Best video formats supported by Instagram

If you ever had the problem where Instagram did not upload your video as expected, chances are the format you uploaded was not the Instagram preferred format. If only you had known what the video formats supported by Instagram were.

So what happened?

You may be trying to upload an video format that is not supported by Instagram or the format is an inferior quality.

When this happens the app may be using its algorithm to downgrade your video quality.

What you need to be doing is using the correct video formats supported by Instagram.

As an artist taking videos of my own art process, I’m sometimes left wondering what went wrong with my upload?

Below we will go through the most common questions related to the video formats supported by Instagram. I have also tested and listed 4 IG to MP4 downloaders that are browser based and best of all FREE.

The best video formats supported by Instagram without losing quality are:

The best Instagram video format is MP4 Preferred Format: MP4 (with H.264 Codec & AAC audio, 3,500 kbps video bitrate)

Other Supported Formats: MOV, MP4, GIF (GIF is technically an image file but it looks like video)

Not Supported Formats (without first using a 3rd Party Converter) are: AVI MP4 WMV MKV VOB MPEG FLV 3GP/3GP2/3GPP TS/MTS/M2TS

Minimum Frame Rate: 30fps

Maximum Dimensions: 1080px Wide

Playback Length: 60 seconds (anything longer is cropped)

File Size Limit: 15mb Aspect Ratio: 1.91:1 (can go up to 16:9)

Landscape or Portrait: Portrait works best on Instagram since most users are on mobile devices.

Working with this size will ensure your video will not only lose quality when uploaded but can be easily shared across most of the major social networks without any drama.

Instagram IGTV Video Format Video Length: Videos must be between 15 seconds and 10 minutes long.

Instagram provide their own requirements for IGTV

Note: Larger accounts and verified accounts can upload videos up to 60 minutes long, but they must be uploaded from a computer.

Video File Type: Videos must be in MP4 file format.

Video Resolution: You can upload a vertical video with an aspect ratio of 9:16 or a horizontal video with an aspect ratio of 16:9. Videos should have a minimum frame rate of 30 FPS (frames per second) and minimum resolution of 720 pixels.

Video format sizes that works best when uploading videos on Instagram are:

The largest video file size you can upload to Instagram that are 10 minutes or less is 650MB.

The maximum video file size up to 60 minutes long is 3.6GB.

Can you upload .MKV video format to Instagram?

No, you cannot upload .MKV video files without the use of third party video editing tools. These tools will transcode the mkv file to a format supported by Instagram.

The same applies to these other video formats: AVI MP4 WMV MKV VOB MPEG FLV 3GP/3GP2/3GPP TS/MTS/M2TS.

If you do have videos in these formats and you wish to upload them to your Instagram account then you will need to use a 3rd party tool or app to first convert them to a .mp4 or .mov file and then upload them.

Finally…

What Video Conversion Tools to use

I could go into specifics and list all the tools you can use to ensure all your videos are formatted to be supported by Instagram but tools tend to become dated quite quickly.

What I will do is link to a Google search for tools so that you can see which ones are the latest and greatest to use.

I will also link to other blog posts that address specific video conversion tools.

How to convert videos for Instagram – Free

Video Tutorial on how to Convert Videos for Instagram

Hopefully these will help.

Related to video conversion tools, one of the frequently asked questions is how to convert IG videos to mp4.

Convert IG to MP4

Sadly you can’t convert IG to MP4 using the Instagram app. To convert IG to MP4 you need a third party app that will allow you to download a video from an IG account and convert it to an .MP4 video format.

Lucky for you and me, there are many awesome programs that convert Instagram videos into an mp4 format in just seconds. They are typically high quality, with most producing quality HD video outputs and there’s no need for a complicated process or any other app!

Below I will list a few of the IG to MP4 converter apps that convert your favorite video from IG into an iOS-friendly .mp4 file so it will play on almost any device with ease — they basically do all the hard work for you.

Free IG to MP4 downloader apps

For all the apps reviewed below I used the same random IG video to convert to MP4 – https://www.instagram.com/p/CUtcpfEgXvL/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link. It is an 11 second 2.4mb video file.

To get an IG video URL you need to click on the three dots on the top right corner of the IG video you wish to download in Instagram and then select Copy Link. Now all you need to do is pop that link into one of the programs below.

Instagram to MP4 Converter(my first pick) – I added the same URL as listed into the “Paste link here” and clicked Convert.

You are then shown a quick ‘working’ logo and shown download links one of which is Videos Format MP4. I selected that option and clicked Download. This one was also a great quality app that was easy to use.

The video file I converted from IG to MP4 was excellent quality and the best thing is the video did not have a watermark which is a big plus.

Instagram Downloader (my second pick) – is an online IG to MP4 downloader that lets you enter in the URL for the Instagram video that you wish to download. It also works on letting you download IG photos.

You then add the URL into the box where it says “Enter Instagram URL you wish to download” and click hit enter.

You will be displayed an advertisement which you can close and then watch a blank rectangle do its magic.

An 11 second or 2.5mb video file converted and downloaded in about 2 minutes.

The IG to MP4 converter is nothing flashy but it does the job. The video file I converted from IG to MP4 was quite good quality and the best thing is the video did not have a watermark.

InstagramSave Instagram Downloader (my third pick) – is an online IG to MP4 downloader that lets you enter in the URL for the Instagram video that you wish to download.

It also works on letting you download IG photos. The process was straightforward, you click on the three dots on the top right corner of the IG video you wish to download.- allows you to download IG Reels, IG TV, IG photos and videos.

Once again I entered the same URL as before and clicked “Download Insta Video”. I got a preview image of the video and a blue icon to download to MP4. The video took about 1 minute to download and it too did not have a watermark on the video.

My verdict – Any of the 3 apps above are my picks for the best and free IG to MP4 downloader. They are simple and they just work.

There are other apps and I tried most worked well, there is one below I wouldn’t even bother trying as it did not work at the time of testing. Others that appear in search results may work just as well as the top 3. Overall, if you want an IG to Mp4 converter, there are so many free options out there that just work.

Instagram Video Downloader (don’t bother) – this app started off well and full of promise. I entered in the same IG video URL as before. I clicked the download icon and was then shown a confusing ad that looked like it was the download button but it wasn’t. I then saw I had two options above the ad to actually download the file.

When I clicked on the button to convert IG to MP4, the browser opened a new tab, redirected to a new URL that says “Site cannot be reached”. My verdict – don’t bother.

Don’t forget the Quality Settings on Instagram

Check the quality settings on the Instagram app and ensure that you are saving videos as original videos and your quality settings are not downgrading them.

Now that you know what the latest and best Instagram accepted video formats are, try re-uploading any videos you have using the video formats supported by Instagram and measure your engagement on Instagram and see if you see any uplift!

If you liked this Instagram specific post, please have a read of the other Instagram related posts such as:

Best Image format for Instagram – all image types covered!

How to Make Money as an Artist on Instagram

How to get More Subscribers on Instagram

When should you post your art on Instagram