Reels, feed and Stories
Instagram Video Editor Online
Instagram wants three different shapes from the same clip. Reels and Stories play full screen at 9:16, feed posts look best at 4:5, and since early 2025 the profile grid crops every thumbnail to 3:4. This editor opens a 1080x1920, 1080x1350 or 1080x1080 timeline in your browser, lets you place clips and titles against the real frame, and writes an MP4 that Instagram accepts, without uploading your footage anywhere first.
Project picker
Multi-track editing with WebCodecs · Frame-accurate seek · Source monitor
New Project
About Instagram Video Editor Online
Start with the canvas, not the clip. Pick 9:16 for a Reel or Story, 4:5 for a feed post, and 1:1 if the same file has to work as a carousel slide. A landscape clip dropped onto a vertical canvas is fitted with bars above and below. Scale and move it with the transform controls until the subject fills the frame, or keep the bars and put a title in the empty space. Keep text and logos away from the top and bottom of a Reel, because Instagram draws your username over the top of the frame and the caption, audio label and action buttons over the bottom. Those overlays shift between app versions, so the safe habit is to keep anything that matters inside the middle of the frame and check the result in the app before you publish. The guide menu above the preview shades the covered zones over your own footage, using the figures Meta publishes for Reels, and a second guide shows what the profile grid crops away.
This page is not a replacement for the editor inside the Instagram app. That one already handles quick trims, stickers and the licensed music library, and nothing here does those. This editor is for the work that happens before the upload: cutting several clips together, putting music under a voice-over, laying out titles that survive the grid crop, and making a 4:5 feed version and a 9:16 Reel from the same source. It cannot post or schedule for you. Export the MP4 and upload it through the Instagram app or Meta Business Suite. Export defaults to H.264 at 8 Mbps, which sits inside the range Instagram recommends, and the raw files stay on your device the whole time, which matters for client work that has not been approved yet.
Seen in the editor
When to use this editor
One shoot, three shapes
Cut the Reel at 9:16 first, then open a second project at 4:5 for the feed and reuse the same source clips. The grid shows both as 3:4 thumbnails, so keep the subject near the centre of each.
Reels with music under a voice-over
Voice on one audio track, music on another, and the music faded down under the speech. The in-app editor gives you one audio layer. This timeline stacks as many as you need.
Carousel video slides
Feed carousels accept video slides at 1:1 or 4:5. Trim each clip to its point and export one MP4 per slide, all from one browser tab.
Client content before approval
Agencies cutting a brand Reel before the client has signed off. Nothing leaves the laptop until the approved file is posted from the brand account.
Interview clip to Reel
A 16:9 talking-head clip becomes a Reel by scaling it into the 9:16 frame and burning captions into the lower middle, clear of the caption overlay.
Stories cut at the right beats
Instagram splits a long Story video into cards at fixed intervals. Cutting it yourself at the natural pauses gives cleaner breaks than the automatic split.
How to Edit a Video for Instagram in Your Browser
1 Pick the canvas
Click New Project and choose 9:16 for a Reel or Story, 4:5 for a feed post, or 1:1 for a carousel slide.
2 Add and fit your clips
Drag files into the source bin and onto the timeline. Scale and reposition landscape footage so the subject fills the vertical frame.
3 Place text in the safe area
Turn on the Instagram Reels guide above the preview and keep titles inside the unshaded middle, clear of the username at the top and the caption and buttons at the bottom.
4 Export and upload
Export an H.264 MP4 at 8 or 16 Mbps, then post it from the Instagram app or schedule it in Meta Business Suite.
Frequently asked questions
What size should an Instagram video be?
Reels and Stories: 1080x1920, which is 9:16. Feed posts: 1080x1350, which is 4:5 and survives the 3:4 grid crop with the least loss. Square 1080x1080 still works for feed posts and carousels. All three are canvas presets in the New Project dialog.
How long can an Instagram Reel be?
Up to three minutes when uploaded from the app, as of late 2026. Instagram has raised this ceiling more than once, so check the app if you are close to it. The length that matters more is how long people keep watching: a Reel that is viewed to the end gets pushed further than a long one people leave.
Will Instagram re-encode my video?
Yes. Every upload is transcoded on Instagram's servers, so the goal is to hand it a clean source: H.264 video, AAC audio, 30 frames per second, 8 to 16 Mbps. The export dialog offers 4, 8, 16 and 32 Mbps. The default of 8 is fine for most footage, 16 is worth it for fast motion or fine detail, and anything above that only makes the upload slower.
Where are the safe zones on a Reel?
Roughly the top 15 percent of the frame, where your username and the camera icon sit, and the bottom 10 percent, where the caption, audio label and action buttons go, plus a column along the right edge for the like and share icons. Those are the figures Meta publishes for Reels ads, and the organic player covers a little less. Pick Instagram Reels from the guide menu above the preview to see the zones shaded on your own footage, then preview the Reel in the app before posting.
Can I make a feed version and a Reel from the same project?
Not inside one project, because a project has one canvas size. Create a second project with the other canvas and drop the same source files in. Both projects stay listed in your browser's storage, so switching between them is one click.
Can I add Instagram music or trending audio here?
No. Licensed tracks from Instagram's library can only be added inside the app, and adding them there is also what links your Reel to that audio's page. Edit the picture and your own voice-over or music here, upload the MP4, then add the library track in the app if you want it.
Can I post or schedule to Instagram from this editor?
No. There is no connection to your Instagram account, which is also why none of your footage is uploaded. Export the MP4, then post it from the app or schedule it through Meta Business Suite.
Does it add captions to Reels?
Yes, for English speech. Select the audio clip, pick Transcribe under Add Effect, and the words land on an editable text track that burns into the export. Place that track in the lower middle of the frame so Instagram's own caption overlay does not sit on top of it. For other languages, use Instagram's auto captions after upload.
Your video never leaves your device
All processing happens locally in your browser, and your files never leave your device. The editor reads your video file through a standard browser file input, holds the bytes in memory, decodes and re-encodes them with WebCodecs inside the tab, and writes the final MP4 back to your disk. No upload, no cloud rendering, no external copy.
Related Tools and Resources
Resize for Instagram Reels
Quick 9:16 1080x1920 resize when you only need the shape changed.
YouTube video editor
The 16:9 landscape version of this page for longform uploads.
Online video editor
The general editor landing with every canvas size.
Auto caption
Burn captions into a clip without opening the full editor.
Compress video
Shrink a finished Reel if the upload keeps timing out.
Guide: social media video specs
Instagram's sizes and caps next to every other platform.