9:16 aspect ratio
0.5625:1 · 1080×1920 px · also called vertical video, story ratio, 0.5625:1, portrait full screen
9:16 is 16:9 turned on its side: 1080 px wide by 1920 px tall. It fills a phone screen edge to edge, which is why every short-form surface — Instagram Reels, Stories, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Snapchat — expects it natively.
What 9:16 means
A 9:16 frame is 0.5625 times as wide as it is tall. Multiply the height by 9/16 to get the width, or the width by 16/9 to get the height. 1080×1920 is the recommended master; anything below 720×1280 will look soft on modern phones.
Where it is used
Instagram Reels and Stories, Facebook Reels and Stories, TikTok In-Feed and TopView, YouTube Shorts, Snapchat Snap Ads and Pinterest Idea Pins. Every one of these overlays UI on top of the frame, so the visual safe zone is far smaller than the canvas.
9:16 in pixels
Every row below is exactly 9:16. Divide the width by 0.5625 to get the height for any size not listed.
| Width (px) | Height (px) | Total pixels |
|---|---|---|
| 540 | 960 | 0.52 MP |
| 720 | 1280 | 0.92 MP |
| 1080 | 1920 | 2.07 MP |
| 1440 | 2560 | 3.69 MP |
| 2160 | 3840 | 8.29 MP |
9:16 in mm and inches
Physical equivalents at common print widths, with the pixel size needed for 300 DPI print.
| Width (mm) | Height (mm) | Inches | Pixels @ 300 DPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 88.9 | 1.97″ × 3.50″ | 591×1050 |
| 100 | 177.8 | 3.94″ × 7.00″ | 1181×2100 |
| 150 | 266.7 | 5.91″ × 10.50″ | 1772×3150 |
| 210 | 373.3 | 8.27″ × 14.70″ | 2480×4409 |
| 297 | 528 | 11.69″ × 20.79″ | 3508×6236 |
Ad placements that use 9:16
Working with 9:16
- 01Treat the top 250 px and bottom 340 px of a 1080×1920 frame as UI, not canvas — profile chrome and the CTA sit there.
- 02Put the hook in the first 3 seconds and inside the middle 1080×1080 square, so the same asset survives a feed crop.
- 03Design text at 40 px+ so it stays readable after platform compression.
- 04Export one 9:16 master per campaign, then let the resizer derive 4:5 and 1:1 rather than re-shooting.
9:16 questions, answered
What is 9:16 in pixels?
1080×1920 px is the standard. 720×1280 and 1440×2560 are also exactly 9:16.
Is 9:16 the same as vertical video?
It is the full-screen vertical ratio. 4:5 is also vertical, but it stops short of filling the screen.
Can I use a 9:16 video in the feed?
Meta accepts it but crops toward 4:5, so anything in the top or bottom sixth can disappear. Export a 4:5 cut for feed placements.
Free tools for 9:16
Never crop by hand again. Xeli reframes for you.
Xeli generates every ratio a campaign needs from one master — 9:16 included — with safe zones respected per placement.
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