Instagram 90-Minute Videos Pay Nothing Yet: Creator Guide

Instagram just gave a small group of creators something it has never offered before: the chance to post a horizontal video up to 90 minutes long inside the main app. The format is called Features, and it started testing in the United States on October 26, 2026, after an earlier run in Brazil. Here is the part that matters most for your wallet: Instagram is not sharing ad revenue on these videos. Not yet, anyway. So the honest answer to “should I post my long videos on Instagram?” is that it depends entirely on how you already make money — and for most creators, YouTube should still be home base.

I have watched Instagram try long-form video before, and I have watched creators burn weeks chasing a format that never paid them. Features is different from that earlier attempt in a few real ways, and it could still be useful. But only if you treat it as a discovery funnel, not as a paycheck. This guide walks through exactly what Features is, what it pays (nothing, directly), how it stacks up against YouTube, and a simple decision tree for whether it deserves any of your time this month.

What Instagram Features actually is

Features is a test, not a launch. Instagram picked a small group of creators in Brazil first, then expanded the test to select creators in the United States on October 26, 2026. There is no public signup, no waitlist link, and no announced date for a wider rollout. Instagram has said it plans to expand to tens of thousands of US creators, but “plans to” is not a date, and you should not build your content calendar around it.

The videos themselves are horizontal — wide, like a YouTube video or a TV show — and can run up to 90 minutes. That is a sharp break from Reels, which remain capped at 20 minutes. The target audience is obvious from who got invited first: podcasters, comedians, interviewers, and other creators whose work does not fit in a vertical short. Early testers named in coverage include Emma Grede, Monet McMichael, Preston Rakovsky, and Donald De La Haye — people with existing audiences and existing sponsors.

Features videos show up in the main feed and in Explore, and they connect to Reels in a specific way: a creator can link up to eight short Reels to one full-length Feature. Someone scrolling Reels can tap a clip and jump straight to the full episode without leaving Instagram. That link is the whole strategy, and it is worth understanding before you decide anything, because Instagram is not really asking you to move your show. It is asking you to let Reels do the marketing for a longer video that lives inside its app instead of on YouTube.

There is also a living-room play. Instagram’s TV app, which started on Fire TV, now runs on Google TV and Samsung TVs in the US, and Apple TV support arrived in the US in October 2026. A long horizontal video makes sense on a television in a way a vertical Reel never will. Instagram’s own framing is that people already watch Reels together in living rooms, and the company wants the longer stuff to follow them there. You can even send a video from your phone to the TV. Instagram’s head Adam Mosseri has admitted the TV experience will take some time to get right, which is a polite way of saying it is early.

Two related tests are running alongside Features. Series groups connected Reels into episodic collections on a creator’s profile, and Instagram expects Series to reach the US by the end of 2026 or early 2027. Separately, Instagram is testing live video recommendations to people who do not follow you, currently in Brazil and Indonesia, with a US rollout planned for 2027. None of these change the money question today, but together they show Instagram building a fuller video lineup around Reels rather than replacing Reels.

The catch: no revenue share yet

Let me be blunt, because this is where creators get burned. Instagram has no YouTube-style ad revenue share for Features, and no general revenue-sharing program for video on the platform today. Instagram says it is exploring options, including performance-based incentives, but it has announced nothing concrete. One report noted the company is funding some creators directly during the test, and Instagram says it is working on brand deals for some early creators. Established creators can also bring their existing sponsorships and branded-content placements into Features videos — those deals do not have to be exclusive to Instagram.

That is the entire monetization picture right now: sponsors, not platform payouts.

The reaction from creators was immediate and, frankly, fair. The most-liked comment on the announcement, from mental-health creator Divija Bhasin (@awkwardgoat3), asked, “Why would anyone post an unpaid long video on Instagram if we can just post it on YouTube and actually get paid for the effort?” That question is the whole debate in one sentence, and Instagram has not answered it with money. Its answer, via a spokesperson, is that over time there will be “compounding benefits” — new stories, new audiences, new partners — that should lead to monetization opportunities. Maybe. But “should lead to” is not a rate card, and you cannot pay an editor with compounding benefits.

There is one more wrinkle worth knowing before you get excited: early coverage of the announcement noted that Features appeared to be missing some basics YouTube creators take for granted, like captions and chapters, though playback speed adjustment was available. Those gaps may close as the test develops. Still, if you post a 90-minute interview with no chapters, your viewers cannot skip to the good part, and your completion rate will show it. Treat the format as unfinished, because it is.

Features vs YouTube: the money math

YouTube’s terms are public, which makes the comparison easy — and unflattering for Instagram right now. Under the YouTube Partner Program, creators keep 55% of ad revenue on long-form videos and 45% of the allocated revenue pool on Shorts. Those are published splits, not vibes. A creator with a monetized YouTube channel earns something every time an ad runs against their long video, whether or not a sponsor is involved.

Instagram offers no equivalent. Here is the comparison that should drive your decision:

That table is why my advice is boring and, I think, right: keep the money video on YouTube. If you get invited to Features, use it as a second window for an episode that already exists, with sponsors already attached, and let the linked Reels pull your Instagram audience toward it. What you should not do is move a show to Instagram exclusively, or record a 90-minute episode just for Features, hoping a revenue share appears later. Instagram has made no commitment, and hope is not a business model.

There is a real exception, and it is worth naming. If your income already comes from sponsors rather than platform ads — say you host a podcast with two or three regular sponsors — then Features costs you almost nothing extra. You already recorded the episode. Posting it inside Instagram gives your sponsors a second audience and gives your Instagram followers a reason to stay in the app instead of clicking out to YouTube. In that case the funnel has value even at a $0 platform payout. The creators who benefit first will be the ones who were already getting paid by brands, not by platforms.

IGTV already tried this — and that history matters

If Features feels familiar, it should. Instagram launched IGTV in 2018 as a dedicated destination for longer videos, mostly vertical. It never caught on the way Reels did, and Instagram eventually folded long video into its broader video strategy and dropped the standalone IGTV branding, shutting the separate app down in 2022. Long-form on Instagram has already failed once.

So why might this time be different? Three reasons, and I would weight them honestly. First, Features lives inside the main app instead of asking people to open a second app — the friction that helped kill IGTV is gone. Second, the Reels link changes discovery: IGTV asked viewers to go find long videos, while Features lets a 30-second clip do the selling. Third, the TV app gives long videos a natural home beyond the phone, which IGTV never really had.

But there is also a reason to stay skeptical, and it is a big one. Mosseri himself said a couple of years ago that he was not interested in pursuing long-form video in a meaningful way, because he did not want to erode Instagram’s core reason to exist: connecting friends. Something changed his mind — most likely the fact that video podcasts and long interviews are eating attention on YouTube, and Instagram does not want to be the place you only post the trailer. A strategy reversal is not a guarantee, though. If Features does not move viewing time, Instagram can quietly wind it down just as it did with IGTV, and creators who built their workflow around it will be left holding a format with no audience and no payout. That risk is exactly why you should never make Features your only home for a show.

For more context on how creator payouts actually compare across platforms, see our breakdown of creator earnings across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram and our earlier coverage of Instagram’s October originality bonus reports.

Should you bother? A decision tree

Here is the honest filter I would run before spending an hour on Features:

You have sponsors, and you already record long episodes. Yes, test it if invited. Post the episode, link your best 3 to 8 clips as Reels, and watch one number: how many people click from a Reel to the full video. If that click-through is real, your sponsors just got a bigger audience for the same recording session. If it is not, you lost nothing but upload time.

You earn mainly from YouTube ads and have no sponsors. No. Keep the full episode on YouTube, where every view can pay. Use Reels the way you already do — as short clips that point outward — and do not give Instagram the full episode for free. Posting the whole thing inside Instagram trains your audience to stay there, where nobody pays you, instead of going where somebody does.

You are a podcaster or comedian growing on Instagram first. Maybe, and only as an experiment. If your audience lives on Instagram and you do not have a monetized YouTube channel yet, Features could help you keep that audience inside one app, and the TV app could eventually put your work on a bigger screen. But set a limit: one episode as a test, with a clear way to measure whether it grew your following or your sponsor interest. Do not migrate your catalog.

You are not invited. Nothing changes for you today, and that is fine. Features is a closed test. The worst move is contorting your content — recording horizontal 90-minute videos nobody asked for — in hopes of an invitation that may never come. Keep making the Reels and videos that already work, and watch whether Instagram expands the test to tens of thousands of creators as planned.

That last point deserves emphasis, because creator FOMO is the real product here. Every platform test creates a wave of “you need to be on this now” content from people who are not in the test either. You do not need to be first to a format with no payout. You need to be early to the payout when it arrives, and you will hear about that the day Instagram announces it, because every creator news outlet will cover it.

If you get invited: a 5-step test plan

If the invitation lands, do not just upload your longest video and hope. Run it like a test, because that is what it is.

1. Pick an episode with a sponsor already attached. This is the only version of Features that pays today. A sponsored episode means the upload earns something regardless of what Instagram does. An unsponsored episode earns $0 from the platform and teaches you nothing about revenue.

2. Cut 3 to 8 Reels from the strongest moments, not the first 30 seconds. You get up to eight linked clips, so use them like a trailer, not a table of contents. Open each clip mid-story, at a line people will want resolved, and end it before the payoff. The click to the full video is the payoff. A clip that answers its own question gives viewers no reason to tap through.

3. Add the sponsor read and a pinned comment with a link. Since Instagram is not paying you, the sponsor integration and your own links (newsletter, merch, next episode) have to do the work. Do not bury them. Viewers who finish a 90-minute video are your most committed audience; give them somewhere to go next.

4. Measure the one number that matters: Reel-to-Feature click-through. Ignore total views on the long video for the first test, because a test audience is small and noisy. What you actually need to know is whether short clips convert to long viewing inside Instagram. If 2% or more of Reel viewers tap through, the funnel works for your audience. If almost nobody taps, the format is not pulling its weight, no matter how good the episode is.

5. Set a decision date. Give the test two episodes, not twenty. After the second, ask: did sponsors notice, did followers grow, did click-through hold up? If the answer is no across the board, stop. You can always come back if Instagram announces a revenue share, and you will have lost nothing by waiting.

If you are not invited: what to do instead

Most creators reading this are not in the test, and the smart play is gloriously boring. Keep your long videos on YouTube, where the 55% split exists. Keep cutting Reels from them, because Reels remain the best discovery surface Instagram actually gives everyone. And keep an eye on two triggers that would change the advice: an announced revenue share or performance incentive for Features, and a wider rollout beyond the current select group. Either one is worth a fresh look, and both will be public news when they happen.

In the meantime, there is a related opportunity hiding in plain sight. Instagram is also testing Series, which groups Reels into episodic collections, and that format is expected to reach the US by the end of 2026 or early 2027. A series of connected Reels is something every creator can already plan for, and it plays to Instagram’s actual strength — short, repeatable episodes — instead of asking a short-form audience to suddenly watch 90 minutes. If you want to prepare for Instagram’s long-form future without betting on it, build a Reel series with a real arc. That work pays off whether Features succeeds or not.

One more practical note: do not re-upload your YouTube episodes to Instagram just to “be present” on Features the moment it opens to you. If you ever do get invited, post deliberately, with sponsors and links attached, and keep YouTube as the canonical home. The creators who win platform transitions are rarely the ones who move first. They are the ones who move with a deal already in hand.

For context on how short-form bonuses are evolving on the other side of the fence, see our piece on YouTube’s Shorts bonus program test.

What to watch next

Three things will tell you whether Features is real or another IGTV. First, the rollout: does Instagram actually expand from select creators to tens of thousands of US creators, and on what timeline? A test that stays tiny for a year is a test that is not working. Second, the money: does Instagram announce any revenue share, performance incentive, or creator fund for Features, or does it stay sponsor-only? Third, the TV app: does Instagram for TV on Apple TV, Fire TV, Google TV, and Samsung TVs actually get viewing time, or does it sit unused next to YouTube? If all three move in the same direction — wider, paid, watched — then Features graduates from experiment to strategy, and the decision tree above flips. Until then, treat it as a free lottery ticket that costs upload time: nice if you are holding one, not worth buying with your best content.

My bottom line has not changed since the first paragraph, and I think that is a good sign for the advice. Instagram’s 90-minute videos are interesting, the Reels funnel is clever, and the TV play is real. But a format that pays $0 is a marketing channel, not an income stream. Use it like one — if you are invited, if you have sponsors, and if the click-through proves it works — and keep the show where the show gets paid.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can anyone post 90-minute videos on Instagram now?

No. Features is a limited test for select creators in the United States and Brazil. Instagram has not announced a public rollout date, though it plans to expand to tens of thousands of US creators. Regular Reels remain capped at 20 minutes for everyone else.

Does Instagram pay creators for Features videos?

Not directly. There is no ad revenue share for Features, and Instagram has no general video revenue-sharing program today. Instagram says it is exploring options, including performance-based incentives, and it is working on brand deals for some early creators. Established creators can bring their own sponsorships into Features videos.

How do linked Reels work with Features?

A creator in the test can link up to eight short Reels to one full-length Feature video. Viewers watching a Reel can tap through to the full episode without leaving Instagram. The idea is that short clips act as discovery for the longer video, similar to how a trailer sells a show.

Is Features the same as IGTV?

No, though the comparison is fair. IGTV launched in 2018 as a separate app for longer videos and was shut down in 2022. Features lives inside the main Instagram app, connects to Reels, and ties into Instagram’s TV app — three things IGTV lacked. The history is still a warning: Instagram has walked away from long-form video before.

Should I move my podcast or show to Instagram?

Not as your only home. Keep the full episode on YouTube, where creators keep 55% of long-form ad revenue. If you are invited to Features and you have sponsors, posting the episode there as a second window can make sense. Moving exclusively would trade a paying platform for one that currently pays nothing.

What is Instagram for TV, and does it matter for Features?

Instagram for TV is the company’s television app, available in the US on Fire TV, Google TV, and Samsung TVs, with Apple TV support added in October 2026. It matters because horizontal 90-minute videos fit a television far better than vertical Reels do. Whether viewers actually watch Instagram on TV at scale is still unproven, and it is one of the key things to watch as the test develops.

Sources for the facts in this article include TechCrunch’s report on Instagram’s October 26, 2026 announcement, Instagram’s announcement coverage via CCStartup and Talk With Tech’s Features explainer. Features remains a limited test, so availability and monetization details may change — check Instagram’s own announcements before making platform decisions.