Free Instagram Highlight Cover Icons and How to Make Covers
Make matching Instagram highlight covers with free icons. The right size, a step-by-step method in Canva and icon ideas for every type of account.
Highlight covers are the row of circles under your Instagram bio. A matching set makes a profile look organised and tells visitors what each highlight holds before they tap. You need one icon per highlight, a background color and about ten minutes.
Size and safe area
Highlight covers use the same shape as a story.
- Canvas size: 1080 by 1920 pixels
- What shows: only a circle in the center
Place the icon in the middle of the canvas and keep it small enough to sit well inside that circle. An icon about 300 to 400 pixels wide, centered, is a safe choice.
Step 1: Choose your icons
Pick one icon for each highlight and take them all in the same style, either all outline or all solid. Outline icons look light and elegant. Solid icons stay clearer at the very small size Instagram shows them.
Some common pairings:
- About or Meet me: user, heart
- Shop or Products: shopping bag, tag
- Reviews: star, message
- Location or Travel: map pin, plane
- Behind the scenes: camera, video
- Tips or How-to: book, sparkles
- Food or Menu: coffee, utensils
- FAQ: search, bell
Step 2: Download them in your brand color
On each icon page, click the Colour box and enter your brand color, or use white if your background will be dark. Set the size to 512 and press PNG. The background is transparent, so the icon will sit on any color.
Step 3: Build the cover in Canva
- In Canva, create a design at 1080 by 1920 pixels. Searching for "Instagram Story" gives you this size.
- Set the background color. Use one color for the whole set, or two that alternate.
- Upload your icon PNG and place it in the exact center. Canva shows pink guide lines when it is centered.
- Resize the icon to roughly one third of the canvas width.
- Duplicate the page for each highlight and swap the icon.
- Download all pages as PNG.
Any design app works the same way. The only things that matter are the canvas size and keeping the icon centered.
Step 4: Set the cover on Instagram
- Open your profile and press and hold a highlight.
- Tap Edit Highlight, then Edit Cover.
- Tap the image icon and choose your cover from your photos.
- Pinch to adjust the fit inside the circle and tap Done.
You do not need to post the cover to your story first.
Tips for a set that looks professional
- Two colors at most. One for the background and one for the icon.
- Same icon size on every cover. Duplicating the page in Canva takes care of this.
- Short highlight names. Instagram cuts off names after about ten characters.
- Match your feed. Take the colors from your logo or your most-used post background.
Icon ideas by type of account
View all 19 free Beauty & Fashion icons
View all 14 free Restaurant & Cafe icons
View all 18 free Travel & Maps icons
Fitness coaches can find more in the gym and workout icons guide.
Questions
What size is an Instagram highlight cover?
Create it at 1080 by 1920 pixels, the story size. Instagram shows a circle cut from the center.
Can I use these icons for a business account?
Yes. The icons are free for commercial use with no attribution. You may not resell the icons or the covers as a template pack. See the license.
Should highlight icons be outline or solid?
Both work. Solid icons are easier to read at the tiny size shown on a profile. Outline icons look lighter. Just keep the whole set in one style.
Every icon on this site is free to download. If this guide helped, you can say thanks by buying a pack from the LinearAndLoom Etsy shop.
