How to Upload Videos to Instagram from a PC [Windows/Mac]

Uploading videos to Instagram from your phone is easy, but what about how to upload a video to Instagram from a PC? There are actually multiple ways to upload videos to Instagram from your computer with Windows or Mac. It’s actually pretty easy to post in-feed, Stories, IGTVs, Rees, and Instagram Ads from a desktop. The only thing you can’t do is create Instagram Live content. For that, you’ll need to use the Instagram app on your phone. In this article, we’ll explore some of the best ways to post videos to Instagram from a computer. Let’s get started!

Let’s talk about how to post a video on Instagram from a PC for free without downloading any other third-party apps. There are three simple ways to do this, including through the Instagram website, by changing your browser user-agent, and with Instagram Creator Studio.

Posting in-feed videos to Instagram online from your desktop is easy on Instagram’s website, but you cannot post a Story, IGTV, or Reel with this method. However, if you just want to make a traditional post to your feed, here’s how:

1. Open your preferred internet browser and navigate to the Instagram website.
   Go to the Instagram website

2. Log in to your Instagram account, and you’ll be taken to your feed.

3. Click the + button at the top right of the screen.

4. Either drag and drop your video into the pop-up window or click the Select from computer button and browse for your video.

5. Click Next at the top right of the pop-up window.

6. (Optional) Add a filter and/or make other adjustments to the appearance of your video.

7. Click Next.

8. Write a caption, add a location, and adjust accessibility and advanced settings.

9. Click Share.

For this option, you’re essentially going to make your desktop browser mimic a mobile browser to upload videos as in-feed posts or Stories. This is a hack that a lot of developers use when they’re working with Instagram or other mobile app APIs, but it’s easy enough that almost anyone can take advantage of it. This option only works with Google Chrome. Download it by using the link below if you don’t have it already.

Download Google Chrome

1. Open a tab in Google Chrome and navigate to Instagram.
   Go to the Instagram website

2. Click on the three vertical dots at the upper right corner of the browser window.

3. Select More tools in the dropdown menu, then click on Developer Tools.

4. From the top menu bar, select the second from the left button. This is the Toggle Device Toolbar button, and it looks like an outline of a phone over the outline of a tablet.

5. From this toolbar (which will appear to the left), click on the word Responsive and select your preferred mobile device from the list in the dropdown menu.

6. Refresh the browser page.

7. You can now use Instagram just like you would use it on a mobile device to upload Stories and posts.

If you want to find out how to post a video on Instagram from a PC with Instagram Creator Studio, you’ll need a professional Instagram account. This is actually pretty easy, though, and it’s a smart move for many Instagram video makers. Just follow these steps on your phone:

1. Open the Instagram app and go to your profile page.

2. At the top right corner, hit the three stacked horizontal lines to open a dropdown menu.

3. Select Settings.

4. Toward the bottom of the list of options, choose Switch to Professional Account.

5. Follow the prompts to finish switching your account type.

Now you’re ready to use Instagram Creator Studio on your PC or Mac.

1. Visit the Instagram Creator Studio website in your preferred browser.
   Go to Instagram Creator Studio

2. Click on the Connect Your Account button in the center of the screen.

3. Enter your Instagram account name and password.

4. Click on the green Create Post button at the top left of the screen and select Instagram Feed to make an in-feed post or IG Video to create a Reel or Story.

5. You can now drag and drop your videos into the designated area, or you can click on From file upload to browse for it or From your Page content to create a video from existing content on your Instagram or Facebook page.

6. Add a caption and make any other changes you want.

7. If you’re done preparing your video and you’re ready to post, click the blue Publish button at the bottom right of the window, or you can click the dropdown button next to it to schedule the post for later or save it as a draft.

If none of the ways above seem suitable, try using one of the services designed to help you work with social media and schedule the post beforehand. Platforms like that usually offer other helpful tools such as account monitoring, analysis, management, and more.

To help you make really cool videos for Instagram, Movavi Effects Store has a few available templates specifically designed to enhance Instagram Stories.

Instagram Stories Set is a set of 65 templates and 28 stickers that make it easy for content creators to make beautiful, eye-catching, and engaging Instagram Story videos and photos. It includes four packs of themed templates that you can also purchase separately if you prefer. These packs include:

Discover 19 fitness templates and 14 stickers designed to help health and wellness influencers and fitness professionals stand out from the crowd.

Keep your content up to date with templates designed to help you create stunning autumn-themed Stories. With 18 templates and seven stickers, this pack is perfect to plan your fall releases.

This simple but essential pack includes 13 templates and seven stickers to give creators a ready-to-go boost to their Stories’ aesthetic. It’s honestly anything but basic.

15 deluxe templates come with this pack to help you create stylish, on-trend Stories that will help get more engagement for your feed.

In our above guide for creating videos for Instagram, we mentioned that you’ll need to ensure that your video fits a few requirements. Standards and requirements vary for short in-feed videos and long videos that can be posted as Reels and Stories. For example, the max length for in-feed clips is much shorter than Live videos. Likewise, you can upload full videos to your Story, but they’ll appear in multiple story frames. After posting, if you notice that a video doesn’t look quite right, it’s likely that you haven’t adjusted your video’s settings to comply with Instagram’s restrictions. This could include the level to which you compress a video file or breaking the time limit for the type of video you upload. It could also occur if you put unlicensed music onto a video or used other licensed material without permission, as well.

As you edit your videos in Movavi or any video editing software, be sure that you adhere to the following requirements:

• Video format. When adding movies to Instagram, all videos should be saved as MP4 or MOV. Other formats, like WebM and WMV, will not work.

• Video codec. You can change your video codec in Movavi Video Suite. It should be set to H.264 to upload videos without losing quality.

• Frame rate. 30 FPS (frames per second) is the ideal frame rate for Instagram to avoid videos not playing or a failed upload. Slower frame rates may look choppy, and faster ones may result in files sizes that are too big to upload properly.

• Audio format. Your video’s audio format should be AAC. It will likely be set to this by default, but if audio is not working, check this setting.

• Bitrate. A bitrate of 3500 kbps will give you the clearest video output and will be sure to be accepted by Instagram.

• Cover photo. Your cover photo is the thumbnail that your viewers will see before your video starts playing. If you’re creating a Story, IGTV, or Reel, you’ll be prompted to choose a cover photo for your video. This can be a still from the video, or you can upload a separate photo for your cover. Either browse through your pics or choose a frame in your video that works best as its cover. In some instances, you might even choose an appropriately funny meme for your cover image. In-feed posts and ads do not have cover pictures.

• Orientation. When shooting your video – or in the editing process – you’ll want to ensure that you have the right orientation. In-feed posts, ads, and IGTV can be published in one of three orientations: vertical, horizontal (landscape), or square. Stories and Reels can only be published with vertical orientation. We’ll provide the specific aspect ratio for each of these video types in the table below.

With the tools, apps, and info in this article, you should now be armed with all the things you need to make Instagram videos and upload them from your laptop or desktop. With the methods we’ve discussed here, you should have a clear idea of the best way to upload good-quality videos based on your needs. To help simplify this process, here’s something to think about as you look through all the stuff on uploading videos to Instagram: Before you upload a video – no matter what method you choose – make sure that your video complies with all of Instagram’s requirements. That way, you won’t have to redo all your hard work just because you had the wrong aspect ratio or some other missed detail.

Also, while there are Instagram uploader options available from third parties, there’s really no need to download additional software besides your Instagram video editor. Further, you can use any editor you prefer that will allow you to change the aspect ratio, resolution, and other settings on your videos, but we recommend Movavi, as the software makes all of this simple and easy.