How long should a reel be? The answer, and three real ones.

The short answer.

Ladies and gentlemen, let's start with the answer, because that's what you came for.

How long should a reel be? Long enough to say one thing, and under three minutes. For most ideas, I'd aim for 30 seconds to a minute and a half. In the biggest study I could find, the 45 to 60 second Reels did best, but everything from 30 seconds to 3 minutes did fine. Past 3 minutes, reach falls off a cliff.

That's it. The rest of this article is why you can trust that, and how to cut yours to the right length.

As short as the idea allows. Not as short as a chart says.

If you're new to short videos, start with what counts as short-form, then how to edit a short, edit by edit.

How long a Reel can be.

Two lines on the limit, then we move on.

The minimum is 3 seconds. Most accounts can record up to 3 minutes in the Reels camera, and longer uploads are possible, with a 20-minute option on a limited rollout. Inrō's guide (July 2026) says it best: your own length selector is the only reliable answer. Socialinsider quotes Instagram's Help Center for the 20-minute maximum.

It wasn't always this way. According to Moonb's history of the limit, Reels went from 90 seconds in February 2023 to 3 minutes in January 2025.

Now, here's the line that matters: past 3 minutes, a Reel isn't recommended to people who don't follow you. No Explore, no Reels tab (Socialinsider). So you can post longer. You just won't reach new people with it.

Asking the same thing about Shorts? Here's the same question for YouTube Shorts.

What the numbers actually say.

So which number do you trust? Let me explain.

Search this question and you'll get 7 to 15 seconds from one page, 30 to 60 from another, 45 to 60 from a third. They can't all be right. Or can they? Look at what's behind each one.

Who says it	The claim	What's behind it
Opus Clip	7–15 s for entertainment, 15–30 s for teaching	« Multiple studies and creator reports », no study named
Moonb	45–60 s is the sweet spot	Socialinsider's study, with its size misquoted (« roughly 140,000 Reels »)
Socialinsider	45–60 s does best; 30 s to 3 min all work	9,771,822 organic Reels from brand accounts of 1K to 100K followers, January to June 2026
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, via Future Social (March 5, 2025)	A longer Reel isn't penalised	Instagram counts the seconds watched, not only the share of the video
Inrō	Views collapse past 180 seconds	Socialinsider's data again

Read that way, they stop fighting. Only one of them measured anything at scale, and two of the others quote it.

Here's Socialinsider's data, both tables in one. Engagement rate is likes plus comments, divided by followers.

Length	Engagement rate	Median views
Under 30 s	0.28 %	4,700
30–45 s	0.30 %	8,564
45–60 s	0.35 %	10,374
60–90 s	0.30 %	9,790
90–120 s	0.30 %	8,000
120–180 s	0.33 %	9,000
Over 180 s	0.15 %	4,428

Do you see the shape? A wide flat window from 30 seconds to 3 minutes, a small peak at 45 to 60, and a cliff after 3 minutes.

And Mosseri's point explains why longer isn't punished. As Future Social relays it: if someone watches 10 seconds of a one-minute video, that's as many seconds as 10 seconds of a 10-second video. You won't be penalised.

One thing, to be honest: these are brands with 1K to 100K followers, measured on likes and comments. That's an average. It isn't your account. Use it as a map, not a rule.

Do shorter Reels get more views?

No. Not in the data.

The Reels under 30 seconds had the fewest median views of any length under 3 minutes: 4,700, against 10,374 for 45 to 60 seconds (Socialinsider). Under 30 seconds isn't the safe bet people think.

Sure. A 6-second Reel can still work, if 6 seconds is all the idea needs. But cutting a good minute down to 15 seconds because a list told you to? Honestly, I'd stop chasing the 15-second rule.

How long should a reel be, by what it does.

Okay. Let's put three real tall videos on that scale. All three are mine, all three 9:16, each edited in Montage from what I asked for. I'm not giving you views for them: this is about what each length had to hold.

0:38 · Edit it all with AI

The 30 to 45 second bracket. One idea, carried by one hook.

The hook is a white Instagram reply, made as a component and reused. Then the captions come one line at a time, white on the take, dark on the white stage. At 38 seconds, one strong opening does most of the work. More on a hook in the first seconds.

0:56 · Way too curious

The 45 to 60 second bracket, the one the study likes best. One idea, a new picture on every beat.

I say CrossFit, my photo drops in. One picture for each thing I love. A slow push-in on every shot. Yellow captions, uppercase, the key word drawn bigger. Fifty-six seconds stays alive because something changes every few words.

2:07 · How to be creative

The 120 to 180 second bracket. Past the old 90-second cap, under the 3-minute line.

While I talk, it cuts to the right shot: the book, the notebook, the whiteboard. The frame follows me as I walk around the room. The notebook shots were filmed from above, upside down, and Montage turned them the right way up. Two minutes only works if the picture changes each time the topic does. That's what B-roll that keeps a two-minute Reel moving is for.

The length isn't picked. It's earned.

A 0:38 Reel can live on one hook. A 2:07 one needs a new picture every time the subject moves.

How to cut yours to the right length.

Here's how I'd do it. Five steps.

1. Write the one thing it says. One sentence. If you can't, it's not one Reel yet.
2. Trim the dead air. Pauses and retakes take a lot of length. Cut the pauses and retakes first, then judge.
3. Look at everything past 30 seconds. Does each part show something new: a new picture, a new point? If not, cut it.
4. Check the 3-minute line. If it still runs past 3 minutes, it's two Reels. Split it.
5. Watch it once, all the way through. Where you get bored, so does everyone else.

In Montage, you just say the length you want in Ask: « cut it to under a minute », « keep it around 45 seconds ». Then watch, and comment on what's wrong.

Making them every week? Here's an editor for Reels and Shorts. And for the other sizes and platforms: vertical video, the TikTok aspect ratio.

See them in real videos.

The three tall videos above, and a wide one, are all in the showcase, with what went in and how each was made.

Questions about how long a reel should be.

How long should a reel be?
Long enough to say one thing, and under 3 minutes. In Socialinsider's study of 9.77 million brand Reels, everything from 30 seconds to 3 minutes did well, 45 to 60 seconds did best, and past 3 minutes engagement and views dropped by about half.

What is the best length for a reel?
In the data, 45 to 60 seconds: the highest engagement rate (0.35 %) and the most median views (10,374). But the gaps inside 30 seconds to 3 minutes are small. The best length is the one your idea needs.

Is a 20 second reel too long?
No. If it says its one thing, 20 seconds is fine. If anything, in the data it's on the short side.

Do shorter reels get more views?
Not in Socialinsider's data. The Reels under 30 seconds had the fewest median views of any length under 3 minutes.

How long can an Instagram Reel be in 2026?
At least 3 seconds. Most accounts record up to 3 minutes in the camera, longer by upload, with a 20-minute option on a limited rollout (Inrō). Check your own length selector.

Does a long Reel get penalised?
No, according to Adam Mosseri: Instagram looks at the seconds watched too, not only the share of the video. But past 3 minutes, a Reel isn't recommended to non-followers (Socialinsider).

What is the 5-3-1 rule on Instagram?
It's not about length. It's an engagement habit, usually described as: like 5 posts, comment on 3, follow 1 new account. Versions vary.

That's it for this one. Now go cut something to length.

See you in the next one.