How to Create Instagram Carousel Posts in Canva | Step-by-Step Tutorial

Instagram carousels are one of the best ways to share more content, tell a story, or showcase your work in a creative way. In this article, I’ll walk you through step-by-step instructions on how to design and export a professional 10-slide carousel using a free Canva account (no Canva Pro account needed).

If you prefer learning by watching, I’ve also recorded a detailed YouTube video tutorial where I show the exact process on screen. The written guide below is perfect for quick reference, while the video is great if you’re a visual learner. You’ll find it embedded at the end of this post.

Step 1: Open Canva & Create Your Document

First, open Canva and click Create to create a new document.

We’ll be making a 10-slide carousel with 10 Instagram posts.

Since Canva has a document size limit, set your dimensions to:

5400 x 1350 pixels

That gives you 5 posts in a row, each one 1080 x 1350 pixels (the standard Instagram portrait size). We’ll use 2 pages to create 10 posts total.

How to Create Instagram Carousel Posts in Canva | Step-by-Step Tutorial

Step 2: Add Guides

To make sure everything lines up perfectly, let’s add guides.

Go to File → Settings → Add guides
Select Custom
Set it to 5 columns, 0 gap
Click Add guides

Now you’ll see exactly where each post begins and ends.

Step 3: Upload Photos

Next, upload your photos.

Go to Uploads and drag and drop images from your computer.
Once you upload at least one file, you’ll see the Folders tab. From there, you can create a new folder and organize your already uploaded photos or drag the new ones directly into it.

Step 4: Build the First Layout

To create your first simple layout, use Canva grids:

Go to Elements and type "grid".
Select a grid (e.g., 6 vertical images).
Adjust the spacing under Spacing.
Drag your uploaded photos into the grid.

Step 5: Add a New Page

Once you’re happy with your first page, click Add page and create a new layout.

This is your chance to experiment: try different arrangements, add white space, text, shapes, or lines.

Quick tip for alignment inside one post/one column:

Press R on your keyboard to add a rectangle.
Use it as a temporary guide by placing it over one column.
Select the rectangle + your element, click Position → Arrange: Middle & Center to align perfectly.

Step 6: Add More Pages & Use Shortcuts

You can reuse elements from your other design(s) by selecting and copying them with CTRL + C (Mac: Command + C).

Then, click on the new page, and paste the elements with CTRL + V (Mac: Command + V).

Some other useful Canva shortcuts for quickly adding elements to the page:

T = Text box
R = Rectangle
C = Circle
L = Line

Step 7: Split the Images

Once your layouts are ready, it’s time to split them into individual posts.

We’ll use Canva’s built-in Image Splitter app.

Go to Apps, type "Image Splitter", and click on the icon.
Click Export design.
Choose your file type and the page you want to cut.
Click Export.
Set 1 row, 5 columns.
Click Split image → Save images to Uploads.

Repeat the process for each page.

This app only works on one page at a time, so you’ll need to split each page separately.

Step 8: Create a New Instagram Document

Now, create a new design:

Click Create.
Choose Instagram Post (4:5), or under Custom size, enter: 1080 x 1350 pixels.

Insert a grid:

Go to Elements → Grid and select the first one.

Step 9: Build the Carousel

Duplicate this page until you have 10 pages total.

Tip: use Grid view for faster duplication and easier rearranging.

Now go to Uploads and drop your split images into the grids. If they’re out of order, just drag them into the correct sequence in Grid view.

Step 10: Download & Post

Once you’re happy with everything, download your design.

Click Share → Download.
Choose the file type and the pages you want to download.
Click Download.

You now have a 10-slide Instagram carousel ready to share!

And that’s it!

You’ve just learned how to create a polished Instagram carousel in Canva, from setup to download.

If you’d like to save time, I also created ready-made Canva carousel templates that you can customize right away. You’ll find them linked below.

And if you want to see the entire process in action, here’s the full YouTube video tutorial, where I walk you through every step on screen. It’s more detailed and especially helpful if you’re a visual learner and like following along in real time.