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Instagram's native export settings in the app itself handle vertical video best - just shoot or upload in 9:16 aspect ratio and let the platform optimize, which beats trying to format it yourself beforehand. If you're editing elsewhere, export as H.264 MP4 at 1080×1920 resolution and keep the file under 4GB, and Reels will accept it without re-encoding weirdness.
The thing most people miss is that your phone's native camera app often compresses vertical video differently than what Instagram expects, so you'll lose quality if you don't use a dedicated app or export software that respects the 9:16 ratio without recompressing. I've found that apps like CapCut or Adobe Premiere Elements let you set the exact dimensions and export at a higher bitrate, which makes a real difference when the video actually shows up on someone's feed. The built-in Instagram uploader works fine if your source is already clean, but if you're doing any editing at all, handling the export yourself before uploading gives you way more control over what actually gets posted.
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