# Connect YouTube to Instagram

> Connect your YouTube channel as the source and your Instagram account as a destination in Post Once. From then on, the Shorts you upload to YouTube go to Instagram on their own, with your caption. Longer videos skip Instagram, because Instagram takes short vertical videos and photos only.

Post Once help center, Connect two apps. Source: https://postonce.com/help/connect-youtube-to-instagram.

## Before you start

- A YouTube channel. Any channel you can sign in to works, monetized or not.
- An Instagram Business or Creator account. Instagram only lets apps post to professional accounts. Switch for free in the Instagram app under Settings, then **Account type and tools**.
- A Post Once account. The free plan includes 10 reposts, with no card needed.

## How to connect YouTube to Instagram

1. Create a free account at [app.postonce.com](https://app.postonce.com/signup). After two short intro screens, Post Once asks where you post.
2. Under **Where do you post first?**, pick **YouTube** and press **Continue**.

   (Screenshot: YouTube picked under Where do you post first? in Post Once)

3. Under **Where else should it land?**, pick **Instagram**. Add any other apps, or a backup, then press **Continue**.
4. On **Connect your accounts.**, press **Connect** on the YouTube row. Sign in with the Google account that owns your channel and allow access.

   (Screenshot: The Connect your accounts screen with YouTube as the source and Instagram as a destination)

5. Press **Connect** on the Instagram row. Sign in on Instagram's page. If you have several accounts, choose the one Post Once should post to, then allow access.
6. When both rows say **Connected**, press **Go to dashboard**.

From then on, keep posting on YouTube as usual. Post Once checks it about every five minutes and reposts each new post to Instagram.

## Already using Post Once?

If YouTube is already the source of your bridge, open **Bridge** and press **Connect** next to Instagram in the **Destinations** card, or press **Add destination** on the dashboard.

If your bridge reads from another account, add a second bridge with YouTube as its source from the bridge switcher. Free and Solo include 1 bridge, Studio 3 and Agency as many as you need. See [bridges](https://postonce.com/help/bridges).

## What each YouTube post becomes on Instagram

| On YouTube | On Instagram |
|---|---|
| A Short | A Reel, if it runs from 3 seconds to 3 minutes. |
| A video over 3 minutes, or a landscape one | Skipped, with "Instagram only takes short vertical videos". |

A skipped post shows the reason on your dashboard and still goes to your other destinations. See [long videos](https://postonce.com/help/long-videos) for how Post Once tells short from long.

## How your caption carries over

The video's description becomes the caption. A video with no description uses its title instead. Private and unlisted videos are not picked up, and neither are community posts.

Instagram takes captions up to 2,200 characters. Stories have no caption.

## Choose what goes to Instagram

On the **Bridge** page, the Instagram row has two settings.

- **What to post** has one switch here, **Videos**, since videos are all that go from YouTube to Instagram. Turning it off pauses Instagram.
- **Rewrite caption** changes the caption for Instagram only: **Remove comment, DM and link in bio prompts**, **Remove hashtags and mentions**, **Rewrite with AI to suit Instagram**, and **Add your own text** at the start or end. Each one is off until you turn it on.

## Check that it works

Post something on YouTube as usual. Within about five minutes it shows up under **Your posts** on the dashboard (press **Check now** to look straight away), then goes to Instagram. Each post shows where it went, what was skipped and why.

If a repost fails, Post Once tries again up to 5 times over about half an hour. If it still fails, you get an email, and **Retry** sends it again to just the accounts it missed. See [a post did not repost](https://postonce.com/help/post-not-reposted).

Only posts published after you connect are reposted on their own. Older ones are listed in [Your posts](https://postonce.com/help/your-posts), where you can send any of them by hand.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is it free to repost YouTube to Instagram?

Every account gets 10 free reposts, with no card and no watermark. One repost is one post sent to all your destinations, so it counts once however many apps it goes to. After that, paid plans start at $9 a month. See [pricing](https://postonce.com/pricing).

### How fast do YouTube posts reach Instagram?

Post Once checks YouTube about every five minutes, then reposts straight away. Long videos take a few more minutes to fetch and upload.

### What are the limits of reposting from YouTube to Instagram?

Post Once sends at most 50 posts per Instagram account per day. Extra posts wait and go out once the limit resets. Instagram only takes vertical or square videos up to 3 minutes.

### Do my long YouTube videos go to Instagram?

No. Instagram only takes short vertical or square videos through Post Once, up to 3 minutes, so only your Shorts are reposted there. Long videos can still go to Facebook and LinkedIn in the same bridge.

### Why was my 4K video reposted at 1080p?

Post Once takes the best version that every destination accepts, and that tops out at 1080p. A 4K upload is reposted at 1080p.

### Why was my landscape video not posted to Instagram?

Post Once only sends short vertical or square videos to Instagram, up to 3 minutes. Longer or landscape videos skip Instagram. See [long videos](https://postonce.com/help/long-videos).