.
- Too many slides without a reason. Having room for 20 photos and videos does not mean you should use all of them. Stop when the idea is done.
- Weak first slide. If slide one does not earn attention, nobody sees the rest.
- Treating carousel video like Reels. Carousel videos are not treated as reels, so do not size or plan them as vertical reel clips. For those, see Instagram Reels size.
Carousel, story, or Reel?
A carousel is a feed post you swipe sideways. A Story is a full-screen vertical format, and a Reel is short vertical video. If you plan to reuse your carousel content as a Story, the canvas is different, so check the Instagram story size page before you resize.
One more thing for app makers
Carousels work well for showing app screens, feature walkthroughs, and launch announcements.
Quick checklist
- Pick one ratio for every slide.
- Export at the width you need, within the supported range.
- Make slide one a clear hook.
- One idea per slide, readable text, even margins.
- Preview on a phone, then publish.