BONUS: Try out the the Free Facebook Ad Mockup Tool Facebook may be losing its glamour, partly because of the Cambridge Analytica Scandal, followed by the Christchurch Terrorism live-streaming. Teenagers may be leaving it because they perceive it as being too establishment, and a place where their parents hang out. Yet that doesn’t mean that people are abandoning Facebook in droves. It still has some astounding stats:

1.97 billion daily active users 2.93 billion monthly active users 3.65 billion people now use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, or Messenger (their “family” of services) each month $97.5 billion advertising revenue for the year ended 31 December 2021

Mobile advertising revenue represented approximately 94% of advertising revenue for 2020. 

If you do choose to advertise on Facebook, you will find a surprisingly large number of ad options. We cover most of them below. Download the Facebook Cheat Sheet

Facebook Ad Sizes and Specifications (Updated for 2023)

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Try out the FREE Social Media Image Resizer Tool to resize your images to the correct sizes and formats for Facebook Ads.

Facebook Feed Ads Sizes

Undoubtedly the most popular advertising position is in the user’s feed. It is, therefore, the most heavily contested. You may find that your competitors are also after precisely the same slot. You can think of it as Main Street social media real estate. You can opt for either an image ad or a video ad. Facebook has rules both relating to the image/video and the text of your ad. Note that these are ads in-line with the user’s main feed – not the less common right-column ads that are a separate type.

Facebook Feed Image Ads

Although video is rapidly increasing in popularity, the bulk of Facebook ads still feature a single image. This is unlikely to change as it is clearly much easier to use a photograph than it is to go through the process of creating a video.

Facebook has always made a big issue of text in images. If your image contains more than 20% text, you will receive “reduced delivery” (according to the official Facebook ad specifications).  Note that Facebook ignores the text in the body copy of your ad when it does is 20% calculation.  Facebook offers a tool to ensure that you don’t have too much text in your image. Note that there are some exceptions to Facebook’s text rule:

Book and album covers Product images (showing the whole product – not zooms of logos or text on the packaging) Games Event posters

Be wary of a text-based logo. Any logo that is primarily text is counted as text regardless of its size or alignment. Similarly, watermarks and numbers all count as text for the purpose of these calculations. The formal sizes and specifications for Facebook Feed Image ads are:

Recommended image size: at least 1080 x 1080 pixels Image ratio: 1.91:1 to 1:1 Images no more than 20% text Image file types: JPG or PNG (Note: animated GIFS should be uploaded as a video ad) Text: 125 characters (if there is no link) Headline: 27 characters (any more will appear truncated) Link Description: 27 characters

Facebook Feed Video Ads

Video has grown in popularity over the last few years, so unsurprisingly there has been a large increase in Facebook feed video ads. Note that these are different from Facebook In-Stream Video Ads (which have a 10-second video limit). Effectively, Facebook Feed Video Ads are the same as Facebook Feed Image Ads, but they use a video in place of a still image. The formal sizes and specifications for Facebook Feed Video ads are:

Recommended to upload the highest-resolution source video available without letter or pillar boxing (no black bars). Resolution: at least 1080 x 1080 pixels Recommended ratio: 1:1 (for desktop or mobile) or 4:5 (for mobile only) Multiple acceptable video formats, but MP4, MOV or GIF recommended Max video file size: 4GB Max video length: 241 minutes Video captions and sound: optional but recommended Video thumbnail image no more than 20% text Headline: 27 characters (any more will appear truncated) Link Description: 27 characters

The Facebook Carousel ad option allows brands to feature images (or videos) of multiple products in one ad. Users can swipe through the various slides of a carousel ad to see different items offered. Carousel ads can comprise a mix of still images and videos. Facebook Carousel ads are quite versatile, and brands can use them is numerous locations:

Facebook Feed (Image and Video) Facebook Right Column Facebook Instant Articles Facebook Marketplace Facebook Audience Network Native, Banner, and Interstitial

The formal sizes and specifications for Facebook Carousel images are:

Minimum image size: 600 x 600 Recommended image size: At least 1080 x 1080. No maximum size restrictions Minimum 2 cards and max of 10 cards per Carousel Ad Recommended image ratio: 1:1 Images no more than 20% text Image file types: JPG or PNG Text: 125 characters (if there is no link) Headline: 32 characters (any more will appear truncated) Link Description: 18 characters (optional on Instant Articles)

The formal sizes and specifications for Facebook Carousel videos are:

Recommended resolution (Facebook Carousel video): 1080 x 1080 pixels Minimum 2 cards and max of 10 cards per Carousel Ad proper aspect ratio: 1:1 All video formats should be either MP4, MOV or GIF Max video size: 4GB per video Max video length: 240 minutes Video thumbnail image no more than 20% text Text: 125 characters (if there is no link) Headline: 32 characters (any more will appear truncated) Link Description: 18 characters (optional on Instant Articles)

Facebook Right Column Ads

Facebook right column ads used to be the standard for Facebook ads. With the increase in mobile usage, there is now less demand for the desktop-only Facebook Right Column ads. It is notable in Q4 2018 data that the CFC of a right column ad (about $0.57) is about half that of an ad in a news feed. Right Column ads contain similar information to News Feed ads, but they’re smaller and restrict themselves to a still (landscape) image.

The formal sizes and specifications for Facebook Feed ads are:

Minimum image size: 254 x 133 pixels Recommended image size: 1200 x 1200 pixels Image ratio: 1:1 Images no more than 20% text Image file types: JPG or PNG Text: 125 characters (if there is no link) Headline: 40 characters (any more will appear truncated) Landing page URL: Required

Facebook In-stream Video Ads

You might wonder what’s the difference between a Facebook Feed Video Ad and a Facebook In-Stream Video Ad. The key differentiation is the phrase “in-stream.” Facebook In-stream Video Ads allow advertisers to deliver 5-15 second, non-skippable, mid-roll video ads to people who are already watching Facebook videos on a mobile device. They are like the types of ads that YouTube has made available for some time. They have a high success rate because they don’t appear until at least 60 seconds into the main video. By this point, people are settled into their video and are unlikely to stop watching simply because of an ad. They are effectively short commercial breaks in the main video. The main difference between Facebook Feed Video Ads and Facebook In-stream Video Ads is that Facebook Feed Video Ads are standalone ads that appear in users’ news feeds, rather than within another video. The formal sizes and specifications for Facebook Feed Video ads are:

Recommended to upload the highest-resolution source video possible Recommended aspect ratio is 1:1 Multiple acceptable video formats, but MP4 or MOV recommended Max video file size: 4GB Max video length: 5 to 15 seconds Video captions and sound: optional but recommended (it makes sense to match these with the main video) Video thumbnail image no more than 20% text

Facebook Marketplace Ads

Facebook Marketplace is where people can buy and sell things – just like eBay or Craigslist. It has the advantage of having access to Facebook’s huge user base. Because Facebook Marketplace is all about selling, it is essential to distinguish these ads here from other Marketplace listings. Listing your product to sell in the Facebook Marketplace is not considered to be an ad. If you advertise in the Marketplace, you are advertising in the same way as you would anywhere else on Facebook. While a Facebook Marketplace ad is essentially the same as any other ad on Facebook, there is one significant difference for the advertiser. People go to Facebook Marketplace with the intention of buying, so they are more likely to take notice of your ad than probably anywhere else on Facebook. However, you do need to think about intent. Most people go to Facebook Marketplace to buy something locally. While an ad is technically separate from the marketplace (and therefore can be for anything), it is most likely to be successful if it is selling some local good or service. The formal sizes and specifications for Facebook Marketplace image ads are:

Minimum image size: 600 x 600 Recommended image size: 1200 x 1200 pixels (for images with a link) Image ratio: 1:1 Images no more than 20% text Image file types: JPG or PNG Text: 125 characters (if there is no link) Headline: 40 characters (any more will appear truncated) Link Description: 20 characters

The formal sizes and specifications for Facebook Marketplace video ads are:

Recommended to upload the highest-resolution source video possible Recommended ratio is 1:1 Multiple acceptable video formats, but MP4, MOV or GIF recommended Max video file size: 4GB Max video length: 240 minutes Video thumbnail image no more than 20% text Text: 125 characters (if there is no link) Headline: 40 characters (any more will appear truncated) Link Description: 20 characters

Facebook Instant Articles Ads

A relatively new opportunity on Facebook, now open to all publishers, is to create Instant Articles. Instant Articles is a tool designed for media publishers to distribute fast, interactive articles to their readers within the Facebook mobile app and Messenger. Instant Articles can load up to ten times faster than standard mobile web articles. Advertisers on Facebook can choose Instant Articles for new or existing campaigns, or publishers can include their own direct sale campaigns. Ads can consist of either still images or videos (which inherently load quicker than usual because of the format). The formal sizes and specifications for Facebook Instant Answers Ads images are:

Minimum image size: 600 x 600 Recommended image size: 1200 x 1200 pixels (for images with a link) Image ratio: 1:1 Images no more than 20% text Image file types: JPG or PNG Headline: 40 characters (any more will appear truncated) Link Description: 20 characters

The formal sizes and specifications for Facebook Instant Answers Ads videos are:

Recommended to upload the highest-resolution source video possible Recommended aspect ratio is 1:1 Multiple acceptable video formats, but MP4 or MOV recommended Max video file size: 4GB Max video length: 240 minutes Video thumbnail image no more than 20% text Headline: 40 characters (any more will appear truncated) Link Description: 20 characters

Facebook Stories Ads

Snapchat started the trend towards people uploading and gradually adding to a collection of images or videos that disappear after 24 hours. Instagram has found great success with its version – Instagram Stories. Facebook Stories are also now highly popular. You can create full-screen vertical ads that appear between Stories. Photo Story images are visible for 5 seconds unless the user swipes out of the Story, videos last for the length of the video (up to 15 seconds) Facebook Stories can use a mixture of still images and short videos, and these ads can do the same. Remember to leave about 250 pixels at the top and bottom of each slide as that is where the profile image and call to action go. The formal sizes and specifications for Facebook Stories Ads images are:

Recommended image size: 1080 x 1920 Image ratio: 1:1 Images no more than 20% text Image file types: JPG or PNG

The formal sizes and specifications for Facebook Stories Ads videos are:

Recommended to upload the highest-resolution source video possible Recommended aspect ratio is between 1.91 to 9:16 Leave 250 pixels at the top and bottom free from text and logos Multiple acceptable video formats, but MP4 or MOV recommended Max video file size: 4GB Max video length: 15 seconds Video thumbnail image no more than 20% text

Facebook Collection Ads

Facebook Collection ads make it easy for people to browse a product catalog on mobile. Each Facebook Collection ad features one main video or image, along with four smaller accompanying images in a grid-like layout. When somebody clicks on a Collection Ad, they are taken to a fast-loading visual post-click experience powered by Instant Experience, without leaving Facebook.

Facebook has a range of templates you can use, depending on the aims of your ad. These include:

Instant Storefront Instant Lookbook Instant Customer Acquisition Instant Storytelling

The formal sizes and specifications for Facebook Collection Ads images are:

Minimum image size: 600 x 600 Image ratio: 1:1  Maximum image file size: 30MB Images no more than 20% text Image file types: JPG or PNG Text: 125 characters Headline: 40 characters (any more will appear truncated)

The formal sizes and specifications for Facebook Collections Ads videos are:

Recommended minimum resolution: 1080 x 1080 Multiple acceptable video formats, but MP4 or MOV recommended Max video file size: 4GB Recommended video length: less than 2 minutes Max video length: 120 minutes Video thumbnail image no more than 20% text Text: 125 characters Headline: 40 characters (any more will appear truncated)