Quick answer: An Instagram carousel template is a reusable slide layout, with fixed margins, fonts and a repeating structure, that you fill with new copy for each post. Design at 1080 x 1350 px (4:5), use up to 20 slides, and keep each slide to one idea. This guide gives you 10 layouts for education, product and story posts.
Key facts
- Instagram carousels hold up to 20 images or videos, up from 10 before August 2024.
- Meta's publishing documentation says every slide is cropped to match the first one, so slide one sets the ratio.
- We recommend a 1080 x 1350 px (4:5) canvas; Publiqa's carousel format is also 4:5.
- A panoramic layout is one wide canvas sliced at multiples of 1080 px, so three slides need 3240 x 1350 px.
- Captions run to 2,200 characters, but only the first 125 show before the "more" cut-off.
- The 10 layouts below are original, with sample copy that is hypothetical.
How to make an Instagram carousel: sizes, fonts and safe margins
If you want to know how to make an Instagram carousel that looks consistent, build one master slide first and copy it. That master is your Instagram carousel template, and everything else, from color to spacing, follows from it.
The sizes below are our recommendations, apart from the slide cap. For the full dimension list, see our Instagram post size guide.
| Setting | Recommendation | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Canvas | 1080 x 1350 px (4:5) | Takes the most feed height |
| Outer margin | 80 px on every side | Keeps text clear of the edge and grid crop |
| Headline | 64 px or larger | Readable on a phone at arm's length |
| Body text | 36 px or larger | Stays legible after compression |
| Slides | 6 to 10 for most topics | Enough room for one idea per slide |
| Maximum | 20 | Instagram's cap |
How many slides can an Instagram carousel have?
An Instagram carousel can have up to 20 slides. TechCrunch reported the increase from 10 to 20 on August 8, 2024, and Meta's publishing documentation lists the same cap. Most good carousels are shorter than the limit, because each extra slide is one more place for a viewer to leave.
Instagram carousel template layouts 1 to 4: education
Each layout below is a slide outline you can copy into your own design file. Education carousels reward clarity. Open with a promise on the cover, deliver one point per slide, and close with a recap.
Layout 1: Step by step
- Slide 1: cover with the result and the number of steps. Sample: "Clean up your inbox in 5 steps"
- Slides 2 to 6: one step per slide, a bold verb first
- Slide 7: recap in three lines
- Slide 8: call to action ("Save this for Monday")
Layout 2: Myth vs. fact
- Slide 1: cover that challenges a belief. Sample: "3 email myths that waste your week"
- Slides 2 to 4: myth on the top half, fact on the bottom half
- Slide 5: the one rule to keep
- Slide 6: call to action
Layout 3: Checklist
- Slide 1: cover naming the task and the item count
- Slides 2 to 7: one checkbox item per slide, with a one-line reason
- Slide 8: "Save this checklist" prompt
Layout 4: Comparison
- Slide 1: cover naming the two options
- Slides 2 to 4: one criterion per slide, option A on the left and B on the right
- Slide 5: verdict by situation ("Pick A if... Pick B if...")
- Slide 6: call to action
Layouts 5 to 7: product
Product carousels work when they show a task, not a feature list. Keep claims you can back up.
Layout 5: Feature tour
- Slide 1: cover that names the job to be done
- Slides 2 to 5: one feature per slide, screenshot first, a single line below
- Slide 6: who it suits
- Slide 7: call to action
Layout 6: Before and after
- Slide 1: cover with the problem
- Slide 2: the before state
- Slide 3: the after state
- Slide 4: how you got there
- Slide 5: call to action
Layout 7: Social proof
- Slide 1: cover with the headline result
- Slides 2 to 4: one real customer comment per slide, with permission and a name or role
- Slide 5: what the product does in a sentence
- Slide 6: call to action
Use real quotes only. If you have none yet, skip this layout.
Layouts 8 to 10: story
Story carousels trade information for emotion. The cover should make people curious, and the last slide should resolve the question.
Layout 8: Case study
- Slide 1: cover with the outcome in a sentence
- Slides 2 to 5: situation, challenge, action, result
- Slide 6: one lesson
- Slide 7: call to action
Layout 9: Timeline
- Slide 1: cover naming the span of time
- Slides 2 to 7: one date or phase per slide, with a photo or icon
- Slide 8: where things stand now
Layout 10: Behind the scenes
- Slide 1: cover photo and a question
- Slides 2 to 6: process photos with one-line captions
- Slide 7: the finished result
- Slide 8: invitation to comment
Panoramic layout: a carousel that flows across slides
A panoramic layout makes one picture continue across slides, so viewers swipe to finish it. The panoramic version needs a wide canvas and careful slicing.
- Pick the slide count, say three.
- Create a canvas of 1080 px times that count by 1350 px, which is 3240 x 1350 px for three slides.
- Add guides at 1080 and 2160 px.
- Let one element cross each guide, such as a line, a shape or a headline.
- Export each 1080 px slice as its own file, in order.
- Check that slide one works on its own, since it appears alone in the feed.
Because slide one sets the ratio, keep every slice at 1080 x 1350 px.
How do you build a Canva Instagram carousel template?
Building the master slide in Canva takes about ten minutes. These are the usual steps, though menu names change, so check your version.
- Create a design with a custom size of 1080 x 1350 px.
- Turn on rulers and guides, then add margins of 80 px.
- Build slide one with your background, fonts and a placeholder headline.
- Duplicate the page for the middle and last slides.
- Save text styles for headlines and body copy.
- Download as PNG for single images or PDF for review.
Figma follows the same logic: one frame per slide at 1080 x 1350 px, shared styles and a components page. Whichever tool you pick, label the master "template" and save a copy before you edit.
Customize your Instagram carousel template: colors, fonts and logo
Choose two colors, one accent and two fonts, and stick to them across all ten layouts. Put the logo in the same corner on every slide, small, and leave it off the cover if it competes with the headline.
Also fix text alignment and the position of the swipe cue on every slide. Consistency lets followers recognize your posts before they read them. Publiqa's own Brand Kit uses DM Serif Display, DM Sans and DM Mono, but you don't need those fonts for yours.
Caption and hashtag formula to pair with each layout
The caption does a different job from the slides. It earns the stop in the feed and the save at the end. Instagram shows only the first 125 characters before the "more" cut-off, and the limit is 2,200.
Use this formula:
- Line one, under 125 characters: the promise from your cover.
- Lines two and three: why it matters and who it is for.
- A call to action that names one step, such as "Save this" or "Send it to a teammate".
- A few relevant keywords or tags, placed last.
Our caption character limit guide has the detail.
How Publiqa helps with Instagram carousels
Publiqa is an AI social media and cloud video studio that turns one idea, article or competitor link into content for 12 channels, Instagram among them. Campaign Studio adapts an article or link into content for each channel, including the 4:5 carousel format.
Here is a workflow. Paste your blog post URL into Campaign Studio, and the master core engine extracts the thesis, hooks and CTAs, then adapts them for Instagram in the 4:5 carousel format. Your Brand Kit supplies colors, logos and fonts, and the Post Simulator shows a mobile preview before anything goes live. Nothing publishes without your approval unless conditional or zero-touch autopilot is switched on.
A campaign costs about 10 credits. Status note: outgoing webhooks and headless CMS integrations are live, while direct publishing to social networks is rolling out, so check the documentation for what is available now. For deeper background, read our carousel post guide and the LinkedIn carousel guide.
Your first carousel in 30 minutes
Pick one layout, preferably the checklist. Write the cover and caption first, then fill the middle slides, and cut anything that does not earn its slide. Export, preview on your phone, and schedule it.
After three carousels, compare saves and shares and keep the layout that earns the most. To skip the layout work, start free with 200 credits. No credit card required. You can see what each tier includes on the pricing page.
FAQ
How to make an Instagram carousel?
Design every slide on the same canvas (1080 x 1350 px works well), add up to 20 images or videos in one post, and put the strongest idea on slide one. Write a caption that mirrors the cover promise, then schedule or post.
How many slides can an Instagram carousel have?
Up to 20. Instagram raised the limit from 10 in August 2024, and Meta's publishing documentation lists 20 as the maximum for images, videos or a mix.
What size is an Instagram carousel template?
We recommend 1080 x 1350 px (4:5). The first slide sets the crop for the rest, so keep every slide at the same size. A 1:1 square of 1080 x 1080 px also works.
How to make a panoramic carousel on Instagram?
Design one wide canvas, 1080 px per slide by 1350 px, then slice it at multiples of 1080 px. Let at least one element cross each cut, export the slices in order, and make sure slide one works alone.