Instagram Reel Cover
Shown small on the profile grid, so type needs to be large and the subject centred.
1080 × 1920 · 9:16
Checked 6 October 2026
Instagram Reel Cover Maker
1080 × 1920 covers with large type and a centred subject.
- Free — every template
- No signup required
- Posts, stories & carousels
- Images never leave your device
- Runs in your browser
- Free, no signup
The size, and where it comes from
Instagram covers the top and the bottom of a 9:16 canvas with its own interface — the progress bar, the profile row and the reply field. The usable band is roughly 22% down to 78% of the canvas, and every template here keeps its headline and its call to action inside it.
Templates for this format
See allHow to use it
- 1 Start from a template or a blank canvas 10 templates suit this format. The editor opens with one already applied if you pick it from the library.
- 2 Edit the wording Click any text on the canvas and type over it. The type shrinks to stay inside its box, and the editor tells you if a headline is too long rather than clipping it.
- 3 Add your image Drag a photograph onto the canvas or use the background panel. It is fitted without stretching, and it is not uploaded.
- 4 Download PNG or JPEG at 1080 × 1920 · 9:16, at exactly those dimensions, with no watermark.
What you can change
- Every piece of text, including the kicker and the call to action
- Typeface, weight, size and colour
- Background — solid, gradient, or your own image
- Your own image, moved and zoomed inside its frame
- Layer order, so anything can go in front of anything
- A different size at any point without losing your work
Nothing is locked
There is no PRO tier in this tool. Every template that exists is available, at full resolution, with no watermark and no export limit. Where a template suits several formats — a square post and a portrait post, or a portrait post and a story — all of them are offered rather than one being held back for a paid plan.
Your images are read, composed and exported inside your browser. They are never uploaded to our server, and your designs are saved on your own device.
A reel cover is 1080 × 1920, but almost nobody sees it at that size. What people actually see is the grid thumbnail: a small square, centre-cropped, perhaps two hundred pixels across. That is the constraint the design has to survive, and it is why these covers use much larger type than a story and keep the subject away from the edges.
The part of the canvas that survives into the grid thumbnail is marked in the editor as you work, so you can see what the cover looks like once it is a thumbnail rather than guessing.
How to use this tool
- Pick a reel-cover template, or open the editor at 1080 × 1920 and choose a composition with large type.
- Keep the words short. Three or four words at a large size survives the thumbnail; a sentence does not.
- Place your image so the subject is near the centre. The grid crops to the middle square, so anything near an edge is lost.
- Download the PNG at 1080 × 1920 and set it as the cover when you publish the reel.
Frequently asked questions
What size is an Instagram reel cover?
1080 × 1920, the same 9:16 canvas as a story. It is exported at exactly that size here.
Why does my cover look fine but wrong in the grid?
Because the profile grid shows a centre-cropped square, not the full 9:16 image. Anything near the top or the bottom edge, or off to one side, is outside that square. The editor marks the thumbnail area so the type and the subject can be kept inside it.
How much text fits on a reel cover?
Far less than on a post. Three or four large words read at thumbnail size; a full sentence becomes a grey smudge. Every reel-cover template here is built around a short headline for that reason.
Can I use a photograph behind the text?
Yes. Add your image and it fills the frame without being stretched, then the text sits over it in the template’s layout.