Instagram Story Safe Zone 2026: Dimensions, Template and Checker
Short answer: it depends on whether the Story is an ad. For a Story ad, Meta's Ads Guide asks you to keep roughly 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% of each side free of text, logos and other key elements. On a 1080 × 1920 Story that is 269 px at the top, 672 px at the bottom and 65 px on the left and right, which leaves a safe box of 950 × 979 px. On the 1440 × 2560 upload Meta recommends for Stories ads, it is 358 px, 896 px and 86 px. An organic Story has no call to action button, only the Send message bar, so it needs far less at the bottom: keep 250 px at the top, 250 px at the bottom and 65 px on each side clear, which leaves 950 × 1420 px. Meta publishes numbers for ads only, so the organic figures are a guide based on the Story interface and Meta's Stories guidance, not an official spec. The checker shows the organic guide in Feed mode and Meta's margins in Ads mode.
Check your Story against the safe zone
Drop a 9:16 image or video into the Safe Zone Checker, pick Feed for an organic Story or Ads for a Story ad, and the matching overlay is drawn over your own frame. Everything runs inside your browser, so client work never leaves your machine.
1. Instagram Story safe zone in pixels
A Story has two safe zones, one for ads and one for organic posts. Meta states the ad margins as percentages, so they scale with the canvas. Top and bottom are shares of the height, left and right are shares of the width, and pixels are rounded to the nearest whole pixel.
Story ads: Meta's official margins
| Edge | 1080 × 1920 | 1440 × 2560 | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top | 269 px | 358 px | 14% of height |
| Bottom | 672 px | 896 px | 35% of height |
| Left | 65 px | 86 px | 6% of width |
| Right | 65 px | 86 px | 6% of width |
| Safe box | 950 × 979 px (x 65 to 1015, y 269 to 1248) | 1268 × 1306 px (x 86 to 1354, y 358 to 1664) | About 45% of the frame |
Source: Meta Ads Guide, Instagram Stories video ads and Instagram Stories image ads, both of which recommend leaving "roughly 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom, and 6% on each side" free. Meta publishes no separate numbers for organic Stories. Last verified: 28 September 2026.
x 65 to 1015 · y 269 to 1248
Headline, product, offer, stickers
Organic Stories: a guide, not an official spec
| Edge | 1080 × 1920 | 1440 × 2560 | What it clears |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top | 250 px | 333 px | Progress bars and the profile row |
| Bottom | 250 px | 333 px | Send message bar, like and share |
| Left | 65 px | 87 px | Tap zone that goes back |
| Right | 65 px | 87 px | Tap zone that skips forward |
| Safe box | 950 × 1420 px (x 65 to 1015, y 250 to 1670) | 1266 × 1894 px (x 87 to 1353, y 333 to 2227) | About 65% of the frame |
Meta publishes no organic numbers, so this table is a guide built from what an organic Story shows and from Meta's own Stories guidance. An organic Story has the progress bars and the profile row at the top and the Send message bar with like and share at the bottom, and no call to action button. Meta's Facebook Stories video ads guide asks for "roughly 14% (250 pixels) of the top and 20% (340 pixels) of the bottom", and the extra space at the bottom is there for the call to action. Without the button, the bottom needs about the same 250 px as the top. The sides keep Meta's 65 px, because the tap zones are the same on every Story. If an organic Story might be promoted later, design it to the ad margins above from the start.
2. Facebook Stories use slightly different numbers
If the same asset also runs in Facebook Stories, check which spec you are reading. Meta's Facebook Stories image ads guide uses the same 14%, 35% and 6%. Its Facebook Stories video ads guide asks instead for "roughly 14% (250 pixels) of the top and 20% (340 pixels) of the bottom", and those pixel figures do not match the percentages exactly, since 14% of 1920 is 269 px.
For one master that runs everywhere, design to the stricter rule of 14%, 35% and 6%. It covers Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels and both Facebook Stories specs at once.
3. What covers each part of a Story
Top: progress bars and the account row
A thin row of segmented progress bars runs across the very top, one segment per Story. Under it sit the account picture, the account name and the time since posting, with the more menu and the close button on the right. On an ad, the Sponsored label appears under the account name. The strip looks small, but the account picture and name sit exactly where a logo or a headline usually goes, so keep both below the 269 px line on an ad and below 250 px on an organic Story.
Bottom: reply bar and call to action
On an organic Story the bottom holds the Send message field, the like button and the share button. On an ad, the call to action (Learn more, Shop now and similar) takes that area. Text placed in the lower 672 px of a Story ad sits under or next to the button, and a tap aimed at a drawn button can open the reply field instead. That button is why the ad margin reaches 672 px while the organic guide stops at 250 px.
Sides: tap zones
No interface is drawn on the sides, but the sides are live. A tap on the left of a Story goes back and a tap on the right skips forward, so text and stickers pushed to the edges are easy to miss and easy to trigger by accident. The 6% margin also keeps copy away from rounded screen corners.
4. Stickers, links and interactive elements
Organic Stories can carry link, poll, question, quiz, countdown and mention stickers. They are added in the Instagram app, not in your artwork, so the artwork has to leave space for them.
- Reserve an empty area inside the safe box where the sticker will go, and design the rest of the frame around it.
- Keep link stickers well above the reply field so a tap lands on the sticker and not on the message bar.
- Never bake a fake sticker into the image. It looks tappable, it is not, and people notice.
- Stay away from the extreme left and right, where taps move between Stories rather than activating the sticker.
- Remember the lifetime. Organic Stories disappear after 24 hours unless you add them to Highlights (Instagram Help Center), so a Story that will live on as a Highlight deserves the same care as an ad.
5. Instagram Stories ad specs
These are the figures Meta publishes for Stories ads in its Ads Guide.
| Spec | Video ads | Image ads |
|---|---|---|
| Ratio | 9:16 | 9:16 |
| Recommended resolution | 1440 × 2560 px | 1440 × 2560 px |
| File type | MP4, MOV or GIF | JPG or PNG |
| Maximum file size | 4 GB | 30 MB |
| Minimum width | 250 px | 500 px |
| Duration | 1 second to 60 minutes | Shown for 5 to 16 seconds, or until the viewer swipes |
| Primary text | 125 characters | 125 characters |
| Aspect ratio tolerance | 1% | 1% |
Videos under 16 seconds play in full inside a single Stories card. Longer videos may be split across several cards automatically, and for some performance goals viewers can be offered a Keep Watching option. Captions and sound are optional but recommended, and video should use H.264 compression, square pixels, a fixed frame rate, progressive scan and stereo AAC audio at 128 kbps or more.
Sources: Meta Ads Guide, Instagram Stories video and Instagram Stories image. Last verified 28 September 2026.
6. Layout advice for Stories
- Headline: in the upper part of the safe box, below the 269 px line on an ad or the 250 px line on an organic Story, so it never competes with the account name.
- Logo: inside the safe box and away from the top left, where the account picture already shows your brand.
- Product and offer: in the centre of the frame, which is where the eye rests between taps.
- Call to action copy: above y 1248 on an ad, ideally pointing down toward the real button rather than imitating it. On an organic Story, keep it above y 1670 so it clears the Send message bar.
- Sequences: if a campaign runs over several cards, keep the headline at the same height on every card so it does not jump when the viewer taps through.
- Length: cut video ads to under 16 seconds if you want each one to play in a single card.
Want to see how the frame reads on a phone? The Social Mockup Preview shows a vertical frame inside a simulated app screen, and the Aspect Ratio Calculator helps when a source file is not 9:16.
7. Stories vs Reels
For ads, the margins are identical: Meta gives Instagram Stories ads and Instagram Reels ads the same 14%, 35% and 6%, so a single 9:16 master and a single template can serve both placements. What differs is the interface. Reels have the action column on the right and the caption and audio line at the bottom, while Stories have the progress bars and account row at the top and the reply bar at the bottom. For organic posts the two differ from their ads and from each other: organic Reels have their own measured margins, covered in the Instagram Reels safe zone guide, and organic Stories use the guide of 250 px at the top and bottom and 65 px at the sides from section 1.
8. Common mistakes
- Using the organic 250 px bottom on a Story ad. 250 px at the top and bottom is enough for an organic Story, but an ad adds a call to action that covers far more. The ad margin at the bottom is 672 px, more than 400 px deeper, so copy placed for an organic Story ends up under the button.
- Mixing Facebook and Instagram numbers. The 250 px and 340 px figures belong to Facebook Stories video ads. Use 14%, 35% and 6% when one asset runs on both.
- Logo in the top left corner. It sits right under the account picture and name.
- Call to action text at the very bottom. The real button covers it.
- Stickers on top of the reply bar. Taps open the message field instead.
- Letting a feed asset stand in for a Story. If you upload only a 1:1 or 4:5 image, Ads Manager fills the gap with padding, expansion or cropping. Meta recommends uploading a real 9:16 asset when Stories matter to the campaign (Meta Business Help Center).
9. Instagram Story safe zone FAQ
What is the Instagram Story safe zone size?
For a Story ad, keep 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% on each side free of text and logos. On a 1080 × 1920 Story that is 269 px, 672 px and 65 px, leaving a 950 × 979 px safe box. These are Meta's numbers for Stories ads. For an organic Story, which has no call to action, 250 px at the top and bottom and 65 px at the sides is enough, leaving 950 × 1420 px. That organic figure is a guide, not a Meta number.
What resolution should an Instagram Story be?
Always 9:16. 1080 × 1920 is the usual size, and Meta recommends 1440 × 2560 for Stories ads. Video ads can be MP4, MOV or GIF up to 4 GB, image ads JPG or PNG up to 30 MB.
Is the safe zone different for Story ads and organic Stories?
Yes. Meta only publishes numbers for ads, and those keep 35% of the bottom free because the call to action sits there. An organic Story only has the Send message bar at the bottom, so the organic guide is 250 px at the top and bottom and 65 px at the sides. If you may promote the Story later, design it to the ad margins from the start.
How long does an image Story ad stay on screen?
Meta says image ads in Instagram Stories show for between 5 and 16 seconds, or until the viewer swipes away. In Facebook Stories, image ads show for eight seconds or until the viewer swipes.
Why was my Story video ad split into several cards?
Videos under 16 seconds play in full in one card. Longer videos may be split across several cards automatically, so trim the edit if you want it to play as a single card.
Can I use the same template for Stories and Reels?
For ads, yes. Both placements use 269 px at the top, 672 px at the bottom and 65 px at the sides on 1080 × 1920, so the Stories and Reels templates on the templates page draw the same mask. For organic posts, no: organic Reels and organic Stories each have their own overlay in the checker's Feed mode.
10. Related guides and tools
- Instagram Reels safe zone: ad and organic margins for Reels.
- Meta ad specs 2026: every Facebook and Instagram placement with sizes, file limits and text limits.
- Social media video aspect ratios: which ratio goes where.
- Snapchat safe zone: the other big Stories style placement.
- Social and IAB specs table: all platforms side by side.