Static ad
A static ad is an ad built from one still image: a product photo, a graphic or a designed layout, usually with a headline and a call to action on it, and primary text above it. It is advertisers' name for what Meta calls an image ad. It runs in most placements on Facebook and Instagram, from feed to Stories and Reels, in a different shape for each.
What does Meta call a static ad?
An image ad. Meta's About image ads page:
Image ads allow you to show off your product, service or brand using a single photo and an optional footer.
Meta's own pages use "static" rarely. Its aspect ratio table says "Static image ads with catalog items added are not considered Advantage+ catalog ads", and the same page groups uploads as "single image ads, video ads and carousel ads". Several images in one ad is a carousel ad, not a static ad.
On TikTok, still images run as carousel ads of at least two images. TikTok describes the format as "an ad format that supports images for TikTok-in-feed ads", as covered in TikTok's specs.
What size should a static ad be?
From Meta's ads guide:
| Placement | Shape | Resolution | File |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facebook Feed | 4:5 | 1440 × 1800 | JPG or PNG, 30 MB |
| Instagram Feed | 4:5 | 1440 × 1800 | JPG or PNG, 30 MB |
| Instagram Stories | 9:16 | 1440 × 2560 | JPG or PNG, 30 MB |
| Instagram Reels | 9:16 | 1440 × 2560 | JPG or PNG, 30 MB |
Most spec sheets print 1080 × 1350 for feed. It is the same aspect ratio at a smaller size, as Meta ad sizes explains. On 9:16, keep the text inside the safe zone.
Is there still a limit on text in a static ad?
No. Meta's image ad best practices say: "There is no longer a limit on the amount of text that can exist in your ad image. The text overlay tool is no longer available." The advice that replaced the rule is about legibility: text "shouldn't obstruct the visuals", in "a modern, clean font in a large enough type size and a contrasting hue."
The same page recommends 4:5 for "single-image ads to be delivered to the ad placements Facebook Feed", showing your brand or logo, and showing "people using your product or service".
Can Meta turn a static ad into a video?
It can offer to. Meta's Add animation page describes a generative AI feature in Advantage+ creative that adds "panning, zooming, rotating and more to your eligible images". It notes that "Ads with AI-generated animation will only be delivered to the Instagram Reels at this time", and that the feature "only supports single image ad creatives." Whatever you upload as a still may not be what everyone sees.
What it means for your ads
- Make a 4:5 and a 9:16 of each static ad. Between them they cover feed, Stories and Reels.
- Give each one a single job. Meta's advice to crop "tightly around the important part of the image" applies to the whole layout.
- Check enhancements before publishing. Animation and other automatic changes apply to still images.
Common mistakes
- Designing around an old text limit. Meta removed the limit and the text overlay tool.
- Treating 1080 × 1350 as Meta's spec. It runs, but Meta recommends 1440 × 1800.
Sources
- About image ads across Meta technologies — Meta Business Help Center: the definition of an image ad (rendered in a browser, accessed 2026-10-16)
- Aspect ratios supported by placements in Meta Ads Manager — Meta Business Help Center: "Static image ads" and "single image ads" (rendered in a browser, accessed 2026-10-16)
- Best practices for image ads — Meta Business Help Center: no text limit, text-overlay, aspect ratio, brand and cropping guidance (rendered in a browser, accessed 2026-10-16)
- Add animation to an image in Meta Ads Manager — Meta Business Help Center: animation of still images, Reels-only delivery, single image only (rendered in a browser, accessed 2026-10-16)
- Meta Ads Guide: image ads on Facebook Feed — Meta: 1440 × 1800 at 4:5, JPG or PNG, 30 MB (rendered in a browser, accessed 2026-09-19)
- Meta Ads Guide: image ads on Instagram Feed — Meta: 4:5 at 1440 × 1800, JPG or PNG, 30 MB (rendered in a browser, accessed 2026-09-19)
- Meta Ads Guide: image ads on Instagram Stories — Meta: 9:16 at 1440 × 2560, JPG or PNG, 30 MB (rendered in a browser, accessed 2026-09-19)
- Meta Ads Guide: image ads on Instagram Reels — Meta: 9:16 at 1440 × 2560, JPG or PNG, 30 MB (rendered in a browser, accessed 2026-09-19)
- About Carousel Ads — TikTok Ads Manager help: "an ad format that supports images for TikTok-in-feed ads" (accessed 2026-09-15)
- Specifications for Carousel Ads — TikTok Ads Manager help: 2–35 images per carousel (accessed 2026-09-15, for the linked post)
Meta's help pages are client-rendered and show no date; they were read in a real browser on 16 October 2026. The ads guide sizes come from this site's spec pages, checked on 19 September 2026. Meta revises these pages without notice.
Terrads makes static ads in 1:1, 4:5, 9:16 and more, each composed for its frame, with the headline spelled right.