What is an Instagram grid post?
A grid post (also called a puzzle feed or giant square) is one large image split into several tiles. Posted one after another, the tiles line up on your profile to recreate the full picture. It is a bold way to announce a launch, reveal a rebrand, showcase a panorama or simply make your profile look like a magazine cover.
In 2025 Instagram switched profile grids from square thumbnails to taller 3:4 portrait thumbnails. Old square-tile puzzles now look cropped. This grid maker defaults to the new 3:4 shape, while still letting you choose 4:5 or classic 1:1 tiles.
How to split a picture for your Instagram grid
- Upload your image. Tall images work best for 9 or 12 tiles; wide images suit a single row of 3.
- Choose the grid size: 1×3, 2×3, 3×3 or 4×3.
- Choose the tile shape — 3:4 to match the current profile grid.
- Frame the image with zoom and the horizontal and vertical sliders.
- Download all tiles as a ZIP. Files are named in posting order: post-01 first, the highest number last.
Why the posting order matters
Instagram always shows your newest post in the top-left corner of the grid. That means the bottom-right tile of your puzzle has to be posted first and the top-left tile last. The numbers on the preview do this for you — simply upload the files from 01 upwards, one post at a time.
Post all tiles in one session so nothing else lands between them. If you pin posts to the top of your profile, unpin them first or they will shift the puzzle. Captions can be identical, or tell a story across the tiles.
Tips for a perfect puzzle feed
- Use a high-resolution image. A 3×3 grid of 3:4 tiles is 3240×4320 pixels — bigger source images stay sharper.
- Make each tile work alone. Followers see individual tiles in their feed, so avoid tiles that are just empty sky.
- Mind the gaps. Instagram adds thin white lines between tiles; avoid fine text that crosses them.
- Preview first in the Grid Planner to see how the puzzle sits with your existing posts.
💡 Want the image to continue as people swipe rather than across your profile? Use the Carousel Splitter.
Related tools
Resize individual photos with the Aspect Ratio Resizer, add your handle with the Watermark Adder and plan when to post each tile with Best Time to Post.