How to Add Multiple Pictures to an Instagram Post (and Why Some Accounts Still Cap at 10)
The multi-photo post is a carousel: up to 20 photos and videos behind one tap of the stacked-squares icon. The exact steps, the specs, what you can and cannot change after posting, and the 10-versus-20 limit explained.
Adding several pictures to one Instagram post takes exactly one extra tap — the trick is knowing which icon does it. A multi-photo post is called a **carousel**, it holds up to 20 photos and videos, and viewers swipe through the slides in the order you set. Here is the whole procedure, including the parts Instagram does not explain: what is editable after posting, and why your app might still stop you at 10.
The steps
- 1Tap **+** at the bottom and choose **Post**.
- 2Above your camera roll, tap the **stacked-squares icon** (two overlapping squares). On recent versions it may already say **Select multiple**.
- 3Tap photos and videos in the order you want them — each gets a number badge as you select it.
- 4Tap **Next**. Swipe across the previews to apply filters or edits per slide.
- 5Write a caption, tag people or location, and tap **Share**.
To change the order before posting, press and hold a thumbnail on the selection screen and drag it. **Slide 1 is the cover**: it is what shows in the feed and on your profile grid, so lead with the strongest frame.
What you can and cannot change after posting
- **You can** edit the caption, alt text, tags, and — on current versions — delete an individual slide (open the post, tap ⋯, Edit, then the trash icon on a slide).
- **You cannot** reorder slides, add new ones, or change the cover. Any of those means deleting and reposting.
That asymmetry is the whole game: arrange first, publish once.
The specs
| Property | Limit |
|---|---|
| Slides per post | Up to 20 photos and/or videos |
| Photo size | Up to 30 MB each |
| Video | Up to 4 GB and 60 seconds per slide |
| Aspect ratio | One ratio for the whole carousel — 4:5 portrait uses the most screen |
| Cover | Slide 1, fixed after posting |
The one-ratio rule surprises people: the first photo's crop sets the frame for every slide, so a landscape shot dropped into a portrait carousel gets cropped or letterboxed. Pick your ratio on slide 1 deliberately. Hootsuite's carousel guide is a good reference for the format's finer points.
Still capped at 10? Here is why
The limit was 10 for years; Instagram began rolling out 20 in August 2024 — Metricool covered the change — but rollouts reach accounts at different times, and an outdated app is the most common reason the extra slots never appear. If you select photos and the counter stops at 10: update Instagram, restart the app, and check again in a few days. Pixelscan's explainer runs through the remaining causes. There is no setting to force it — the 20-slot carousel arrives with the rollout or not at all.
Multiple photos in a Story instead
If the destination is a Story rather than a post: open the Story camera, tap the gallery, then **Select** (or the multi-photo icon) to pick up to 10 items — each becomes its own Story frame in sequence. To put several photos **on one frame**, that is a collage, and the Story collage methods — Layout mode and the photo sticker — are covered separately. And if what you want is one merged image for the feed, see how to make a collage on Instagram.
A carousel is the container. A photo dump is the genre.
Instagram did not double the carousel because brands asked. When the 20-slide limit launched, the company framed it explicitly as room for photo dumps — the casual, unpolished, end-of-month batch of photos that has become the way people actually post. If you have the mechanics down and want the format: what makes a photo dump work on Instagram, and how many photos a dump should have (spoiler: fewer than 20).
The slow part is never the posting — it is choosing 8 photos from the 300 you took. Our PhotoDump app sorts your camera roll on-device in minutes, which turns the multi-photo post from a Sunday project into a coffee break.
Tap + and choose Post, then tap the stacked-squares icon above your camera roll and select up to 20 photos and videos in order. Tap Next, edit each slide if you want, caption, and share.
Up to 20 photos and videos per carousel on updated accounts. The limit was 10 until Instagram began raising it in August 2024, and accounts that have not received the rollout or run an old app version still see 10.
Look for the stacked-squares icon above the camera roll on the post screen — selection is off until you tap it. If the icon is missing, update the app; multi-photo posting is standard on every current version.
No. Order and cover are locked at publish. You can edit the caption and delete individual slides afterwards, but reordering or adding photos means deleting the post and starting over.
Yes. A carousel accepts any mix of photos and videos, up to 20 slides, with videos up to 60 seconds each. Every slide shares the aspect ratio set by the first one.
Consistently. Carousels are the top-performing feed format in engagement benchmarks — each swipe is an interaction, completion is rewarded, and carousels collect the most saves — which is why the photo dump became Instagram's defining casual format.
