How to preview your Instagram post
- Add your slides. One picture for a single post, or several for a carousel. A PDF works too: each page becomes a slide. Or try the sample.
- Write your caption. The counter shows Instagram’s 2,200-character limit, and the preview cuts it where Instagram shows “…more”.
- Add your name and photo. They’re shared with the other aiCarousels previews, so you set them once.
- Swipe through the post. Light or dark mode, with the dots and the slide counter. “Every slide” shows each slide as Instagram will show it.
- Download the preview. A PNG of the phone, to send to a client or a teammate for approval.
What the preview shows
- The post as it shows in the feed: your profile picture and name, the slides, the like, comment, share and save buttons, and the caption.
- Instagram’s crop: the first slide sets the shape of the carousel, so slides of another shape are shown cropped, exactly as Instagram crops them.
- Your profile grid: the cover’s 3:4 tile is marked on slide 1 in “Every slide”. For the whole grid, use the Instagram feed planner.
Where Instagram cuts your caption
The feed shows the first two lines of your caption, then “…more”. That’s about 125 characters, fewer if you start with line breaks. Put the reason to read, or to swipe, in those first words.
What the checks look at
- The count: up to 20 slides in one carousel.
- The shape: slides that don’t match the first, and covers taller than 3:4 or wider than 1.91:1.
- Sharpness: slides under 1080 px wide look soft.
- The caption: its length and where “…more” falls.
Something to fix? The Instagram carousel size tool resizes every slide and downloads them.
Free, and what the app adds
The preview is free, with no account and no limit. aiCarousels writes and designs the carousel itself, and shows you this preview inside the app before you post.
