How long should an Instagram Reel be?
Short. Reels under 15 seconds got 19% more views than the same creator's average Reel, while 30–45 second Reels did worst (11% fewer views). Longer Reels didn't get the boost they get on TikTok.
What we found
- Under 15 seconds: 19% more views. 15–29 seconds: 5% more views.
- 30–45 seconds did worst: 11% fewer views.
- On TikTok it's the opposite: videos over 3 minutes got 32% more views.
- If you post the same video on both, a shorter cut for Instagram may do better.
Instagram Reel views by length
Each length against the same creator's average Reel.
How we know: We compared each creator's Reels of different lengths with their own other Reels from the same month, across 303 Instagram creators (their latest 100 or so Reels each), so the ranges are wider than for TikTok.
Read the full study: How long should your videos actually be?
Related questions
Do longer Reels get more views?
Not in our data. Reels of 30–45 seconds got 11% fewer views, and longer Reels didn't do better than average.
Should I post the same length on TikTok and Instagram?
Not necessarily: long TikToks did best (32% more views for 3+ minutes), while short Reels did best on Instagram (19% more views for under 15 seconds).