A Complete Guide to Meta Advertising Specs: Formats, Sizes & Best Practices

Introduction

Meta’s advertising ecosystem — including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and its Audience Network — reaches over 3 billion monthly users.

In 2025, correctly aligning ad formats, placements and technical specifications is more critical than ever. This guide presents the main ad formats, their specs and when to use them — with latest figures and benchmarks.

1. Why Format & Technical Specs Matter

Ads that are incorrectly sized, use poor resolution or wrong file types often get cropped, rejected or perform poorly.
According to Meta, “choose ad formats that fit your business goal and placement” in the official Ads Guide.
Industry data shows that mobile-first, vertical formats now dominate engagement, making correct specs vital.

2. Main Meta Ad Formats & Specifications

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2.1 Image / Static Ads

Specifications:

File types: JPG or PNG.
Max file size: typically up to ~30 MB for many placements.
Recommended resolution: at least 1080×1080 px for feed.
Aspect ratios: 1:1 (square) commonly; 4:5 (vertical) or 1.91:1 (wide) for other placements.

Advantages: