A reel cover is the one frame that stays on your profile grid forever. Whether the reel does well or not, the cover stays, so it is worth two minutes. This tool takes your photo, adds text and downloads a 1080×1920 cover. Your photo never leaves your phone.
Add your photo, write text on it and download a 9:16 Reel cover. Your photo never leaves your phone.
Choose a photo, then drag to position it.
The dashed box shows the Instagram grid crop. Keep text inside it or it gets cut on your profile. The cover saves as a 1080x1920 PNG.
The safe area matters most
A reel plays in full 9:16, but on your profile grid Instagram shows only the middle part. Text you put at the very bottom disappears on the grid. The dashed box in the tool is that part, so keep your big line inside it.
The box is removed when you download, so the final image has no dashed line.
How to make a good cover
- Use a photo from the reel. Even better, take a screenshot of a frame from the reel and add it here. If the cover and the reel look different, people swipe away.
- Keep the big line short. Three or four words. “NAVRATRI LOOK” works, a full sentence does not.
- Do not put text on the face. Put it on an empty area: sky, a wall or a blurred background.
- Raise the Darken slider a little if the text is hard to read. This one step makes a cover look professional.
- Download it, and when you post the reel, pick this image under Cover → Add from gallery.
When to use each of the 3 styles
- White text: best on dark or night photos.
- Black bar: when the background is very busy and the text is hard to read anywhere.
- Yellow highlight: stands out most on the grid, but use it on one reel at a time. If every reel has it, your grid looks loud.
FAQs
Is my photo uploaded anywhere?
No. The tool reads the photo inside your browser and redraws it on a canvas. Nothing is uploaded or copied. Close the tab and it is all gone.
Can I change the reel cover later?
After posting, Instagram does not let you change the cover; editing only gives a few thumbnail options. So make the cover before you post.
Why does the text look blurry?
The preview is small, but the file saves at full 1080×1920. Download it and check; it will be sharp. If it still looks faint, raise the Darken slider.
Next step
Cover done? Get your caption too with Caption + Hashtag Packs. Still editing the reel? See the velocity edit guide and the 3 layer reel edit. Need a photo first? Start with Find a Prompt.