“What is the best video format for Instagram videos? I have some videos for uploading to Instagram but some of the videos were rejected by Instagram and some others seemed to be distorted. What is the best video format for Instagram? How can I get my videos into the best specifications for Instagram? Any suggestion would be highly appreciated.”

Beginning as a photo app, Instagram has evolved into a much more advanced platform and now includes video content in the form of Instagram stories, Instagram posts, Instagram ads, and long form video content on IGTV.

With the increase in video popularity on the platform, more and more Instagram users have come across such problems: what is the best video format for Instagram, and what are the best video specifications for Instagram video? Well, if you also have the same questions, this guide would be perfect for you. We will show you what the best video format and video specifications are for various Instagram videos, and ways to get your videos into the best Instagram video format and video specifications.

Part 1: Best Video Format for Instagram

The best Instagram video format is MP4. The MP4 video file format should include these technical specifications:

  1. Best video file format: MP4
  2. Video codec: H.264 Codec
  3. Audio codec: AAC Audio
  4. Video bit rate: 3 500 kbps bitrate for video
  5. Frame rate: 30 fps (frames per second)
  6. File size: Maximum file size of 15 mb
  7. Video length: a maximum of 60 seconds
  8. Video width: 1080 px (pixels) wide

The best Instagram video dimensions you should use are 864 pixels (width) by 1080 pixels (height) amount with an aspect ratio of 4:5.

These dimensions and aspect ratio are optimized to give you more screen real estate for your followers. Wide screen videos might look great on YouTube or Facebook, but on Instagram where most users are on mobile. It makes sense to maximize the vertical dimensions of a phone.

For better video quality on Instagram, when posting an Instagram video, you could try to:

  1. Make use of WiFi connection for video posting.
  2. Make sure you are using the right video dimensions.
  3. Transfer your video file through Google Drive or Apple Airdrop.
  4. Record your videos with the best quality camera available.
  5. Edit your videos with the settings mentioned above.

It should be noted that there are quite a few different video types on Instagram, including: Instagram stories, Instagram posts, Instagram ads, and long form video content on IGTV. The above-mentioned best video file format is applicable to most of these Instagram video platforms. However, different video platforms on Instagram would be a little bit different from each other. We will show you the detailed video specifications for Instagram videos of different kinds.

Part 2: Best Video Specifications for Instagram

Now we would like to describe the detailed video specifications for Instagram videos covering In-Feed Videos, Instagram Stories, IGTV, etc. You could get your videos more specific to these Instagram videos.

In-Feed Videos

Instagram supports a range of video dimensions in Feed posts. Specifically, you can upload a video with an aspect ratio anywhere between 1.91:1 and 4:5. The following are the standard formatting requirements for in-feed Instagram videos, according to Engage Interactive:

  1. Preferred format: MP4 (with H.264 Codec & AAC audio, 3,500 kbps video bitrate)
  2. Frame rate: 30 FPS or below
  3. Maximum dimensions: 1080px Wide
  4. Playback length: maximum of 60 seconds
  5. File size limit: 15MB

Instagram Stories

Instagram stories are viewed vertically and follow the same dimensions as a typical smartphone screen. Even though the length is restricted, you can still use Instagram stories for advertising. You could make use of the 15-second Instagram videos to gather people interested in your topics quickly and clearly. The below video specifications have been tested the best video specifications for Instagram stories:

  1. Format: MP4
  2. File size: try to stay under 15MB
  3. Duration: 15 seconds per individual Story
  4. Dimensions: 1080 x 1920 pixels
  5. Aspect ratio: 9:16

IGTV

According to Instagram, the following requirements must be met in order to upload a video to IGTV:

  1. Video file type: Must be in MP4 file format.
  2. Video length: Videos must be at least one minute long. The maximum length of the video for uploading to Instagram IGTV is 15 minutes for uploading from a mobile device and 60 minutes for uploading from the web.
  3. You can upload a vertical video with an aspect ratio of 9:16 or a horizontal video with an aspect ratio of 16:9.
  4. Videos should have a minimum frame rate of 30 FPS (frames per second) and minimum resolution of 720 pixels.
  5. The maximum file size for videos that are 10 minutes or less is 650MB. The maximum file size for videos up to 60 minutes is 3.6GB.

IGTV cover photos cannot be edited after they’ve been uploaded. The recommended size for cover photos is 420px by 654px (or 1:1.55 ratio). In order to upload a video to IGTV, you first have to create a channel. Just like on mainstream TV, a channel is where your audience will go to view your video content.

The below video specifications might be considered as general video specifications for Instagram videos for you:

Vertical Video

  1. Resolution: 600 x 750
  2. Aspect ratio: 4:5
  3. Max size & length: 4 GB/60 seconds

Landscape Video

  1. Resolution: 600 x 315
  2. Aspect ratio: 1:91:1
  3. Max size & length: 4 GB/60 seconds

Square video

  1. Resolution: 600 x 600
  2. Aspect ratio: 1:1
  3. Max size & length: 4 GB/60 seconds

Just follow the above specifications when you try to upload videos to Instagram. If you videos are not in accordance with these specifications, you could check the below guide to learn how to convert and edit videos for uploading to Instagram.

Part 3: Best Way to Convert and Edit Video for Uploading to Instagram - Prof. Media

When your videos are not accepted by or well displayed on Instagram, you could try to convert and edit videos with Leawo Prof. Media before uploading to Instagram. There are 2 main reasons for you to choose Leawo Prof. Media: it handles Blu-ray, DVD, up to 4K videos, and even ISO image files for uploading to Instagram, and it enables you to edit videos to meet the requirements of Instagram so as to get the best visual effect.

As a professional media converter suite, Leawo Prof. Media contains multiple media converter modules to enable you decrypt, rip and convert Blu-ray/DVD/video files, burn video files to Blu-ray/DVD, copy and back up Blu-ray/DVD movies, download online videos, turn photos into photo slideshow video for Instagram, edit Blu-ray/DVD/video files to meet Instagram video specifications, etc.

The below guide would show you how to convert and edit video with Leawo Prof. Media. Download and install Leawo Prof. Media first. Get source Blu-ray/DVD/video files ready.

Step 1: Launch Leawo Prof. Media

Launch Leawo Prof. Media and then open “Convert” module.

Step 2: Add source media files

Under the “Convert” module, you could directly drag and drop source media files, or click “Add Video”/”Add Blu-ray/DVD” button respectively according to your needs to browse and load source media files from your computer.

Note: If you are loading Blu-ray/DVD movies, there are 3 different content loading modes: Full Movie, Main Movie and Custom Mode. Full Movie loads all source Blu-ray/DVD files, Main Movie is a movie-only loading mode that loads the main movie (the longest movie title) by default, while in Custom Mode you are allowed to freely choose titles for loading.

Step 3: Set output format

Click the button next to the “Add Photo” button and then click “Change” option on the drop-down menu to enter the “Profile” panel. Choose output format from “Format” or “Device” group according to your needs.

Click the “Edit” option on the drop-down panel next to the “Add Photo” button and then you can adjust the output video and audio parameters like video codec, video bit rate, aspect ratio, resolution, audio codec, sample rate, bit rate, channel, etc. Just change these specifications according to the Instagram requirements mentioned above.

Step 4: Edit videos for Instagram

Leawo Prof. Media enables you to edit videos for uploading to Instagram. In each loaded video title, click the “edit” icon to enter the editing panel, where you could see multiple editing features on the left panel: Trim, Watermark, Crop, Effect, 3D, Remove Noise, etc.

Trim video length

You could get the video clip out of the source media file for uploading to Instagram. Open the “Trim” tab, set the values of the “Start Time” and “End Time” below. Click “OK” to save trimming.

Add image or text watermark

You could add image or text watermark to make the videos you want to upload to Instagram as your own patent. Open the “Watermark” tab, slide the “Watermark” to green and then choose to add either image or text watermark. You could also edit watermark parameters here like transparency, position, etc.

Crop video

You could crop video size to get rid of the black margins and reduce the file size for Instagram uploading. Open the “Crop” tab, firstly choose a Zoom style, and then drag the handlers of the frame on the left "Original Preview" window, or modify the parameters below for an accurate result to crop video size and remove black margins. You could also rotate video vertically or horizontally here to meet the Instagram requirements.

Adjust video effect

Under Effect tab, change video effect including Brightness, Contrast, Saturation and VolumeZoom by sliding the adjuster from -100 to 100. Change these effects to make your videos more appealing.

Apply 3D effect

Under 3D tab, slide the 3D Mode box to green and then select a 3D effect from Red/Cyan, Red/Green, Red/Blue, Blue/Yellow, Interleaved, and Side by Side to convert 2D to 3D. 3D Depth could also be adjusted from -50 to 50 for more vivid 3D movie effect. You could get instant preview of selected 3D effect.

Remove noise

Open the “Remove Noise” tab and enable it to green to remove noise from source video files. This feature works on source video files, but not on Blu-ray/DVD files.

With all editing work completed, click the “OK” button to save editing and exit the editing panel.

Step 5: Set output directory and start converting

On the main interface, click the green “Convert” button and then set output directory in the “Save to” option. After that, hit the “Convert” option to start converting.

Leawo Prof. Media will start the conversion immediately and complete the conversion quickly. After converting, you could then freely upload any video to Instagram.

Bonus: Best Video Format and Specifications for Other SNS

For your references, here we have collected the best video formats and specifications for other SNS tools, including Twitter, Facebook, and Tiktok.  

1. Best video format and specifications for Twitter:

  • -Recommended video format: MP4
  • -Recommended video codec: H264 High Profile
  • -Recommended frame rates: 30 FPS, 60 FPS
  • -Recommended video resolution: 1280x720 (landscape), 720x1280 (portrait), 720x720 (square)
  • -Recommended minimum video bitrate: 5,000 kbps
  • -Recommended minimum audio bitrate: 128 kbps
  • -Recommended audio codec: AAC LC
  • -Recommended aspect ratio: 16:9 (landscape or portrait), 1:1 (square)

2. Best video format and specifications for Facebook:

  • -Recommended video dimensions is 1280 x 720 for Landscape and Portrait.
  • -Minimum width is 600 pixels (length depends on aspect ratio) for Landscape and Portrait.
  • -Landscape aspect ratio is 16:9.
  • -Portrait aspect ratio is 9:16 (if video includes link, aspect ratio is 16:9).
  • -Mobile renders both video types to aspect ratio 2:3.
  • -Max file size is 4GB (1.75 GB maximum in Sprout).
  • -Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
  • -Video length max is 120 minutes (45 minutes if uploading in Sprout).
  • -Video max frames 30fps.

3. Best video format and specifications for TikTok:

  • -The recommended aspect ratio is 9:16, 1:1, or 16:9.
  • -Resolution options include 720 x 1280 px, 640 x 640 px, and 1280 x 720 px.
  • -You can use MP4, MPEG, MOV, or AVI files in your ads.
  • -Video duration should be between 5s and 16s.
  • -The video file size should be less than 500 MB.