- Facebook Story ads require a 9:16 aspect ratio at 1440×2560 px for fullscreen mobile display.
- Keep text and logos out of the top 14% and bottom 20% to avoid Meta UI overlap.
- Primary text caps at 125 characters. Headlines cap at 40. Front-load your message.
- High contrast and bold typography hold attention in under one second on mobile.
- Add captions to video Story ads. Most viewers scroll with sound off.
- Coinis Revise resizes, retexts, and variates Story creatives in one click.
TL;DR: Facebook Story ads run at 9:16, 1440×2560 px. Avoid the top and bottom safe-zone margins. Use bold contrast and short text. Iterate fast with Coinis Revise.
Facebook Story Ad Specs: Image and Video Requirements
Getting the specs right prevents rejected ads and cropped creatives.
Aspect ratio and resolution
Facebook Story ads require a 9:16 aspect ratio for fullscreen vertical display. Per Meta's Facebook Ads Guide, the recommended resolution is 1440×2560 px. That's the target for crisp rendering on modern mobile screens.
Image file formats and sizes
Use JPG or PNG. Max file size is 30 MB. Story images display for 5 seconds before advancing. Make every second count.
Video duration and specifications
Videos run from 1 second up to 2 minutes. Supported formats: MP4, MOV, and GIF. Max file size is 4 GB. Use H.264 compression for best compatibility.
One catch: Meta splits videos longer than 10 seconds into multiple Story cards. It shows 1 to 3 cards before prompting "Play Full." Plan your story arc around that cutoff.
Text character limits
Primary text caps at 125 characters. Headlines cap at 40 characters. Short. Direct. Front-loaded with your strongest message.
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The Safe Zone: Protecting Key Elements
The safe zone stops Meta's UI from covering your most important creative elements.
Why the safe zone matters
Facebook Stories display interface elements at the top and bottom of the screen. Profile info sits at the top. The call-to-action button anchors at the bottom. Text or logos placed in those zones get hidden.
Top and bottom safe margins
Per the Meta Business Help Center, leave the top 14% (around 250 px at full resolution) free from text and logos. Leave the bottom 20% (around 340 px) clear as well. That leaves roughly the middle 66% of the canvas as your safe working area.
Placement best practices for text and logos
Center your hero message vertically. Keep faces, product shots, and logos inside that safe band. Run a final check at 9:16 before uploading. What looks fine on desktop often gets clipped on mobile.
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Design Best Practices for Impact
A technically correct ad still fails if the creative is weak. These principles separate scroll-stopping Stories from forgettable ones.
Use color contrast and bold typography
Viewers decide in under a second. High contrast grabs attention fast. Dark text on a light background and light text on a dark image both work. Thin fonts disappear at mobile sizes. Bold, heavy typefaces hold. Use large type sparingly. One dominant message per Story card is enough.
Keep text readable on mobile
Assume your viewer is on a small phone, in bright sunlight, holding it one-handed. Meta's guidance on text in ads puts legibility above all else. If your headline is hard to read at arm's length, it is too small or too low-contrast.
Add captions for video (sound-off viewing)
Most users scroll with sound off. Captions are optional per Meta's ad specs but strongly recommended. A Story ad that only works with audio cuts out a large share of your audience. Burn captions into the video or use Meta's caption feature in Ads Manager.
Maintain fullscreen vertical composition
Story ads are fullscreen by default. Avoid empty margins or a letterboxed look. Fill the frame. Use the full 9:16 canvas. Visual breathing room is a valid design choice. Blank borders are not.
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Optimization and Iteration with Coinis
Designing once is rarely enough. Fast iteration finds what works.
Smart resizing for other placements
A Story creative at 9:16 won't fit a Facebook Feed at 4:5. Coinis Revise includes Smart Resize, which adapts your creative to any placement ratio automatically. No manual cropping required.
Quick variate testing
Different audiences respond to different hooks. Revise's Variate feature generates multiple creative versions from a single source image. Test color treatments, compositions, or different headline approaches without rebuilding from scratch.
Text overlay adjustments
Need to swap a price, update a CTA, or translate for a new market? Revise's Edit text on image and AI Translate capabilities handle both. Change any text element directly on the ad image. No design file needed.
Rapid A/B testing workflows
Pick two Variate outputs. Run both in the same ad set. Check results in Coinis Advertise. Cut the loser. Scale the winner. That loop runs faster when creative changes take seconds instead of hours.
If you are starting from scratch, Coinis's Image Ads workflow generates a Story-ready creative from a product URL. Smart Resize then adapts it to every other placement you need.
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Or skip the steps.
Coinis Revise edits any ad image with AI. Move text. Change text. Swap colors. Erase objects. Translate to any language. One click each.
No design skills. No Photoshop. One click.
15 AI tokens a month. No credit card.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the recommended resolution for a Facebook Story ad?
Meta recommends 1440×2560 px at a 9:16 aspect ratio. That resolution renders sharply on modern phones and prevents any cropping or stretching.
How long can a Facebook Story video ad be?
Facebook Story video ads run from 1 second up to 2 minutes. Videos longer than 10 seconds are split into multiple Story cards automatically, with Meta prompting 'Play Full' after 1 to 3 cards.
What is the safe zone for Facebook Story ads?
Keep the top 14% (around 250 px at full resolution) and bottom 20% (around 340 px) free from text and logos. Meta's UI elements sit in those zones and will cover anything placed there.
Can I resize a Story ad creative for other placements?
Yes. Coinis Revise includes Smart Resize, which adapts your 9:16 Story creative to other aspect ratios like 4:5 for Facebook Feed or 1:1 for square placements in one click.