Instagram Grid Maker: Split One Photo into a 3-Column Grid

How do I make an Instagram grid from one photo?

Choose a picture and the Split tool opens on a 1 x 3 grid with the cut lines drawn on it. Pick 2 x 3 or 3 x 3 for more rows, check that Posting order is selected under File names, and press Download tiles (ZIP). Every tile is cut from the full-size picture, and the original stays untouched.

1. Press Choose a picture, drop a file, paste with Ctrl+V, or press Take a photo on a phone.
2. Pick 1 x 3, 2 x 3 or 3 x 3. White lines show where the cuts fall.
3. Leave File names on Posting order, or switch to Row and column.
4. Open Export for JPG, PNG or WebP and the quality, then return to Split.
5. Press Download tiles (ZIP) and unpack the files on your phone or computer.

To trim the picture to the shape you want before cutting, use Crop Image. The general Image Splitter offers other grid sizes, such as 2 x 2, for pictures you will use anywhere.

In what order do I post the grid tiles?

Post the bottom-right tile first and work backward to the top-left tile. A profile lists the newest post first, row by row from the top left, so the last tile you post ends up at the top left. In posting order names, post 1 is always the bottom-right tile.

A 1 x 3 grid runs right to left, so post 1 is the right tile. A 2 x 3 grid starts at the bottom-right tile, moves left, then goes up one row. Each name carries the count, such as 6 for a 2 x 3 grid, and the numbers get a leading zero when the grid has ten or more tiles, so a file list sorts in posting order.

What size should the picture be for an Instagram grid?

Start with a picture at least 1080 pixels wide per column, so a 3-column grid wants a width of at least 3,240 pixels. The Help Center article on photo resolution says photos are sized down to a width of 1080 pixels, so a wider tile is scaled down and a narrower one keeps its own size.

The Instagram Help Center article Image resolution of photos you share on Instagram says a photo with a width between 320 and 1080 pixels keeps its resolution when its aspect ratio is between 1.91:1 and 3:4, which means a height from 566 to 1440 pixels at a width of 1080. It adds that a photo outside the supported range is cropped to fit. All four tile sizes above fall inside that range.

The crop shape also changes the look of the grid. A 4:5 tile is taller than it is wide. In a 3 x 3 grid, each tile has the same ratio as the starting picture, so crop the picture to that ratio first and every tile follows it.

Should I use 1 x 3, 2 x 3 or 3 x 3?

Pick by how many posts you want. A 1 x 3 grid turns a wide banner into one row of three posts. A 2 x 3 grid gives six posts and a 3 x 3 grid gives nine. All three have three columns, so each row of tiles lines up with the three posts a profile grid shows per row.

Plan the finished grid before you post. Add any words to the full picture first with Add Text to Image, so the lettering runs across the tiles as one line, then cut. Keep faces and words away from the cut lines, which cross the picture one-third and two-thirds of the way along.

Can I change the grid or the file names after I cut?

Yes. Pick another grid size, or switch File names between Posting order and Row and column, and press Download tiles again. The tool cuts from your original picture each time, so nothing is lost. Undo and redo cover any crop, rotation or flip you made before splitting.

Row and column names such as photo-1-2.jpg suit anyone who wants the tiles in reading order, from the top left. Posting order names suit anyone uploading the tiles one after another.