Crop a photo, image or picture for Instagram at the size each post shape asks for. Out comes a 1080 px wide JPEG at 1:1, 4:5, 3:4 or 1.91:1, or a 1080×1920 Story, with any enlargement stated in the contract.
The profile grid shows posts as 3:4 tiles, so a dashed 3:4 window is drawn on the crop to show what your profile will keep. Story and Reel crops mark the top and bottom bands where the app's own buttons sit.
Keep the whole photo: Instagram no crop. Your profile picture: PFP cropper. Other ratios: crop to aspect ratio. A carousel of photos at one size: bulk crop.
What you can do here
Every feed shape
Square 1080×1080, portrait 1080×1350, tall portrait 3:4 at 1080×1440 and landscape 1080×566, inside the 1.91:1 to 3:4 range.
The profile-grid window
The profile grid shows posts as 3:4 tiles. A dashed 3:4 window, centred, shows what a 1:1 or 4:5 post keeps there. It is a model, labelled so.
Story and Reel bands
At 9:16 the top 14% and bottom 20% are marked, the convention for keeping text clear of the app's own buttons.
Enlargement stated
If your crop holds fewer than 1080 pixels across, the contract says the file is being enlarged and by how much.
How to crop photo for instagram
- 1Open the photo
Drop it on the box. It stays in this tab.
- 2Pick the format and frame it
In step 1 choose Instagram, then square, 4:5, 3:4 or landscape (or Story). Keep the subject inside the dashed 3:4 window so the grid shows it too.
- 3Download
The contract shows the 1080 px output, the scale and the KB. Download, then post.
Questions about cropping
What size should an Instagram post be?
Instagram's help pages describe widths from 320 to 1080 pixels and ratios from 1.91:1 (landscape) to 3:4 (tall portrait), as a secondary source quotes them. This page writes 1080 px wide: 1080×1080, 1080×1350, 1080×1440 or 1080×566.
What is the 3:4 profile-grid window?
The profile grid now shows each post as a 3:4 tile, so a square or 4:5 post loses its edges there. The dashed window is a 3:4 box centred on your crop, which is what the grid is described as showing. It is a guide, not a measurement of Instagram's behaviour.
Should I use 4:5 or 3:4?
4:5 (1080×1350) is the classic tall post. 3:4 (1080×1440) is taller and matches the grid tile, so nothing is cut off on your profile. Both are inside the range Instagram describes.
What about Stories and Reels?
Choose Story / Reel for 1080×1920 at 9:16. The top 14% and bottom 20% are shaded as the areas to keep text out of; that is a convention, not a published Instagram number.
How do I post the whole photo without cropping?
Use the no-crop page: it fits the whole photo inside 4:5, 1:1, 3:4 or 9:16 with a colour or blurred border.
Why does the contract say the photo is enlarged?
Because the area you cropped has fewer than 1080 pixels across, so the file is scaled up to 1080 and the extra detail is invented. Crop a larger area, or press Match the crop to save it at its own size.