How to Make a 3x3 Grid on Instagram (New 3:4 Size, 2026)

Quick answer

Instagram's profile grid no longer shows squares — since January 2025 every post appears as a 3:4 rectangle. To make a 3x3 grid that lines up today, split your photo into nine 3:4 images (1080×1440 px each), then post them one at a time as separate posts, starting with the bottom-right tile and finishing with the top-left one.

Direct answer: Open the free Instagram Grid Maker, choose Profile grid → 3×3 → 3:4, position your photo, and click Split. Post the tiles in the numbered order (#1 first). It runs in your browser, so the photo is never uploaded.

What changed: Instagram's 3:4 profile grid

In January 2025 Instagram replaced the square profile grid with taller rectangular thumbnails in a 3:4 shape, and later in 2025 it added native 3:4 photo uploads. The posts themselves didn't change — a 4:5 or square post still opens at its full size — but the thumbnail on your profile is now a 3:4 center crop.

That breaks grids made with older square splitters: each square tile loses a strip on the left and right in the profile view, so lines and text no longer meet across tiles. The fix is to split for the 3:4 thumbnail instead.

The trimming figures follow from the geometry: a 3:4 crop of a 4:5 post keeps 93.75% of its width, and of a square post keeps 75%.

How to make a 3x3 grid on Instagram

Why post the bottom-right tile first? Instagram puts the newest post at the top-left of your profile. If you post in reverse order, the last tile you upload lands top-left and the first one ends up bottom-right, completing the picture. Posting all nine in a row keeps your older posts aligned too, because you add a multiple of three.

• Open the Instagram Grid Maker and add your photo (drag and drop, choose a file, or paste).
• Choose Profile grid and 3×3. Keep the post size on 3:4 (1080×1440).
• Drag the photo to position it and scroll or pinch to zoom. Keep faces and text away from the lines between tiles.
• Check the live phone preview — it shows the grid the way Instagram crops it on your profile.
• Click Split into 9 images and download the ZIP (or each tile). The files are numbered in posting order, and the ZIP includes a posting-order.txt checklist.
• Unpin any pinned posts, then upload the tiles as nine separate posts from #1 to #9. Don't change the grid thumbnail crop when posting.

How to make a 4 grid on Instagram

The profile always has three columns, so four posts can't form a rectangle on their own. What people usually mean by a "4 grid" is one of these:

• A 3x4 grid (12 posts): choose 3×4 in the grid maker. It makes a taller banner that fills four rows of your profile.
• A 2x2 collage inside one post: combine four photos into one image with a collage app, then post it once.
• A 4-slide carousel: choose Carousel / panorama → 4 slides to split one wide photo into four swipeable slides in a single post.

How to get a 4x5 grid on Instagram

"4x5" almost always means 4:5 portrait posts (1080×1350), the tallest size in the feed. You can still build a seamless grid with them: in the grid maker pick the 4:5 post size and keep "Seamless in the 3:4 profile grid" selected. The tool adds a thin hidden strip on each side of every tile, so the 3:4 part Instagram shows on your profile lines up perfectly, while the full posts stay 4:5 in the feed.

If you care more about the posts lining up when someone opens them one by one, switch to "The full posts". The preview then shows the gaps the profile crop will create, so you can decide before exporting. A literal 4-column grid isn't possible because the profile has three columns.

Which Instagram grid maker is the best?

The best grid maker is the one that matches the current 3:4 layout and doesn't compromise your photo. Check these points before you pick one:

Grid tips that save you from re-posting

• Use a large source photo. A 3×3 grid in 3:4 needs about 3240×4320 px to stay sharp; the tool warns you when tiles would be upscaled.
• Keep important details away from tile edges — the thin gutters between thumbnails cut through anything on the lines. Gap compensation can skip that strip so straight lines stay straight.
• Post all tiles in one session so nothing else lands in between.
• For hashtags on the grid posts, build a relevant set with the Instagram Hashtag Generator instead of repeating the same tags nine times.
• Exported tiles contain no EXIF or GPS data. For other photos you share as original files, check them with the AI Metadata Remover.

Posting Reels too? Check the safe zone

Grid tiles are still images, but Reels and carousels with video get Instagram's buttons and caption on top. Before posting a Reel, check the frame with the free Safe Zone Checker — Meta asks you to keep 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% of each side clear. Sizes for every app are in TikTok, Reels & Shorts Safe Zones 2026.

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