Whether it’s IGTV, Reels, Live, or right to your feed, here’s how you can upload your professionally-edited videos to Instagram.
When working correctly, the app lets you upload multiple high-resolution photos without compromising their original quality and add original captions from the convenience of your Mac keyboard. It is designed to power your photo and video sharing experience across Instagram.
This video and photo editor app is one of the best apps to create Instagram Stories. This brilliant app provides a plethora of easy-to-use design features to help you create beautiful Instagram Stories. The InShot video editor has a range of features and allows you to trim, cut, split, crop, or merge videos. The app lets you upload multiple high-resolution photos without compromising their original quality and add original captions from the convenience of your Mac keyboard. With an emphasis on simplicity, Uplet is designed to power your photo and video sharing experience across Instagram. These are the best apps to view Instagram feeds on Mac. These Instagram apps have stood the test but there have been others such as Visual Grub for Mac and Carousel for Mac which are long gone. However, Flume Pro is still the only one that lets you upload photos and videos to Instagram and generally, has the best overall interface so we’d. How to Upload a Video to Instagram from the App. In order to upload an edited video through the Instagram app, you will first need to transfer the video onto your mobile device. The Dropbox app is the easiest free method available for both PC and Mac users. Alternatively, Mac users can also use the AirDrop feature to transfer files between iOS.
It’s no secret that Instagram is one of if not the most wildly used social media platform in the world. It’s not hard to understand why either, there are several different ways to share and create content all through this one app. So, let’s talk about what is offered, and how you can use it yourself with what you have available to you.
How Long Can Instagram Videos Be?
The Instagram videos you post to your feed can be anywhere between three seconds and sixty seconds in length. Instagram doesn’t have an official file size limit, but we recommend you keep video file sizes between 50MB to 150MB. The preferred video format is MP4. (H.264 Codec & AAC audio) The maximum frame rate supported is thirty frames per second.
The video bitrate is up to you, again as long as the entire video comes in around 50MB to 150MB. Note that Instagram will likely reduce the video bitrate to around 3.5Mbps once you post the video. My bitrate recommendations for uploading videos to Instagram would be Constant Bitrate Encoding (CBR) at 10Mbps. Uploading at that bitrate should help reduce visible compression from Instagram.
Instagram Video Resolution and Quality
Instagram also doesn’t have an official resolution limit for videos. However, the platform downscales all videos to a width of 1080 pixels. It’s really up to you if you want to upload a video pre-sized at 1080 pixels wide, or upload one that is larger, like 1920 pixels or even 4K. (Some Instagram users swear by uploading 4K videos to get better quality with compression, so you may want to test that out with your own videos to compare the results.)
You can also upload in a variety of different aspect ratios, such as:
- 1:1 Square aspect ratio – standard square format on the Instagram feed
- 1.91:1 Landscape aspect ratio – similar to 16:9 widescreen format
- 4:5 Portrait aspect ratio – a slightly taller format than the standard square
Many content creators prefer the 4:5 Portrait aspect ratio (864 pixel width by 1080 pixel height) because it takes up the most onscreen real estate on the Instagram feed. The larger view also helps the perceived quality of the video.
Reels
Instagram Reels is the app’s latest and most popular feature. Think of it as their own version of TikTok. You can record, edit, and add effects to your video right within the app. It’s a fantastic inclusion to the already growing platform. At the moment, you can’t to upload a “reel” from your PC, so you’ll be limited to using this feature on your phone.
The idea is simple though. Record bite-size clips within the app, then add music, stickers, overlays, and titles to make whatever you want in thirty seconds.
Going Live
Going live on Instagram is a simple, straight-forward process. By going to the “plus” sign at the bottom of your screen, just like normal uploading practices, you’ll find the option to go “Live.”
One of Instagram’s newer features allows other users or “friends” to join in on the live stream with you. You can use this for interviews or conversations for your followers to watch. You can also title the Live stream so your audience knows what they’re getting into before they tune in.
So can you go live on your computer? Yes! But first you will need to download two apps. The first is called Yellow Duck. Once you download this free software, it essentially produces a RTMP URL that you can enter into your encoding software, in this case, OBS. Also download OBS if you haven’t already. So really, this process is as simple as entering in your Instagram account into Yellow Duck, then taking that RTMP URL and copy and pasting into OBS. This will allow you to use your laptop or webcam to stream from your computer directly to Instagram!
IGTV
IGTV is Instagrams long form content feature. This will be where you post an edited video that is longer than sixty seconds. So if you’re on your phone, you can upload straight to IGTV. However, if you’re working with a file on your desktop, here’s what you can expect to find within Instagram’s interface.
This is pretty standard. You can add a title, a description, as well as a cover image. As you’ll see in the requirements list I’ve included below, if you’re planning on uploading longer content, you’ll need to do it via desktop instead of on your phone.
Requirements for IGTV Upload
- Video must be at least one minute long
- The max length you’re able to upload on mobile is fifteen minutes
- The max length you’re able to upload on desktop is sixty minutes
- Videos must be in MP4 file format
- Vertical Videos should have an aspect ratio of 9:16
- Horizontal Videos should have an aspect ratio of 16:9
- Minimum resolution of 720p
- Minimum frame rate of 30fps
- The recommended size for cover photos is 420px by 654px (or 1:1.55 ratio).
Click here for Instagram’s detailed list of requirements.
Instagram Stories
A couple of quick side notes if you’re uploading edited videos to Instagram Stories:
The Instagram Stories aspect ratio is 9:16 (1080 pixel width by 1920 pixel height). Videos uploaded to Instagram Stories will automatically break into fifteen second sections when played back by viewers, and there will be a slight pause between each section.
Instagram App For Mac Os
If you’re looking to upload stories from your PC, as of right now you’re only able to do so through third-party apps. These apps are both paid and free, and they are primarily for scheduling and managing your account. Be sure to look through their features to make sure they have everything you need before you give them your money.
Third-Party Upload & Scheduling Apps:
How to Upload a Video to Instagram from the App
In order to upload an edited video through the Instagram app, you will first need to transfer the video onto your mobile device. The Dropbox app is the easiest free method available for both PC and Mac users. Alternatively, Mac users can also use the AirDrop feature to transfer files between iOS devices.
First, create a free Dropbox account (if you don’t already have one), then upload your edited video to your online Dropbox folder. You can do this by uploading the file directly to the website or by installing the Dropbox desktop app on your computer. The desktop app is simply a file folder that automatically uploads all content added to the Dropbox platform. Simply drag-and-drop the video file to start transferring. Dropbox will notify you when your file has uploaded (synced), and you should see a small green check mark on the file.
Next, you’ll need to install the Dropbox app on your mobile device. Open the Dropbox app and navigate to the edited video file. Click the three vertical dots to the right of the file name. This will open up the options menu.
Scroll down the options and select “Export.”
<
You will then be asked where to export the file. Select “Save to device.” Afterwards you might have the option to rename the file. From there the video file should save to the camera gallery or camera roll on your mobile device.
You can now post the video to Instagram, just as you would any other photo or video from your phone. Launch Instagram, and select the add photo icon. You should see your video in the gallery. If you don’t see your video in the gallery, check one of the other folders such as: Video, Instagram, Camera, or Downloaded.
Depending on the aspect ratio of your video, select the crop button to ensure your video is displayed correctly before posting.
How to Upload a Video to Instagram from a Desktop Computer
While you can browse your feed and watch Stories on a PC, Instagram works as a mobile-only app. That means you can’t upload photos or videos directly to the app on a PC. In order to upload a video directly from your computer to Instagram, you will need a third-party application.
There are a variety of paid applications, but the most popular free application is called Gramblr. Gramblr works on both PC and Mac. You will need to download the Gramblr app from their homepage and then create an account, which will require linking to your Instagram account. From there you will see onscreen instructions for how to post content, which is essentially drag-and-drop.
This method of posting is more of a last resort if you don’t have access to a mobile device of any kind. A third-party app gives you less control over the process, and many of you might be wary of linking your social accounts to third-party apps.
These workflow tips will have you publishing professionally edited video content to your Instagram feed in no time.
Top image by AngieYeoh.
Want to learn more about video production? Check out these articles:
Instagram is commonly known as a mobile photo sharing social networking service and most of the users primarily use the mobile version of it. There are many useful apps available for iOS as well, but in the past couple of years, number of people who use Instagram on their Mac Laptops and iMac more often have increased. Not only the instagram app is glitchy on some low end phones, the main reason behind an increase of usage of Instagram software for Mac OS X is a wide area of options these Instagram desktop apps provide. It also makes easy for Instagram users to handle their account and update it regularly.
Some of these best Mac OS Instagram apps use the browser interface and some tend to use third-party desktop client. So, without further adieu, have a look at 10 best Instagram apps for Mac OS X that you can choose according to your needs. We have listed both free and paid Mac OS Instagram apps in the article.
You Might Also Like : 12 Unique Gift Ideas for Instagram Addicts
Best Instagram Upload App Mac Download
Best Paid Instagam Apps for Mac OS
1. Photodesk (Paid App $6.99)
PhotoDesk is considered to be one of the best tools and is very popular among regular Instagram users. It is very useful for those who want to get publicity and increase the number of their followers such as small businesses and agencies. Instagram’s functionality can be enhanced on your Mac with PhotoDesk as it lets you use almost every feature of Instagram there. Due to the user-friendly interface switching between user profile and follower list is simple.
You can see all comments on one screen for multiple accounts. It also lets you reply quickly, search within comments, see comments you already replied to and receive notifications about new comments, followers and likes. The new version 4.0.1 has the ability to fix a bug that restricts the display of statistics for Photodesk Pro. It has some improved features such as a new Menu Bar icon, additional help & information and better image selection.
2. Grids for Instagram (Paid App $4.99)
User can view pictures of their friends and family members without text-based information such as likes and comments that occupies the space unnecessarily as ‘Grids for Instagram’ takes them off. Users get more details about any image when they want by just clicking on it. It’s a good looking interface that doesn’t allow users to upload photos to their Instagram account, but lets them adjust the size, background colour and the space between two images. Functionalities include search, notifications and bookmarks. The best thing about the app is the support for multiple accounts.
3. Ratatam (Paid App $0.99)
You get instant notification on your desktop when a new phone is posted through Ratatam which is an Instagram client for Mac. It lets you like and comment on photos and provides back up to them as well. This app is compatible with OS X 10.7 and later versions, you can simply download the app into your computer and associate with your Instagram, your password details won’t be stored on their server.
4. Instafeed (Paid App $4.99)
InstaFeed includes a suite of Instagram tools that are designed exclusively for Mac OSX sleek user interface, easy browsing and quick loading makes it intuitive user interface.
InstaFeed shows unlimited photos by Infinite scrolling and lets you like multiple photos by double clicking any thumbnail. The app is designed for high level display, which suits the resolution of Mac. Users can Download photos, Bookmark photos & favourite hashtags and share images with social networking sites such as Facebook & Twitter.
5. Uploader for Instagram (Paid App $4.99)
As the name suggests, it is the original Uploader for Instagram and highly useful because it allows user to upload pictures on Instagram from their Mac. Sharing picture is also very simple, you need to right click on the picture and select ‘Share to Instagram’ from the drop down list. This app also lets users add captions to Emoji and edit images using more than 40 filters & effects.
Best Free Instagram Apps for Mac OS
6. Go for Instagram (free)
If you want to use the web interface for Instagram without opening a new tab, then Go for Instagram is the right solution. This app is also useful for those who want to open Instagram now and then outside of their browser. An Instagram client would easily become familiar with the layout of it. It’s a browser with limited functionalities so you just get a menu bar icon and a keyboard shortcut to pull up the Instagram.
7. App for Instagram (Free)
You can use Instagram by clicking the App for Instagram icon from your menu bar and login with your account details. Despite of being a third party app, it automatically updates your feed and keeps your account status up to date. The desktop mode lets you experience the full screen as a pro user.
8. Flume (free)
Functionality of Flume is very simple as it is highly image-focused and doesn’t include many options so by just clicking on an image user gets more information about it. Normally the user gets a notification about his updated web content through a pops up a window. The Flume app is free, but to add multiple accounts users are required to pay $10 and get the pro version.
9. Visual Grub (Free)
When your friends post their pictures on Instagram, Visual Grub lets you see those images from your Mac easily. This app allows you to like and comment on pictures posted by an Instagram user and later get notifications about the latest comments on them. It also lets you follow or unfollow any user and view images offline.
Although Instagram is mostly accessed by people on their phone but due to its significant presence in the world of social networks, other ways of using the service should also be upgraded. Users love to try third-party Instagram apps for Mac OS, but we always recommend you to use the trusted one.
If you know any of the best Mac OS Instagram apps that you are using now and liked it, do not forget to mention us in the comments section below.
Hi Domingo and Suzanne,
All the apps listed above will work on your OS too. They are updated to the newer version but support your OS too. If by any chance, you are looking on how to upload pictures on Instagram from desktop. You can check this article : https://thetechbeard.com/upload-photos-to-instagram-from-desktop/
Let me know if you need any other help.