How to download Instagram Reels in 1080p (with sound)
By the Kipzo team · Updated October 23, 2026
If you’ve ever downloaded a reel and noticed it looks softer than it did on Instagram, you’re not imagining it. Almost every reel downloader saves Instagram’s 720p file. The sharper 1080p version exists too — Instagram just stores it differently, so most tools never pick it up.
This guide shows how to save reels in 1080p with sound, as a single MP4 file.
Why most downloads are 720p
Instagram keeps two kinds of files for a reel:
- A ready-made MP4, usually 720 × 1280, with picture and sound in one file. It’s easy to grab, so that’s what most downloaders and “paste a link” websites give you.
- Streaming versions for the app and website: several qualities, with the best one usually 1080 × 1920. Picture and sound are separate files, so they have to be joined before you can play them as one video.
1080p has 2.25 times as many pixels as 720p. On a phone screen the difference is small; on a laptop, a TV or in an edit, it’s obvious. (Why Instagram downloads are only 720p explains this in more detail.)
How to save a reel in 1080p
Kipzo is a free Chrome extension that fetches the 1080p stream and its sound, and merges them into one MP4 on your computer.
- Add Kipzo to Chrome from the Chrome Web Store. There’s no account to create.
- Open a reel on instagram.com — on the Reels tab, a profile, or a link someone sent you.
- Click the download button. On the Reels tab it sits just above the like button; on a post it’s next to the bookmark. The button spins while Kipzo fetches and merges the streams, which takes a few seconds.
- Find it in your Downloads folder, by default under
Kipzo/<username>/.
On the Reels tab: Kipzo’s music-note (audio) and download buttons, just above Instagram’s like button.
HD is on by default, so you don’t need to change anything. The merge happens inside your browser — the video is never uploaded anywhere.
Pick the format that plays for you
Instagram’s 1080p stream uses the VP9 video format. It plays in Chrome, VLC, Windows and Android, but not in Apple’s QuickTime Player or the iPhone Photos app. In Kipzo’s settings (click the Kipzo icon in the toolbar, then Settings → Video quality) you can choose:
| Setting | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p HD · best quality | Instagram’s original 1080p stream, untouched | Windows, Android, VLC, editing |
| 1080p HD · plays everywhere | Converted to H.264 on your computer | Mac and iPhone |
| 720p · fastest | Instagram’s standard file | Speed over sharpness |
If you already have VP9 files that won’t open on a Mac, see how to fix Instagram videos that won’t play on Mac or iPhone.
Just want the sound?
Next to the download button there’s a music-note button that saves only the reel’s audio, as an MP3. See Instagram to MP3.
Saving many reels at once
To save every reel from a creator, open their profile and click Download posts: Kipzo saves all their posts — reels included — in HD, into one folder. See how to download every post from a profile.
Check that you really got 1080p
- Windows: right-click the file → Properties → Details → Frame width/height.
- Mac: select the file → Get Info → More Info → Dimensions.
- Any system: open it in VLC → Tools → Codec Information.
A 1080p reel shows 1080 × 1920 (or close to it).
Reels belong to the people who made them. Save them for yourself, and ask before re-posting or using someone else’s video.