What's the Maximum Video Length for an Instagram Stories Ad?

A single Instagram Stories ad video is capped at 15 seconds per card, per Meta's official ad specifications. Advertisers who need a longer story build it from multiple sequential 15-second cards rather than uploading one longer video file.

Image Cards Run on a Shorter Clock

Image-based Stories ads follow a different rule than video: a static image card displays for 5 seconds before advancing, regardless of the image's own file properties. That's a fixed display duration set by the Stories format itself, not something an advertiser can extend by choosing a different file size or resolution.

File Requirements Behind the 15-Second Cap

Instagram Stories video ads accept .mp4 and .mov files up to 4 GB, with a minimum video width of 500 pixels and H.264 compression at a fixed frame rate with progressive scan. Audio needs stereo AAC compression at 128kbps or higher. None of those file-level specs change the 15-second ceiling; a technically compliant, high-quality video that runs past 15 seconds still needs to be trimmed or split before it's eligible to run as a single Stories card.

Facebook Stories Ads Use the Same Per-Card Rule

Facebook Stories ads allow a video asset of up to 240 minutes total, but that runtime isn't delivered as one continuous clip. Ads Manager breaks it into the same 15-seconds-per-card structure as Instagram, sequencing the story across however many cards the full video requires. The 240-minute figure describes the outer limit of what can be uploaded and auto-sequenced, not a single card's own length, which stays at 15 seconds on both Instagram and Facebook.

Why the Cap Is Short

Stories as a format are built around fast, full-screen, tap-through consumption. A viewer taps forward to advance, and one long unbroken card works against that interaction pattern by asking someone to sit through a single clip rather than tapping through a sequence at their own pace. Keeping each card to 15 seconds or less also keeps file sizes and load times manageable on mobile connections, where Stories ads are overwhelmingly viewed.

Practical Guidance for Longer Stories Content

Advertisers with footage that runs longer than 15 seconds should pre-edit it into distinct 15-second or shorter segments with their own clear beginning and end, rather than relying on Ads Manager's automatic sequencing to find natural break points in one long file. A deliberately cut sequence reads better across multiple cards than an arbitrary split of continuous footage.

Bottom Line

Treat 15 seconds as the real per-card ceiling for both Instagram and Facebook Stories video ads, and plan multi-card sequences deliberately rather than uploading a longer file and hoping the platform splits it in a sensible place.

Practical Guidance

• Cut footage into deliberate 15-second segments before upload — rather than relying on Ads Manager's automatic sequencing to find a natural break point in one long file.
• Treat the first card as the hook — since Stories are tap-through rather than auto-playing straight to the end, the first 15 seconds carries more weight than it would in a feed placement a viewer can't skip past as easily.

Source: Meta for Developers, Instagram ads media requirements (developers.facebook.com, ads-commerce/instagram/ads-api/reference/media-requirements).