Related search
Motorcycle
Coffee Accessories
Cable Holder
Sugar Bowl
Get more Insight with Accio
How to Post a Long Video on Instagram: Reels, Stories, Feeds
How to Post a Long Video on Instagram: Reels, Stories, Feeds
7min read·Jim Volgano·Feb 24, 2026
You have a video you want to share, but every time you want to share it is chopped off at some point or simply refuses to upload. For starters, Instagram has multiple video formats with varying maximum lengths. On top of that, Instagram keeps changing the limits, and they don’t exactly make those changes clear.
So we want to help you understand how to post long videos on Instagram. But before then, this guide will walk through the current limits for Instagram Reels, Stories, and feed posts. And you’ll also be surprised that the current limits are actually different depending on whether you post from the mobile app or from desktop.
Table of Contents
- How long can videos be on Instagram?
- How to post 20-minute Reels on Instagram
- How to upload long videos to Instagram Story
- How to post long videos on your Instagram feed
- I still can’t upload longer videos on Instagram
- Conclusion
Want to explore more about How to Post a Long Video on Instagram: Reels, Stories, Feeds? Try the ask below
How to Post a Long Video on Instagram: Reels, Stories, Feeds
How long can videos be on Instagram?
Instagram offers several video formats, and each has a maximum length of video that can be posted. Live videos can be up to four hours per live session, while Threads, Instagram’s companion app, currently supports videos up to 5 minutes long. We have detailed information on the length of Reels, feed video posts, and Stories below.
What is the longest a Reel can be?
Before the latest updates, the answer to “how long can Instagram Reels be?” was 3 minutes (rolled out in early 2025). Remember that pre-2025, the limit was 90 seconds. Now, and it started in late 2025, we’re in “20-minute Reel” territory: mini-docs, full tutorials, deep-dive explainers for presenting and marketing your products or how to use them. However, there’s a catch; Instagram won’t recommend Reels over 3 minutes to new audiences.
What is the max Instagram feed post video length?
You can upload up to 15-minute-long feed post videos via the Instagram mobile app and up to 60 minutes long when uploaded from a desktop. To share videos longer than 15 minutes directly as a feed post, you generally need to upload from instagram.com on desktop. When you try posting videos longer than 15 minutes on feed via the app, Instagram cuts the video down and posts it as a Reel instead.
How long can Instagram Stories be?
Instagram Stories can be up to 60 seconds long, whether you record them in the app or upload them. One thing to note, though: Instagram no longer automatically splits longer videos into multiple Stories like in the past. If your video is longer than 60 seconds, it just won’t post.
How to post 20-minute Reels on Instagram
Hop into Instagram, and press the “+” the Reels, or simply tap Reels icon to access the Reels camera. At the bottom, choose Reel if various camera modes appear. Find the duration selector (previously for 15s, 30s, 60s, 90s, or 3:00). Select the updated 20:00 choice or simply begin recording. The progress bar supports up to 20 minutes.
Press and hold, or tap once, for the record button to begin. Capture several clips as needed. You’ll see a progress bar at the top that displays the total time recorded. Apply the latest editing features, such as green screen, undo, and touch-up controls, to polish your content.
Incorporate audio, text overlays, stickers, and a strong call to action. Tap Next, then Share to post your 20-minute Reel.
Alternatively, for pre-edited videos from another app, upload the completed file as a Reel. The 20-minute cap and potential algorithm effects remain the same.
How to upload long videos to Instagram Story
As mentioned, Instagram Stories can be as long as 60 seconds. Open Instagram and tap Your Story at the top left, and upload your video. If you choose a short video, say 30 seconds long, Instagram will not cut or trim it. It will upload as one Story clip.
However, if you upload a video that is longer than 60 seconds, Instagram will automatically cut it into multiple segments, each 60 seconds long. This allows you to post the entire clip, however long it is, as a sequence of 60-second Story segments.
Manually segmenting long Instagram Stories
You can also manually clip videos that are longer than 60 seconds before uploading them. For example, if you have a 10-minute video, you can break it into 60-second clips directly in your phone’s Photos app.
What you need is a video splitter. So search up split video or video splitter. There’ll be a few different apps out there.
Next, open the video, tap the three dots, and select Duplicate. Edit the first version using the scrub bar to capture only the first 60 seconds, then save it. For the second version, capture the next 60 seconds (for example, from 60 to 120 seconds), and save again. Repeat this process until your full video is broken into 60-second clips.
Once uploaded to Instagram Stories, Instagram will automatically subdivide each 10-minute-clip into 60-second Story segments, allowing viewers to watch the entire video seamlessly.
What we need to do is go and get a video splitter. So go and search up split video or video splitter. There’ll be a few different apps out there.
How to post long videos on your Instagram feed
Normally, when you tap the + button and choose the Reels option, Instagram limits your video length. For example, if you select a video that is 30 minutes and a few seconds long, Instagram will automatically try to cut it down to under 90 seconds. If you don’t want that to happen, you should not upload it as a Reel.
Instead, tap the plus (+) button and choose the Post option. You can also tap the button at the top and select Post from there. Now choose your long video and tap Next.
You’ll notice that the video keeps its full length. You can still edit it just like a Reel — cut clips, swap sections, add audio, text, stickers, or voiceovers. All the usual Reels features are there, but the video is not being forced down to 20 minutes.
Once you’re done editing, tap Next. Choose a cover that fits your video or upload one from your camera roll. Select how you want it to show on your grid, then add your caption.
At this stage, you can choose whether the video appears on both your main grid and Reels grid, or on the Reels grid only. Even though you uploaded it as a post, Instagram will automatically place it as a Reel, despite it being longer than 20 minutes (but not beyond 60 minutes) .
Tap Share and wait for the video to upload. Once it’s posted, you’ll see that the video plays in full without being cut. When you check your profile, the video appears on your grid, and when you tap the Reels tab, it shows up there as well, especially if it was under 20 minutes, and looks exactly like a Reel. This means you can post Instagram Reels that are 200 minutes or shorter and still keep the entire video in your post feed.
I still can’t upload longer videos on Instagram
Close Instagram and head over to the App Store or Play Store if you have an Android device. You’ll see a blue icon with a “Get,” “Open” or “Update” button. If necessary, update the app, then log into your IG account and follow the steps in the sections above to upload longer videos on Instagram.
Conclusion
You can now post Instagram Stories that are longer than one minute as 60-second segmented and sequenced clips. Instagram automatically splits any video over one minute into 60-second clips when you upload it to Stories. You can also use a third-party app to split your videos into 60 seconds or less before posting.
Instagram allows you to upload Reels up to 20 minutes long directly from your app camera, as well as feed posts up to 60 minutes. However, when posting longer feed videos, make sure you tap Post and not Reels, or Instagram will limit the length and make your video a Reel.
Posting videos on Instagram is only one part of reaching your customers, showing your product, and promoting your brand. You also need insights beyond posting, such as how to create appealing content, how to reach your target market, and how to convert views into results. All this is possible when you use the ACCIO B2B AI tool. ACCIO provides powerful insights on everything you want to know to run your business successfully, especially on a global scale. Using the AI tool is simple, as all you need to do is enter your question or upload an image and the tool will give you all the answers you need!