Keep reading
Rather we just did it for you?
Let's get your business seen.
Social media, websites, SEO and ads from a team you can actually meet.
Carousels are still one of the best-performing formats on both Instagram and LinkedIn. People swipe, they spend longer on your post, and the algorithm notices. But get the size wrong and your carefully designed slides end up cropped, squashed or blurry.
Here are the carousel sizes we use for clients in 2026, and the mistakes we see most often.
Instagram carousel size
The best all-round size for an Instagram carousel is 1080 x 1350 pixels, a 4:5 portrait ratio. It takes up the most space in the feed on a phone, which means more attention on your post.
- Portrait (recommended): 1080 x 1350 px, 4:5 ratio
- Square: 1080 x 1080 px, 1:1 ratio
- Landscape: 1080 x 566 px, 1.91:1 ratio (rarely worth it, it shrinks your post in the feed)
- Slides: up to 20 images or videos in one carousel
- File types: JPG or PNG for images, MP4 for video
The first slide sets the size for the rest
This catches people out all the time. Instagram uses the shape of your first slide for the whole carousel. If slide one is square and slide two is portrait, slide two gets cropped to square. Design every slide at the same size and you will never lose the edges of your text.
Mind the profile grid
Instagram now shows posts on your profile grid as taller rectangles rather than perfect squares, so the top and bottom of your first slide can still be trimmed in the grid view. Keep your headline and logo away from the very top and bottom edges of slide one and it will look right in the feed and on your profile.
LinkedIn carousel size
On LinkedIn, the swipeable “carousel” most people mean is actually a document post: you upload a PDF and LinkedIn turns each page into a slide.
- Square (most common): 1080 x 1080 px, 1:1 ratio
- Portrait (more screen space on mobile): 1080 x 1350 px, 4:5 ratio
- Landscape (presentation style): 1920 x 1080 px, 16:9 ratio
- File type: PDF (also PPT, PPTX, DOC and DOCX)
- File size: up to 100 MB
- Pages: up to 300, but 6 to 12 is the sweet spot for engagement
Our advice: design at 1080 x 1350 for both platforms. You get a portrait carousel that works on Instagram and a document post that fills more of the screen on LinkedIn, from one set of designs.
One thing to remember: if you upload several separate images to LinkedIn, they show as a gallery, not a swipeable carousel. For the proper swipe, export your slides as one PDF.
Quick reference table
| Platform | Best size | Ratio | Max slides | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080 x 1350 px | 4:5 | 20 | JPG, PNG, MP4 | |
| Instagram (square) | 1080 x 1080 px | 1:1 | 20 | JPG, PNG, MP4 |
| LinkedIn document | 1080 x 1350 px | 4:5 | 300 pages | |
| LinkedIn document (square) | 1080 x 1080 px | 1:1 | 300 pages |
The mistakes we see most
- Text too close to the edges. Leave a safe margin of around 60 to 80 pixels on every side so nothing gets cut off by the interface or the grid.
- Tiny text. People read carousels on a phone. If you need to zoom in to read it, nobody will. Aim for a few words per slide in a big, clear font.
- Mixed sizes. One square slide in a portrait carousel ruins the flow. Keep them all the same.
- Exporting at low quality. Export at 1080 pixels wide or more, and for LinkedIn PDFs check the export setting is not compressing your images into mush.
- No reason to swipe. The first slide is your headline. Make it a question, a promise or a bold statement, and end with a clear call to action on the last slide.
What makes a carousel work
Size is the easy bit. The carousels that perform best for our clients follow a simple pattern: a hook on slide one, one idea per slide, a consistent look that matches the brand, and a final slide that tells people what to do next, whether that is saving the post, visiting the website or sending a message.
We have written more about why carousel posts are so successful if you want the bigger picture, and our social media image sizes guide covers every other format.
Want carousels done for you?
Our social media team designs carousels every week for businesses across Surrey, Hampshire and beyond. If you would rather spend your time running your business, get in touch, or book a free Social Clinic and we will show you what is working on your channels right now.
