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What image and video sizes do B2B Meta ads need for Feed, Stories and Reels, and where are the safe zones?

By The Tofu team ·

Use 4:5 (1440 x 1800 pixels) for Feed and 9:16 (1440 x 2560) for Stories and Reels, and keep the top 14%, bottom 35% and 6% on each side of 9:16 ads clear. Those are the recommendations in Meta's Ads Guide. For video, Meta recommends 4:5 on Facebook Feed but 9:16 on Instagram Feed. The clear margins in Stories and Reels are where Meta puts the profile icon, the call-to-action button and other on-screen elements. Give each ad a 4:5 and a 9:16 version, so no placement crops your message.

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As of November 2026.

What sizes does Meta recommend for each placement?

Two shapes cover the main placements: 4:5 for feeds and 9:16 for full-screen placements. Meta's Ads Guide lists these (the Leads pages we compared match its Awareness pages):

PlacementImageVideo
Facebook Feed4:5, 1440 x 18004:5, 1440 x 1800
Instagram Feed4:5, 1440 x 18009:16, 1080 x 1920
Facebook Stories9:16, 1440 x 25609:16, 1440 x 2560
Instagram Stories9:16, 1440 x 25609:16, 1440 x 2560
Instagram Reels9:16, 1440 x 25609:16, 1440 x 2560
Facebook Reels9:16, 1440 x 25609:16, 1440 x 2560
Carousel on Facebook Feed1:1, at least 1080 x 10801:1, at least 1080 x 1080

A carousel takes 2 to 10 cards. One mismatch to know about: Meta's aspect ratio article recommends 2:3 for Facebook and Instagram Stories, while the Ads Guide's Stories pages give 9:16 at 1440 x 2560. This page follows the Ads Guide.

These are recommendations, not the only shapes Meta accepts. Its aspect ratio article says Instagram Reels and Facebook Reels support all six ratios from 1.91:1 to 9:16, and Facebook Feed supports 1.91:1, 16:9, 1:1 and 4:5. The Instagram Feed image page sets the limits at 400 x 500 (4:5) and 191 x 100 (1.91:1). A file in another shape can end up cropped or shown with empty space around it, so check each placement's preview before you publish.

Where exactly is the safe zone in a Stories or Reels ad?

Meta's Ads Guide gives the same safe zone for Facebook Stories, Instagram Stories, Facebook Reels and Instagram Reels: leave "roughly 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom, and 6% on each side" free of text, logos and other key elements, so they aren't cropped or covered "with the profile icon or call-to-action." Billo, a video ad platform, reported in June 2026 that Meta moved Facebook and Instagram Stories and Reels to one shared safe zone in March 2026. Billo doesn't link a Meta announcement for that date, and we didn't find one.

In pixels (our arithmetic from Meta's percentages):

CanvasKeep clear at topKeep clear at bottomKeep clear each sideSafe area left
1440 x 2560about 358 px896 pxabout 86 pxabout 1267 x 1306 px
1080 x 1920about 269 px672 pxabout 65 pxabout 950 x 979 px

The safe area is close to a square in the middle of the frame. That helps B2B ads: a 1:1 product screenshot, chart or quote card fits inside it, with background color or motion filling the rest.

Meta's aspect ratio article also notes that on screens taller than 9:16 it may zoom the creative to fill the screen, which can crop anything outside the safe zone, or show it at 9:16 on a black background. Meta has a help article on text overlays and the safe zone, though it showed only its title when we checked.

Do Feed ads have a safe zone?

Meta's Feed spec pages don't give one. The main Feed issue is shape. Meta's aspect ratio article says that on the computer version of Facebook Feed, video "will be shown with a 1:1 aspect ratio," which "may cause black bars to appear on either side of the video." So a 4:5 video still plays on desktop, in a square frame.

What file types, lengths and text limits apply?

PlacementFilesVideo lengthPrimary textHeadline
Facebook FeedJPG or PNG up to 30MB; MP4, MOV or GIF up to 4GB1 second to 241 minutes50 to 150 characters27 characters
Instagram FeedJPG or PNG up to 30MB; MP4, MOV or GIF up to 4GB1 second to 60 minutes125 characters40 characters (image)
Facebook StoriesJPG or PNG up to 30MB; MP4, MOV or GIF up to 4GB1 second to 3 minutes125 characters40 characters
Instagram StoriesJPG or PNG up to 30MB; MP4, MOV or GIF up to 4GB1 second to 60 minutes125 charactersNot listed
Instagram ReelsJPG or PNG up to 30MB; MP4 or MOV up to 4GBUp to 15 minutes44 charactersNot listed
Facebook ReelsJPG or PNG up to 30MB; MP4, MOV or GIF up to 4GBNo maximum40 characters55 characters

Other limits worth knowing:

  • Minimum width. Images need 600 pixels on Facebook Feed and Facebook Reels, and 500 on Instagram Feed, Facebook and Instagram Stories, and Instagram Reels. Videos need 250 pixels in Stories and Instagram Feed. Instagram Reels videos need 250 pixels under 30 seconds and 500 at 30 seconds or longer.
  • Aspect ratio tolerance. Facebook Feed and Facebook Reels images can be up to 3% off the ratio; Instagram Feed, Facebook and Instagram Stories, and Instagram Reels allow 1%. Export at the exact ratio and you don't have to think about it.
  • Video settings. Meta lists H.264 compression, square pixels, a fixed frame rate, progressive scan and stereo AAC audio at 128kbps or more. Captions and sound are optional but recommended; for Instagram Reels, Meta says sound is "strongly recommended."

For B2B, the Reels text limit matters most. Reels primary text is 44 characters on Instagram and 40 on Facebook, room for the offer and little else, so put the hook in the video itself, inside the safe area.

Can one ad use a different image or video for each placement?

Yes. Meta's asset customization for placements "enables you to optimize your ad creative for all available placements." In Ads Manager you can:

  • Crop an image (or Crop and trim a video) to a new ratio for a placement.
  • Use the aspect ratios view, which Meta says gives you "a single place to review, edit and control every size variation your ad needs."
  • Add a Background color (Stories and Reels only).
  • Add a text overlay or logo overlay to a video. Meta offers "guardrails" for text overlays to help with where you place them.

This matters more for B2B lead ads now. Meta is gradually rolling out a change that means "you no longer choose placements manually at the ad set level" in Leads, App promotion and Sales campaigns. So your lead ad can run in Stories and Reels even if you only made a 4:5 file (see why you can't choose placements in a Meta Leads campaign). Upload your own 9:16 version rather than let Meta fit the feed file. If you have no video, see whether to let Meta turn image ads into video, and if you'd rather Meta didn't expand or edit your images, see turning off Meta's AI edits.

What should B2B teams design differently?

B2B ads often carry small text: product screens, dashboards, pricing, customer logos. A few habits help:

  • Design the 9:16 version around the safe area first. Put the product screen or chart in the middle square, at a size people can read on a phone.
  • Keep logos and badges out of the bottom 35%. That's where the call-to-action button sits in Stories and Reels.
  • Make one master and export the shapes. Start from 1440 x 2560 and keep the message inside the safe area (about 1267 x 1306). A 1440 x 1800 crop for Feed can then hold the whole safe area, as long as you place the crop to keep it (the safe area sits above the middle of the frame, because the bottom margin is bigger).
  • Check what drove results by version. Once both shapes run, see which image, video or text in a Meta ad drove leads. Video ads may also show in Instagram search results; see whether your Meta video ads appear there.

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