What aspect ratio should I use for Instagram Reels AI video?
Use 9:16 at 1080×1920 pixels for Instagram Reels. Generate natively in 9:16 — cropping a 16:9 clip to vertical throws away half the frame and ruins the composition the AI model planned. Keep the top 220px and bottom 250px of the frame uncluttered to leave room for captions and Instagram's CTA overlay.
- Native ratio: 9:16, 1080×1920 minimum.
- Safe zones: top 220px and bottom 250px — keep them clean.
- Never crop 16:9 down — generate vertical from prompt one.
- Klixor outputs 9:16 natively across every model.
Why generating natively vertical matters
Most frontier models compose for the canvas you give them. Generate at 16:9 and the model places your subject horizontally — the cinematic centre is the middle of a wide frame. Crop that to 9:16 and you lose half the composition and the model's lighting.
Generate natively at 9:16 and the model frames the subject vertically from the start, with motion designed for vertical viewing.
Instagram safe zones to keep in mind
Instagram overlays your caption on roughly the bottom 250 pixels and the username/CTA on roughly the top 220 pixels of a 1080×1920 Reel. Anything important in those zones gets covered.
Prompt the AI to keep faces and product shots in the central 60% of the vertical frame.
FAQ
Is 4:5 ever better than 9:16 for Reels?
4:5 is for in-feed posts, not Reels. Reels always display as 9:16 — a 4:5 upload gets centred with black bars.
Can I post a 1:1 square AI video as a Reel?
You can, but Instagram crops it to 9:16 by zooming, which loses quality and composition. Generate 9:16 native.