Guide
How long an Instagram Reel should be: 3 minutes at most if you want new viewers
Updated
An Instagram Reel should be 3 minutes or shorter if you want Instagram to show it to people who don't follow you yet. Inside that limit, make it as long as your point needs and not a second longer.
In short
- An Instagram Reel can be up to 3 minutes long and still be recommended to new viewers. Instagram lets you record up to 20 minutes, but it says Reels over 3 minutes won't be recommended to new audiences.
- Instagram's own Reels page is the place to check the limit, because older articles still quote 60 or 90 seconds.
- Socialinsider studied about 9.8 million brand Reels from January to June 2026 and found that Reels of 45 to 60 seconds had the highest median views.
- A video of you talking gets shorter in the edit, because the ums, repeats and long pauses come out, so film a little more than the length you're aiming for.
- Cutroom's Magic Editor picks a length for your Reel from what you said, and makes it shorter when you ask in a chat.
- The longest Reel Instagram recommends to new viewers
- 3 min
- The longest Reel Instagram lets you record and edit
- 20 min
- The length with the highest median views in Socialinsider's 2026 study
- 45–60 s
How long should an Instagram Reel be?
Keep a Reel at 3 minutes or less. That's the longest Reel Instagram will show to people who don't follow you. Within that, the right length is the time it takes to make one point clearly.
If you want a number to aim for, one large study points under a minute. That's a third party's finding, not an Instagram rule, so treat it as a starting point.
- A quick tip, a single answer or one product shot usually needs well under a minute.
- A short story or a how-to with a few steps can run one to two minutes.
- Anything that needs more than 3 minutes is better split into two Reels, or posted as a longer video somewhere else.
Instagram Reel length in numbers
From Instagram's Reels page and Socialinsider's study, both read on 12 November 2026.
| Question | Answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Longest Reel you can record and edit | 20 minutes | |
| Longest Reel shown to new viewers | 3 minutes | |
| Length with the highest median views | 45 to 60 seconds | Socialinsider, brand Reels, Jan to Jun 2026 |
Question: Longest Reel you can record and edit
- Answer
- 20 minutes
- Source
Question: Longest Reel shown to new viewers
- Answer
- 3 minutes
- Source
Question: Length with the highest median views
- Answer
- 45 to 60 seconds
- Source
- Socialinsider, brand Reels, Jan to Jun 2026
The longest Reel Instagram allows
Instagram's Reels page says you can record and edit Reels up to 20 minutes long, in one clip or several. The same page adds that Reels over 3 minutes won't be recommended to new audiences.
So a 10-minute Reel is allowed, but mostly your followers will see it. Since 21 January 2025, Reels up to 3 minutes can be shown in the Reels tab and Explore.
- Articles that say 60 or 90 seconds are describing older limits.
- Articles that say 20 minutes are right about recording, but leave out that only the first 3 minutes count for reaching new people.
- Instagram changes these numbers from time to time, so check its Reels page before you plan a long series.
How Cutroom's Magic Editor edits a video like this
Jacob is the AI editor inside Cutroom's Magic Editor: it edits your video for you, then changes it when you ask in a chat.
The 4 styles, as example edits
Steps
Three steps, four angles
Skit
Hook, hard stop, demo card
Verdict
The tester's verdict
Poster
Typography does the talking
Hover or tap an example to play it, without sound. These are example edits of each style; the presenters in them are generated with AI.
- Your take: one video of you talking, up to 3 minutes
- Your style: one of 4: Steps, Skit, Verdict or Poster
- Your files: screenshots, a screen recording or a logo, if you have them
- Your goal: what the video is for, in a few words, if you like
- Jacob makes it: normally 10 to 15 minutes, and you get an email
- Your edit: ask Jacob for changes in a chat, then export
Then you ask Jacob, for example
- “Make this about 10 seconds shorter”
- “Put a clip on the strongest sentence”
- “Change the music to something calmer”
Each change is a new version, and going back is free. First cut 250 credits, each change 40, questions free, export 30 credits per started minute.
How long to film to land at that length
When you film yourself talking, the finished Reel is shorter than what you recorded. The ums, false starts, repeats and long pauses come out in the edit, so give yourself some room.
- Decide on the one point the Reel makes before you press record, and say it in the first sentence.
- Say it once in a single clip rather than in many short clips. A single clip is easier to edit and keeps your voice natural.
- Leave your small mistakes in and just say the sentence again. They are cut in the edit.
- Read your script out loud with a timer first, so you know roughly how long it runs at your normal pace.
- If you use Cutroom, your clip can be up to 3 minutes long, the same as the longest Reel Instagram recommends to new viewers.
Making a Reel shorter after the edit
In Instagram's own editor you drag the Trim slider to cut the start or the end of a clip. That works for the edges, but it can't take out a weak sentence in the middle.
In Cutroom's Magic Editor, Jacob, its AI editor, picks the length of the first edit from what you said. If it's still too long, you ask for a shorter version in the chat. Here is a drawn example.
- You upload the clip, pick a style and press "Make my video". It normally takes 10 to 15 minutes, and you get an email when your first cut is ready.
- Jacob decides the length from the clip itself, so you don't set a target before you start.
- When you ask for a shorter version and name a length, such as about 10 seconds, Jacob cuts to that. Without a length, it takes out about a fifth.
- Every change Jacob makes is a new version. The earlier versions stay, and going back to one is free.
- A question that changes nothing is free. A message that changes the video costs 40 credits.
- The Reel comes out as a vertical MP4, 1080 by 1920, 30 frames a second, with the sound levelled. You download it and post it to Instagram yourself.
A mortgage adviser's 2-minute tip, cut to a shorter Reel
Jacob chose the length of the first edit. One message in the chat made it shorter.
Drawing of an example clip, not a customer video
Before · the clip as filmed
A 2-minute-20 phone video of a mortgage adviser explaining one thing to check before you fix a rate
“So, um, most people fix their rate for two years — two years — and then get a shock. … (pause) Before you sign, ask what you'll pay in the first month after the deal ends.”
struck through = what Jacob cuts
After · Jacob's first edit, Poster style
“Most people fix their rate for two years and then get a shock. Before you sign, ask what you'll pay in the first month after the deal ends.”
- On “shock”: the word shock set huge in stacked letters
- On “two”: the number 2 in neon
- On “sign”: a black-and-white moment that turns back to colour
- Under the whole video: your logo closing the video
Then you ask Jacob
- “Make this about 10 seconds shorter”v2a new version about 10 seconds shorter: Jacob takes out fillers, repeats and the weakest sentences, never the opening line or the close
- “Why did you cut what you cut?”v3an answer that lists what was cut and why, and the video stays as it is
Questions people ask
- What is the maximum length of an Instagram Reel?
- 20 minutes. Instagram lets you record and edit Reels up to 20 minutes long, in one clip or several. Reels over 3 minutes aren't recommended to people who don't follow you.
- Can an Instagram Reel be 3 minutes long?
- Yes. Instagram allowed Reels up to 3 minutes in its editor from 21 January 2025, and Reels up to 3 minutes can still be shown in the Reels tab and Explore.
- Is 90 seconds still the limit for Reels?
- No. 90 seconds and 60 seconds were older limits. Instagram's Reels page now says 20 minutes to record and edit, with 3 minutes as the limit for reaching new viewers.
- What is the best length for an Instagram Reel?
- There isn't one length that suits every Reel. Socialinsider's study of about 9.8 million brand Reels from January to June 2026 found that 45 to 60 seconds had the highest median views, so under a minute is a good place to start.
- Why isn't my long Reel reaching new people?
- Most likely because it's over 3 minutes. Instagram says Reels over 3 minutes won't be recommended to new audiences, so mostly your followers will see them.
- How do I make my Reel shorter?
- Trim the start and end in Instagram's editor, or cut whole sentences in an editor that works on your words. In Cutroom's Magic Editor you type "Make this about 10 seconds shorter" and Jacob makes a shorter version.
Film your point once, up to 3 minutes, and let Jacob cut it to a Reel that fits. Your first video is free.