Meta Video Ad Specs: 2026 Guide to Facebook and Instagram Feed, Stories and Reels

Meta publishes one spec page per placement. A video ad usually runs on several at once, so the numbers that matter are the ones they share and the few where they differ.

This guide reads Meta's Ads Guide pages for video in Facebook Feed, Instagram Feed, Facebook and Instagram Stories, and Facebook and Instagram Reels, with Meta's help article on safe zones, as they stood on 22 October 2026. Everything below is from Meta's pages unless it says otherwise.

We are a small studio that makes short product films for software and apps. The last section says how we work; everything before it stands on its own.

The short answer

How Meta labels its specs

Each of Meta's placement pages has two lists, and this guide keeps them apart. Required marks Meta's "Technical Requirements": duration, maximum file size and minimum size. Recommended marks its "Design Recommendations": file type, ratio, resolution, encoding, captions and sound. Meta words the first list as limits and the second as advice.

Every placement in one table

From Meta's six placement pages as read on 22 October 2026. Primary text is Meta's text recommendation for the words above or below the video.

Every placement allows files up to 4 GB. Instagram Feed, Instagram Stories and Facebook Stories add an "Aspect Ratio Tolerance: 1%", so a video meant to be 9:16 should be exactly 9:16.

The ratio column holds one surprise: Meta's Instagram Feed video page recommends 9:16 at 1080 x 1920, not the 4:5 it recommends for Facebook Feed. Meta's safe zone article confirms that other shapes still run in Instagram Feed, "such as 1:1 or 4:5".

The safe zone, in pixels

Recommended Meta's Stories and Reels pages give the same guidance in percentages. From the Instagram Reels page: "Consider leaving at least 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom, and 6% on each side of your asset free from text, logos, or other important creative elements." Meta's help article extends it: "For ads with a 9:16 aspect ratio in Stories, Reels, Feed and Facebook in-stream reels, keep the edges (top, bottom and sides) free of key creative elements, text and logos." And: "Note: 9:16 video ads in Instagram Feed use the same safe zone guidance as Reels and Stories."

Converted into pixels (our arithmetic on Meta's percentages, rounded):

The last row comes from the help article: "If you're including disclaimers on your Reels ads, you should leave the bottom 40% of your ad free from text, logos and other key creative elements."

Two more rules from the same article. Taller phones may crop: "On devices with screens that are taller than the 9:16 aspect ratio, we may either zoom the creative to better fill the whole screen (which can crop areas outside the safe zone), or show the creative in its original 9:16 aspect ratio and use a black background to fill any extra space." And for Instagram Feed ads in other shapes, "keep the bottom and side edges free of key creative elements, text and logos." To check a frame before it runs, "In Meta Ads Manager, you can toggle on the Safe zone guardrail to see where the safe zone is located."

When Stories split a video

This matters for any film longer than 15 seconds, which covers most product films.

• Instagram Stories. "Instagram Stories will play video ads that are less than 16 seconds for the full duration of the video. Video ads that are 16 seconds or longer may be split into separate Stories cards." Meta says one, two or three cards are shown automatically, tailored to each viewer.
• Facebook Stories. "Facebook Stories will show video ads that are 15 seconds or less for the full duration of the video. Video ads that are longer than 15 seconds will be split into separate Stories cards." After one to three cards, viewers can tap Play Full for the rest.

So a 30 second film in Stories can reach viewers as separate cards, and some may never see its second half. A cut of 15 seconds or less plays whole on both. The split points are Meta's, not yours, so the first 15 seconds should make sense alone.

What Reels ads cannot contain

Recommended Meta's Instagram Reels page lists what Reels ads "should not contain":

• "Licensed music. We recommend using original audio or royalty-free music available in our Meta Sound Collection instead."
• "Media that has a face or camera effect."
• Media with a GIF, or with product tags.
• "Reels published before October 15, 2021."
• "Videos that contain edit lists or special boxes in file containers."

Instagram Reels also drops GIF as a file type (MP4 and MOV only), and Meta marks sound as "Optional, but strongly recommended" on both Reels placements, where the other placements say only recommended. Facebook Reels lists "Support for auto captioning: No", so plan captions for Facebook Reels yourself.

File settings

Recommended The same encoding line appears on the Stories, Reels and Facebook Feed pages: "H.264 compression, square pixels, fixed frame rate, progressive scan and stereo AAC audio compression at 128kbps+". All the placement pages add, in some form, that videos should not contain edit lists or special boxes in the file container. In practice: export the final file fresh, rather than trimming an export without re-encoding, which is one way an edit list gets into an MP4.

Captions are "Optional, but recommended" on every placement. A product film that relies on its voice should still carry its key words on screen, inside the safe area.

Does the objective change the specs

Meta keeps a version of each placement page per objective. We compared the App installs and Traffic versions of all six placements with the default pages on 22 October 2026; the specifications were the same.

One objective changes what appears around the video. On Facebook Feed: "If you select Awareness as your video ad objective or select Maximize reach of ads, Maximize 2-second continuous video views, Maximize number of impressions, or Maximize engagement with a post as your performance goal, the ad footer on your video ad, including the headline, description, and call-to-action button won't be displayed on Facebook Feed on mobile devices." If the ad must carry its own call to action on mobile in that case, it has to be in the video.

One film, every placement

Putting Meta's numbers together, one product film covers the main placements with three versions. This is our planning, not Meta's:

• A 9:16 master at 1440 x 2560 for Stories, Reels and Instagram Feed, with every word and the product inside the safe area.
• A 4:5 version at 1440 x 1800 for Facebook Feed, rebuilt for the frame rather than cropped from the 9:16, so nothing important sits in a cut edge.
• A cut of 15 seconds or less so Stories play it whole on both apps.

For the same numbers on other platforms, see our guides to the Google Play preview video and the App Store preview, which follow stricter rules about what the video may show.

Where other guides differ

We read three spec roundups that rank for this topic on 22 October 2026. Where they differ from Meta's pages:

• Story length. One gives Stories video as 1 to 120 seconds. Meta's pages give 1 second to 60 minutes for Instagram Stories and 1 second to 3 minutes for Facebook Stories.
• The safe area. One gives the Stories safe area as a centre 1080 x 1420 region. Meta's percentages leave about 950 x 979 on the same frame, so a layout built to the larger box puts words where Meta's interface can cover them.
• Instagram Feed shape. One says Feed is 4:5 on both platforms. For video, Meta's Instagram Feed page recommends 9:16; 4:5 still runs there.
• Disclaimers. None of the three gives the rule to keep the bottom 40% clear on Reels ads with a disclaimer.

The checklist

Before you edit

• List the placements; most campaigns need 9:16 and 4:5.
• Plan the first 15 seconds to stand alone.
• Use original or Meta Sound Collection music if the ad will run in Reels.

Exporting

• 9:16 at 1440 x 2560 and 4:5 at 1440 x 1800, ratio exact to 1%.
• H.264, fixed frame rate, progressive, stereo AAC at 128 kbps or more, no edit lists.
• Words and product inside 14% top, 35% bottom (40% with a disclaimer) and 6% sides.
• Captions in the video for Facebook Reels.

Before it runs

• Turn on the Safe zone guardrail in Ads Manager and check every placement preview.
• If the objective hides the footer on mobile, put the call to action in the video.

Sources

Every page below was read in full on 22 October 2026. Meta's pages show no date of their own.

• Meta Ads Guide, video: Facebook Feed, Instagram Feed, Facebook Stories, Instagram Stories, Facebook Reels, Instagram Reels
• Meta Business Help Center, About text overlays and the safe zone for ads on Facebook and Instagram