{"id":19916,"date":"2023-08-25T12:40:51","date_gmt":"2023-08-25T18:40:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/?p=19916"},"modified":"2026-05-25T01:45:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T07:45:39","slug":"how-long-can-instagram-reels-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/how-long-can-instagram-reels-be","title":{"rendered":"Discover the Best Length For Instagram Reels for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><div class=\"su-box su-box-style-default\" id=\"\" style=\"border-color:#2006a0;border-radius:14px\"><div class=\"su-box-title\" style=\"background-color:#5339D3;color:#FFFFFF;border-top-left-radius:12px;border-top-right-radius:12px\">Key Takeaways<\/div><div class=\"su-box-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"border-bottom-left-radius:12px;border-bottom-right-radius:12px\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><div class=\"sue-icon-text\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"self\" style=\"min-height:30px;padding-left:30px;color:#000000\"><div class=\"sue-icon-text-icon\" style=\"color:#5339D3;font-size:20px;width:20px;height:20px\"><i class=\"sui sui-angle-double-right\" style=\"font-size:20px;color:#5339D3\"><\/i><\/div><div class=\"sue-icon-text-content su-u-trim\" style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>7 \u2013 15 seconds<\/strong> is the ideal Reel length<\/div><div style=\"clear:both;height:0\"><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><div class=\"sue-icon-text\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"self\" style=\"min-height:30px;padding-left:30px;color:#000000\"><div class=\"sue-icon-text-icon\" style=\"color:#5339D3;font-size:20px;width:20px;height:20px\"><i class=\"sui sui-angle-double-right\" style=\"font-size:20px;color:#5339D3\"><\/i><\/div><div class=\"sue-icon-text-content su-u-trim\" style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>17.6 million <\/strong>hours of Reels are viewed daily<br \/>\n<\/div><div style=\"clear:both;height:0\"><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><div class=\"sue-icon-text\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"self\" style=\"min-height:30px;padding-left:30px;color:#000000\"><div class=\"sue-icon-text-icon\" style=\"color:#5339D3;font-size:20px;width:20px;height:20px\"><i class=\"sui sui-angle-double-right\" style=\"font-size:20px;color:#5339D3\"><\/i><\/div><div class=\"sue-icon-text-content su-u-trim\" style=\"color:#000000\">Reels can be up to <strong>90 seconds long<\/strong><\/div><div style=\"clear:both;height:0\"><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"sue-icon-text\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"self\" style=\"min-height:30px;padding-left:30px;color:#000000\"><div class=\"sue-icon-text-icon\" style=\"color:#5339D3;font-size:20px;width:20px;height:20px\"><i class=\"sui sui-angle-double-right\" style=\"font-size:20px;color:#5339D3\"><\/i><\/div><div class=\"sue-icon-text-content su-u-trim\" style=\"color:#000000\">Experiment with your <strong>Reel length to learn your audience\u2019s preferences<\/strong><\/div><div style=\"clear:both;height:0\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instagram Reels are all about video. Your followers want you to tell a story. While pictures may get shares, likes and comments, it\u2019s no secret that Reels are more engaging. Daily, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.performancemarketingworld.com\/article\/1799278\/instagram-reels-getting-10-times-less-engagement-tiktok-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">17.6 million<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> hours of Reels are consumed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you want to vary your content, it\u2019s time to consider the best length for Instagram Reels.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It makes no sense to spend time filming and editing a long Reel if a shorter one performs better.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span style=\"color: #5339d3;\">Why Reel Length is Important<\/span> For Instagram<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reels are engaging, and they\u2019re viewed a <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lot<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instagram rewards engagement and should be a major focus of your social media content strategy. Like most social platforms, Instagram prefers Reels that are:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-list\" style=\"margin-left:0px\">\n<ul>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#4D2BEE\"><\/i> Watched for long durations<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#4D2BEE\"><\/i> Rewatched<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Longer view times keep users on the platform. However, the right Reel length will allow you to do a few things:<\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Maintain High Engagement<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Engagement helps you get your account noticed. If you choose the right Reel length, you\u2019ll increase your chances of the Reel being:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-list\" style=\"margin-left:0px\">\n<ul>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#4D2BEE\"><\/i> Viewed<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#4D2BEE\"><\/i> Liked<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#4D2BEE\"><\/i> Shared<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instagram\u2019s algorithm prefers a high level of engagement and will promote it more and help you gain followers.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Reduce Editing Time<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Editing long videos is time-consuming and resource-intensive. If your video is too long and loses the viewer\u2019s interest, it will attract less engagement and waste resources.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. Keep Viewer Attention\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Viewer attention is crucial to your Reels\u2019 success. If people click off of your video quickly and don\u2019t watch it again, it will lead to the algorithm showing your Reel less often. Reels that are <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">just<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the right length will allow you to keep the viewer\u2019s attention and allow for longer watch time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The longer the watch time, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the better<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>4. Gain a Larger Following<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Showing up on the \u201cExplore\u201d page on Instagram can help your Reel <a href=\"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/how-to-go-viral-on-instagram\">go viral<\/a> and attract a larger following. Many of the influencers that you follow were on the Explore page at some point. If you have a Reel that is just the right length that users consume almost the entire Reel, you increase your chance of:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-list\" style=\"margin-left:0px\">\n<ul>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#4D2BEE\"><\/i> Likes<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#4D2BEE\"><\/i> Shares<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#4D2BEE\"><\/i> Organic followers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2><strong><span style=\"color: #5339d3;\">Best Length<\/span> For Instagram Reels<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reels are a great way to build your following and boost user engagement. But how long should they be? Some Reels perform better than others simply because they are just the right length to keep people interested.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the truth is that there is no ideal length for Reels. Online data <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sharethis.com\/social-media\/2022\/11\/best-instagram-reels-length-to-boost-engagement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">suggests<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that <strong>7-15 seconds is a good length for most Reels<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because these Reels get straight to the point and keep the user\u2019s attention.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But keep in mind that while 7-15 seconds is considered <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ideal<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it\u2019s not a hard and fast rule. You can create shorter or longer Reels if you know that they will appeal to your audience.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\"  style=\"border-color:#e5ddce;border-radius:14px;-moz-border-radius:14px;-webkit-border-radius:14px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#fff7e8;border-color:#ffffff;color:#000000;border-radius:14px;-moz-border-radius:14px;-webkit-border-radius:14px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>For example<\/strong>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/CW0Fivwg30f\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This Reel<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from pastry chef Pierre-Jean Quino is 31 seconds long, but it amassed 1.4 million views, over 59K likes and more than 400 comments. Those are impressive stats considering he has just 133K followers. This is a reel that breaks the suggested length rule and has performed very well simply because of the nature of the creator\u2019s content.<\/div><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span style=\"color: #5339d3;\">Testing Reels Length<\/span> For Your Audience<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every niche and industry will have its own nuances. Testing out different Reel lengths for your audience will allow you to discover the attention span of your audience. However, you\u2019ll want to monitor:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-list\" style=\"margin-left:0px\">\n<ul>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#4D2BEE\"><\/i> Total views<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#4D2BEE\"><\/i> Watch time<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#4D2BEE\"><\/i> Engagement<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you find that shorter Reels work better than long ones, continue testing these Reels out for yourself and <a href=\"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/instagram-engagement\">see what you can do to improve engagement<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span style=\"color: #5339d3;\">How Long Can Reels Be<\/span> on Instagram?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-35281\" src=\"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Reels-length-limit.jpg\" alt=\"How Long Can Reels Be on Instagram\" width=\"900\" height=\"393\" srcset=\"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Reels-length-limit.jpg 650w, https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Reels-length-limit-600x262.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reels allow users to create longer content. The default time limit is 30 seconds, but you also have the option to adjust the maximum time limit to:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-list\" style=\"margin-left:0px\">\n<ul>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#4D2BEE\"><\/i> 15 seconds<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#4D2BEE\"><\/i> 1 minute<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#4D2BEE\"><\/i> 90 seconds<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For all Reels recorded on Instagram\u2019s camera, the maximum length is 90 seconds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>If You Want To Adjust the Length of Your Reels:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"sue-panel\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"self\" style=\"background-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:0px;-moz-border-radius:0px;-webkit-border-radius:0px;box-shadow:0px 1px 2px #eeeeee;-moz-box-shadow:0px 1px 2px #eeeeee;-webkit-box-shadow:0px 1px 2px #eeeeee;border:1px solid #cccccc\"><div class=\"sue-panel-content su-u-trim\" style=\"padding:15px;text-align:left\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Step #1:<\/strong> Open the <strong>Instagram<\/strong> app.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"sue-panel\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"self\" style=\"background-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:0px;-moz-border-radius:0px;-webkit-border-radius:0px;box-shadow:0px 1px 2px #eeeeee;-moz-box-shadow:0px 1px 2px #eeeeee;-webkit-box-shadow:0px 1px 2px #eeeeee;border:1px solid #cccccc\"><div class=\"sue-panel-content su-u-trim\" style=\"padding:15px;text-align:left\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Step #2:<\/strong> Tap the <strong>Reels icon<\/strong> at the bottom of the interface.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-20063 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Reels-Icon-600x382.jpg\" alt=\"Reels Icon\" width=\"600\" height=\"382\" srcset=\"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Reels-Icon-600x382.jpg 600w, https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Reels-Icon-768x489.jpg 768w, https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Reels-Icon.jpg 828w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"sue-panel\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"self\" style=\"background-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:0px;-moz-border-radius:0px;-webkit-border-radius:0px;box-shadow:0px 1px 2px #eeeeee;-moz-box-shadow:0px 1px 2px #eeeeee;-webkit-box-shadow:0px 1px 2px #eeeeee;border:1px solid #cccccc\"><div class=\"sue-panel-content su-u-trim\" style=\"padding:15px;text-align:left\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Step #3:<\/strong> Tap the <strong>camera icon<\/strong> at the top right of the screen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-20061 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Camera-Icon-600x372.jpg\" alt=\"Camera Icon\" width=\"600\" height=\"372\" srcset=\"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Camera-Icon-600x372.jpg 600w, https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Camera-Icon-768x477.jpg 768w, https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Camera-Icon.jpg 828w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"sue-panel\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"self\" style=\"background-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:0px;-moz-border-radius:0px;-webkit-border-radius:0px;box-shadow:0px 1px 2px #eeeeee;-moz-box-shadow:0px 1px 2px #eeeeee;-webkit-box-shadow:0px 1px 2px #eeeeee;border:1px solid #cccccc\"><div class=\"sue-panel-content su-u-trim\" style=\"padding:15px;text-align:left\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Step #4:<\/strong> On the left side of the screen, you\u2019ll see an icon with the <strong>number \u201c30\u201d<\/strong> in it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-20062 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Number-30-600x671.jpg\" alt=\"Number 30\" width=\"600\" height=\"671\" srcset=\"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Number-30-600x671.jpg 600w, https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Number-30-768x859.jpg 768w, https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Number-30.jpg 828w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"sue-panel\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"self\" style=\"background-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:0px;-moz-border-radius:0px;-webkit-border-radius:0px;box-shadow:0px 1px 2px #eeeeee;-moz-box-shadow:0px 1px 2px #eeeeee;-webkit-box-shadow:0px 1px 2px #eeeeee;border:1px solid #cccccc\"><div class=\"sue-panel-content su-u-trim\" style=\"padding:15px;text-align:left\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Step #5:<\/strong> Tap the icon to <strong>adjust the length<\/strong> of your Reels.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-20059 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Adjust-the-length-600x659.jpg\" alt=\"Adjust the length\" width=\"600\" height=\"659\" srcset=\"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Adjust-the-length-600x659.jpg 600w, https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Adjust-the-length-768x843.jpg 768w, https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Adjust-the-length.jpg 828w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you\u2019ve selected your preferred time, you can start recording and posting Reels using the Instagram app.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reels that are uploaded using a third-party scheduling tool can be much longer. For example, if you use <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/help.hootsuite.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/1260804250050-Work-with-videos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hootsuite<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, your Reel can be anywhere from 3 seconds to a maximum of 15 minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The best length for Instagram Reels will depend on your audience and the content you create. But as a general rule of thumb, 7-15 seconds is the ideal length for Reels. Experiment with different lengths to see which ones perform best with your followers and audience.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are you making Instagram Reels too long? Discover the ideal length for Reels and why your engagement may plummet if your content isn\u2019t within this range.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":20058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[157,76],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-content-creation","category-instagram"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"John","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19916"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38294,"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19916\/revisions\/38294"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}