How Many Photos Can You Post on Instagram at Once?
Up to 20 photos and videos in one post, from the Instagram app or instagram.com. When another app publishes the post for you, such as a scheduling tool, the limit is 10.
Instagram’s Help Center gives the 20; Meta’s developer reference for the publishing API gives the 10. So the answer to “how many photos can you post on Instagram?” depends on how the post gets there. Every per-post limit is in the table below. Carousels are one of the post types compared in our Instagram feature guide.
Table of Contents
- How many photos can you post on Instagram?
- Why can I only post 10 photos?
- Can you mix photos and videos in one post?
- Can you add photos to a post after sharing it?
- How many photos can you add to an Instagram story?
- FAQ
How many photos can you post on Instagram?
Twenty per post. Instagram’s Help Center says you can share up to 20 photos and videos as a single post, also known as a carousel, and its iPhone, Android and computer versions give the same number. Here is every per-post limit in one place:
| Limit | What applies |
|---|---|
| Photos and videos per post, in the app or on instagram.com | Up to 20, photos and videos together |
| Per post through Instagram’s API (scheduling tools) | Up to 10 |
| Per post from Meta Business Suite to Instagram | Up to 10 photos |
| Orientation | One for every item: square, portrait or landscape |
| Captions | One for the post, or one per item with Multiple captions in the iPhone and Android apps; one for the post on a computer |
| Adding items after sharing | Not possible; you can reorder or remove them |
| Likes and comments | On the whole post, not on each photo |
| Videos in the post | Not reels; they don’t show in the Reels tab |
| Collaborators | Up to 5 on a Collab post |
| Hashtags | A separate rule: see the Instagram hashtag limit |
| Photos in one Story | No per-story limit in the Help Center; Instagram’s Stories guide says a Layout grid holds up to 6 |
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share a post with multiple photos or videos on Instagram.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share a post with multiple photos or videos on Instagram (computer).
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Create collaborative posts on Instagram.
The API, Meta Business Suite and Story rows are sourced in their sections below. For the steps to build a carousel, see our guide to how to post on Instagram.
Why can I only post 10 photos?
Because something other than the Instagram app is publishing the post, or because you’re following an older rule. Instagram’s publishing API and Meta Business Suite both stop at 10, and Instagram’s own Help Center said 10 until spring 2026. There are four places a 10 can come from; check them in order.
A scheduling tool is publishing it
The 20 belongs to Instagram’s app and website. Apps that publish for you go through Instagram’s publishing API, and Meta’s reference for it says a carousel takes “an array of up to 10 container IDs of each image and video”. Any tool that publishes through the API stops at 10, whatever the app allows. Checked against Meta for Developers: Instagram Graph API, IG User Media reference
Here’s where Outfeed stands:
Building a panorama for a scheduled carousel? Plan it in 10 slides or fewer; the free Instagram carousel splitter cuts one wide image into equal slides.
Schedule an Instagram carousel in Outfeed AI
Meta’s business tools are publishing it
Meta’s desktop help for Business Suite caps a post going to Instagram at 10 photos, so the app’s 20 doesn’t apply there either. Post from the Instagram app when you need more.
Verified 30 September 2026 against Meta Business Help Center: Create and manage posts in Meta Business Suite on desktop.
The guide you read predates the change
Instagram’s own carousel article said “up to 10 photos and videos” in every archived copy through 15 March 2026, and it says “up to 20” from the 23 April 2026 copy onward. The app moved first: Instagram announced 20 on its own X account on 8 August 2024, so the help page lagged the app by more than a year. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share a post with multiple photos or videos (Internet Archive captures)Archived copy, 23 April 2026 View the archived copy Checked against Instagram (@instagram) on X, 8 August 2024
The app itself stops at 10
If the Instagram app on your phone won’t let you select more than 10, update it. That’s the first step in Instagram’s troubleshooting advice, which also notes that some features aren’t available to everyone yet. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Troubleshooting
Can you mix photos and videos in one post?
Yes. Instagram’s 20 counts photos and videos together, and the API’s 10 also takes images and videos in the same carousel. Mixing them changes three things:
- One shape for everything. The orientation you choose (square, portrait or landscape) applies to every photo and video, and Instagram says you can’t select a different one for each. Pixel sizes for each shape are in our Instagram post size guide.
- Filters for all or one. A filter can go on every item at once, or you can tap a single photo or video and edit it on its own.
- Videos aren’t reels. Instagram says videos in carousels aren’t considered reels, so they won’t show up in the Reels tab or have reels features.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share a post with multiple photos or videos on Instagram.
Whether a carousel is the right format in the first place is covered in our explainer on what a carousel is on Instagram.
Can you add photos to a post after sharing it?
No. Once a carousel is shared you can reorder or remove its photos and videos and edit the caption, location and tags, but you can’t add new ones. Instagram’s article puts it plainly: you can’t add new photos or videos after you’ve shared the carousel, but you can delete the post.
So if you left a photo out, the only route Instagram gives is to delete the post and share it again with everything in it. To rearrange what’s already there, tap the three-dot menu on the post, tap Edit, press and hold an item to move it, then tap Done. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share a post with multiple photos or videos on Instagram
How many photos can you add to an Instagram story?
Instagram doesn’t publish a number. Its Help Center has no steps for selecting several photos at once for a story and no per-story photo limit. What it documents is Layout, which combines several photos into one story, and choosing a photo or video from your gallery by swiping up. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share a photo or video to your Instagram story (no multi-select steps or limit)Not verified
Layout lives in the Stories camera, and Instagram’s Help Center says it isn’t available on computers. The Help Center documents taking its photos with the camera without giving a photo count; Instagram’s 2026 Stories guide is more specific: a Layout grid holds up to 6 photos, and you can shoot or upload one for each panel. Checked against About Instagram: How to Use Instagram Stories: Complete 2026 Guide (2 July 2026) The same guide says there’s no daily limit on how many stories you post. Checked against About Instagram: How to Use Instagram Stories: Complete 2026 Guide (2 July 2026) The steps, and other ways to fit several photos into a story, are in how to add multiple photos to an Instagram Story. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Combine multiple photos into one on your Instagram story
FAQ
How many photos can you post on Instagram at once?
Up to 20 photos and videos in one post, also known as a carousel, according to Instagram’s Help Center, which gives the same number for the app and instagram.com. Apps that publish through Instagram’s API, such as scheduling tools, can put up to 10 items in a carousel.
Why can I only post 10 photos on Instagram?
Usually because something other than the Instagram app is publishing the post. Instagram’s publishing API accepts up to 10 items per carousel, and Meta Business Suite caps a post going to Instagram at 10 photos. Instagram’s own Help Center also said “up to 10” in every archived copy through 15 March 2026. In the app itself, Instagram’s first troubleshooting step is to update it.
Can you post more than 20 photos on Instagram?
Not in one post. Instagram’s Help Center allows up to 20 photos and videos in a single post, and you can’t add more after sharing it. To share more, spread them across separate posts.
Can you add photos to an Instagram post after posting?
No. After sharing a carousel you can reorder or remove its photos and videos and edit the caption, location and tags, but Instagram says you can’t add new photos or videos. You can delete the post and share it again with everything included.
How many photos can go in one Instagram story?
Instagram doesn’t publish a number. Its Help Center has no steps for selecting several photos at once for a story and no per-story photo limit. It documents Layout, which combines several photos into one story in the Stories camera, and choosing a photo or video from your gallery by swiping up. Instagram’s 2026 Stories guide adds that a Layout grid holds up to 6 photos and that there’s no daily limit on how many stories you post.