Meta Ad Specs: The Complete Format Reference for 2025

Meta ad specs define the image dimensions, video lengths, file sizes, and text limits that determine whether your creative runs cleanly across Facebook and Instagram placements. Get them wrong and your ads get cropped, compressed, or rejected before a single person sees them.

This reference covers every major placement across Meta’s ad network, including Feed, Stories, Reels, Marketplace, and Audience Network, with the technical requirements you need to brief your creative team correctly the first time.

I have spent a fair amount of time watching well-funded campaigns underperform because the creative brief never mentioned aspect ratios. The media plan was solid, the targeting was considered, and the budget was there. But the assets were built for a single placement, stretched across six, and looked broken on four of them. Spec compliance is not glamorous work, but it is the kind of thing that separates campaigns that actually land from campaigns that technically ran.

Why Meta Ad Specs Matter More Than Most Teams Think

Meta’s ad delivery system is automated at scale. When your creative does not meet placement specifications, the platform either auto-crops it, compresses it, or flags it for review. None of those outcomes are good. Auto-cropping cuts off faces, logos, and calls to action. Compression degrades video quality to the point where it undercuts the brand. And a flagged review slows your campaign before it has started.

There is also a secondary issue that does not get discussed enough. When you brief a creative team without spec guidance, they default to whatever format feels natural, usually a 16:9 landscape video or a square image, because that is what most editing software defaults to. Then someone in trafficking has to adapt those assets for Stories, Reels, and mobile Feed, and the result is a patchwork of compromised versions that were never designed for the placements they end up in.

If you are thinking about this in a broader go-to-market context, the Go-To-Market and Growth Strategy hub on The Marketing Juice covers how channel decisions, creative strategy, and audience planning fit together. Spec compliance sits at the execution end of that chain, but it is where strategy either holds or falls apart.

Facebook Feed Ad Specs

The Facebook Feed remains one of the highest-volume placements in most media plans. It supports images, single videos, carousels, and collections.

Image Ads: Facebook Feed

Recommended image size: 1080 x 1080 pixels. Minimum width: 600 pixels. Supported aspect ratios: 1.91:1 to 4:5. The 4:5 vertical format (1080 x 1350 pixels) takes up more screen real estate on mobile and tends to perform well when your creative is designed for it rather than cropped into it. File types: JPG or PNG. Maximum file size: 30MB.

Primary text: 125 characters before truncation. Headline: 27 characters. Description: 27 characters. These limits are soft in the sense that you can go longer, but anything beyond them gets cut off with a “see more” prompt. Most users do not tap it.

Video Ads: Facebook Feed

Recommended resolution: 1080 x 1080 pixels minimum. Aspect ratio: 4:5 recommended for mobile Feed, 1:1 also works well. Supported aspect ratios: 9:16 to 16:9. File types: MP4, MOV, or GIF. Maximum file size: 4GB. Video length: 1 second to 241 minutes, though anything beyond 15 seconds loses most of its audience on mobile Feed. Recommended video length for performance: 15 seconds or under. Frame rate: at least 30fps. Audio: stereo AAC compression at 128kbps or higher.

One thing worth flagging here: Meta’s own data consistently shows that a significant proportion of video is watched without sound. That is not a reason to ignore audio quality, but it is a reason to ensure your video communicates clearly without it. Captions are not optional if you want your message to land.

Instagram Feed Ad Specs

Instagram Feed is visually unforgiving. Poor image quality and awkward cropping are more noticeable here than almost anywhere else in the Meta ecosystem, because the context is a curated visual stream. Your ad sits next to content people have chosen to follow.

Image Ads: Instagram Feed

Recommended image size: 1080 x 1080 pixels for square, 1080 x 1350 pixels for portrait. Minimum width: 500 pixels. Supported aspect ratios: 1.91:1 to 4:5. File types: JPG or PNG. Maximum file size: 30MB.

Primary text: 125 characters before truncation. Headline: 27 characters. The Instagram Feed does not display a description field in the same way Facebook does, so your primary text needs to carry more weight. Write the first line as if it is the only line most people will read, because for a large proportion of your audience, it will be.

Video Ads: Instagram Feed

Recommended resolution: 1080 x 1080 pixels. Aspect ratio: 1:1 or 4:5. File types: MP4 or MOV. Maximum file size: 4GB. Video length: 1 second to 60 minutes, though performance drops sharply after 15 seconds for most objectives. Minimum frame rate: 30fps. Codec: H.264 recommended.

Stories Ad Specs: Facebook and Instagram

Stories is a full-screen vertical format, and it is one of the placements where creative that was not designed for it looks worst. A landscape video or a square image letterboxed into a 9:16 frame with grey bars top and bottom communicates something unintentional: that this brand did not think the placement was worth the effort.

I have seen this happen on accounts spending significant monthly budgets. The media team had done their job. The creative team had delivered assets. But nobody had specified that Stories needed its own creative treatment, and the result was technically running ads that were visually broken.

Image Ads: Stories

Recommended image size: 1080 x 1920 pixels. Aspect ratio: 9:16. Minimum aspect ratio: 1.91:1. Maximum aspect ratio: 9:16. File types: JPG or PNG. Maximum file size: 30MB.

Safe zone: Keep all critical text and visual elements within the central 1080 x 1420 pixel area. The top 14% and bottom 20% of the frame are partially obscured by the Stories UI, including the profile icon, timestamp, and the swipe-up or CTA button. Design for the safe zone, not the full frame.

Video Ads: Stories

Recommended resolution: 1080 x 1920 pixels. Aspect ratio: 9:16. File types: MP4 or MOV. Maximum file size: 4GB. Video length: 1 second to 15 seconds for image-style Stories ads, up to 60 seconds for video (though Meta may split longer videos into multiple cards). Frame rate: 30fps minimum. Codec: H.264.

Primary text: 125 characters. Note that text overlaid on Stories creative is often more effective than text in the primary text field, since users are in a tap-through mindset and rarely read below the visual.

Reels Ad Specs: Facebook and Instagram

Reels is the fastest-growing placement in the Meta ecosystem and the one where the gap between native-feeling creative and obviously-repurposed creative is most visible. Reels audiences are accustomed to full-screen vertical video with sound, fast pacing, and content that earns attention in the first two seconds. Ads that feel like ads perform worse here than almost anywhere else.

Video Ads: Reels

Recommended resolution: 1080 x 1920 pixels. Aspect ratio: 9:16 full-screen vertical. Minimum aspect ratio: 9:16. File types: MP4 or MOV. Maximum file size: 4GB. Video length: Facebook Reels supports up to 90 seconds. Instagram Reels ads support up to 60 seconds. Recommended length: 15 to 30 seconds. Frame rate: 30fps minimum. Codec: H.264.

Safe zone: The bottom 35% of the Reels frame is occupied by the UI overlay, including the username, description, audio credit, and action icons. Keep your core message and any text overlays in the upper two-thirds of the frame.

Primary text: 72 characters before truncation in Reels. This is shorter than Feed, and it matters. If you are carrying over copy from a Feed campaign, it will almost certainly be too long.

Working with creator-led content for Reels placements requires a different briefing approach than traditional ad production. Later’s resource on working with creators for campaign delivery is worth a look if you are building out a creator content workflow alongside your paid placements.

Carousel Ad Specs

Carousel ads are available across Facebook Feed, Instagram Feed, Stories, and Messenger. Each card in the carousel can carry its own image or video, headline, description, and destination URL, which makes them genuinely useful for product catalogues, sequential storytelling, or multi-feature messaging.

Minimum cards: 2. Maximum cards: 10. Each card can be an image or video, and you can mix formats within a single carousel.

Image Cards: Carousel

Recommended image size: 1080 x 1080 pixels. Aspect ratio: 1:1. File types: JPG or PNG. Maximum file size: 30MB per card. Headline per card: 45 characters. Description per card: 18 characters. Primary text (applies to the carousel as a whole): 125 characters.

Video Cards: Carousel

Recommended resolution: 1080 x 1080 pixels. Aspect ratio: 1:1. File types: MP4 or MOV. Maximum file size: 4GB per card. Video length: 1 second to 240 minutes, though 15 seconds or under is the practical ceiling for most carousel video cards. Codec: H.264.

Collection and Instant Experience Ad Specs

Collection ads combine a cover image or video with a product catalogue grid below it, opening into an Instant Experience (formerly Canvas) when tapped. They are designed for mobile commerce and work best when your product feed is well-structured and your cover creative is strong enough to earn the tap.

Cover image: 1200 x 628 pixels minimum. Recommended aspect ratio: 1.91:1 or 1:1. Cover video: same specs as standard video ads for the relevant placement. The Instant Experience itself is a full-screen mobile format that loads within the Meta app, keeping users in the environment rather than bouncing them to a browser.

Primary text: 125 characters. Headline: 25 characters. The collection format rewards clean product imagery and tight copy more than almost any other format in the Meta ecosystem.

Right Column and Marketplace Ad Specs

Right Column ads appear only on desktop and are the lowest-priority placement for most mobile-first campaigns. They carry a smaller image and less text space, and click-through rates tend to be lower than Feed placements. That said, they can serve a role in retargeting and awareness campaigns where desktop reach matters.

Recommended image size: 1080 x 1080 pixels. Minimum size: 254 x 133 pixels. Aspect ratio: 1:1 preferred, though 1.91:1 is also supported. File types: JPG or PNG. Maximum file size: 30MB. Headline: 40 characters. Primary text: 125 characters.

Facebook Marketplace ads follow similar specs to Right Column. Recommended image size: 1080 x 1080 pixels. Aspect ratio: 1:1. File types: JPG or PNG. Maximum file size: 30MB. Primary text: 125 characters. Headline: 45 characters.

Audience Network Ad Specs

Audience Network extends your Meta campaigns to third-party apps and websites outside of Facebook and Instagram. The format options are native, banner, and interstitial, and the specs vary accordingly.

Native: Follows the same image and video specs as Facebook Feed. Banner: 320 x 50 pixels minimum. Interstitial: 320 x 480 pixels minimum, though 1080 x 1920 is recommended for full-screen interstitial. File types: JPG, PNG, MP4, or MOV depending on format. Maximum file size: 30MB for images, 4GB for video.

Audience Network performance is variable and worth monitoring closely. In my experience managing large-scale paid social accounts, Audience Network often delivers volume at a lower CPM but with weaker downstream conversion rates. It is worth segmenting it in your reporting rather than lumping it in with on-platform performance.

Text Limits Across All Meta Placements

Text limits are consistent across most Meta placements, with a few exceptions for Reels and Right Column. Here is a consolidated reference:

Primary text: 125 characters before truncation (72 characters for Reels). Headline: 27 characters for Feed and Stories, 45 characters for Carousel and Marketplace, 40 characters for Right Column. Description: 27 characters for Feed, 18 characters for Carousel cards. These are not hard limits in the sense that Meta will reject longer copy, but they are the practical limits before your message gets cut off.

The discipline of writing within these limits is useful beyond compliance. It forces clarity. Early in my career I watched agency copywriters produce 200-word ad copy for placements that showed 20 words. The brief had not specified the constraints, so nobody worked within them. Spec documents are not just technical references. They are creative briefs in disguise.

File Format and Technical Specifications Summary

Across all Meta placements, the following technical requirements apply consistently:

Image file types: JPG or PNG. Maximum image file size: 30MB. Video file types: MP4, MOV, or GIF (GIF is treated as a short looping video). Maximum video file size: 4GB. Recommended video codec: H.264. Recommended audio codec: AAC at 128kbps or higher. Minimum frame rate: 30fps. Recommended frame rate: 60fps for Reels and Stories where motion quality matters. Colour space: sRGB is recommended for consistent colour rendering across devices.

One technical detail that causes problems more often than it should: video files with variable frame rates. Most editing software can export at a constant frame rate, and Meta’s system handles those more reliably. Variable frame rate exports, which are common when screen recording or capturing from certain mobile devices, can cause audio sync issues and playback problems after upload. Always export at a constant frame rate.

How to Brief Creative Teams Using Meta Ad Specs

The specs above are only useful if they reach the people building the creative. That sounds obvious, but the gap between the media plan and the creative brief is where most spec compliance problems originate.

A well-structured creative brief for a Meta campaign should include: the placements being used, the required dimensions and aspect ratios for each, the text character limits for each placement, the file format and size requirements, and the safe zone guidelines for Stories and Reels. It should also specify which placements get bespoke creative and which will use adapted versions, because those are different tasks with different quality implications.

When I was running agency teams, we built placement spec sheets into every campaign kickoff document. Not because the creative team did not know the specs, but because briefing without them created ambiguity, and ambiguity in production creates rework. The cost of a spec sheet is nothing. The cost of rebuilding assets two days before a campaign launch is significant.

Understanding how spec decisions connect to broader campaign architecture is worth the time. The Growth Strategy hub covers the strategic layer above execution, including how channel mix, creative strategy, and audience planning interact across a go-to-market plan.

If you are thinking about why go-to-market execution feels increasingly complex, Vidyard’s piece on why GTM feels harder is a useful read. The proliferation of placements and formats is part of that story, and it has real implications for how teams structure their creative workflows.

Common Spec Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

The most common mistake is building creative for one placement and running it across all placements without adaptation. This is particularly damaging when a 16:9 landscape video is used for Stories or Reels, where it appears as a small rectangle in the centre of a full-screen vertical frame. It signals to the viewer that the ad was not made for them, which is exactly the wrong signal to send.

The second most common mistake is ignoring safe zones. Critical text or logos placed in the outer edges of the frame get obscured by UI elements in Stories and Reels. This is entirely avoidable with a simple overlay template in your design tool of choice.

The third is oversized text. Meta’s ad system has historically penalised images with more than 20% text coverage, though the hard rule has been relaxed. The underlying principle has not: heavy text on images reduces reach and increases cost. If your message requires significant text, put it in the copy fields, not burned into the image.

The fourth is mismatched aspect ratios in carousel ads. If some cards are 1:1 and others are 4:5, Meta will display them at the aspect ratio of the first card, which means some cards get cropped. Keep all carousel cards at the same aspect ratio.

Market penetration campaigns that are pushing into new audiences through paid social, which is a topic covered well in Semrush’s analysis of market penetration strategy, depend on creative that works at the placement level. You can have the right audience and the right message and still underperform because the format execution was sloppy.

The commercial logic here connects to something I have thought about a lot over the years. Earlier in my career I was too focused on lower-funnel performance metrics and not focused enough on the quality of the impression itself. A technically compliant, well-crafted ad in the right placement is the foundation. Everything downstream, the click, the conversion, the return, depends on it.

Keeping Specs Current

Meta updates its ad specifications periodically, and the changes are not always announced prominently. New placements get added, text limits shift, and video requirements evolve as the platform introduces new features. The most reliable source is Meta’s own Business Help Centre, which maintains current spec documentation for each placement and objective combination.

Build a quarterly spec review into your campaign planning process. It takes less than an hour and prevents the kind of avoidable errors that cost time and budget during live campaigns. If you are running a large creative library across multiple placements, a simple spec audit before each major campaign burst is worth the investment.

Growth-focused teams that are scaling their paid social investment, including those looking at growth tactics that have worked at scale, tend to have tighter creative operations than teams that treat specs as an afterthought. The correlation is not coincidental.

About the Author

Keith Lacy is a marketing strategist and former agency CEO with 20+ years of experience across agency leadership, performance marketing, and commercial strategy. He writes The Marketing Juice to cut through the noise and share what works.

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