What is a Facebook ad mockup for?
Three jobs. The first is approval: a partner or a client will sign off on a picture of the ad in the feed, not on a bare JPG and a paragraph of copy. The second is honesty about text: the feed shows a few lines of primary text before “See more”, and the headline sits under the image in one line, so a mockup shows which words will actually be seen. The third is the safe zone. On Stories and Reels the app draws the account name over the top of your image and the caption, buttons and icons over the bottom; Meta asks you to keep roughly 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% of each side clear of text and logos.[8] A mockup with those bands drawn on it shows the logo under the button before the ad runs.
A mockup is not a promise. Meta’s own page says “these are only examples of how your ad may appear” and that appearance “may vary based on several factors including device, format, what creative enhancements you’ve turned on”.[1] Treat any mockup as an approximation and check the final preview in Ads Manager before you publish.
Which sizes and text limits should the mockup use?
Two files cover nearly every placement. Meta’s Ads Guide page for a Facebook feed image recommends JPG or PNG at 4:5 and 1440 × 1800 pixels, with a 30 MB maximum and a 600-pixel minimum width, and suggests 50 to 150 characters of primary text and a 27-character headline.[7] Its Instagram Reels page recommends 9:16 at 1440 × 2560 and 44 characters of primary text.[8]
| Placement | Ratio and size | Text Meta suggests | Keep clear |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facebook and Instagram feed | 4:5, 1440 × 1800 (1080 × 1350 is the same shape), JPG or PNG[7] | Primary text 50 to 150 characters, headline 27[7] | Nothing on the image; the text sits around it |
| Stories and Reels | 9:16, 1440 × 2560 (1080 × 1920 is the same shape)[8] | Primary text 44 characters[8] | Top 14%, bottom 35%, 6% each side[8] |
The full placement list, including the 1:1 option and the right column, is in Meta static ad sizes, and the character counts at which each placement truncates are in Facebook ad character limits by placement.
What preview and mockup tools does Meta itself offer?
Ads Manager ad preview. While you build an ad, the Ad preview panel shows it in each placement, and Advanced preview shows every placement with any creative enhancements applied.[1] Under Share you can copy a preview URL for a draft ad and choose 30 or 60 days active; when the ad is published the URL goes dead.[1][2] The links “aren’t password protected”, anyone “with a Facebook profile, even people outside your business” can open one, and the viewer must be logged into Facebook.[2] For a published ad, “View on Facebook” puts the ad in your own feed for 10 minutes, which Meta says is not a paid impression.[1][3]
Creative Hub. As of October 9, 2026, Meta’s Business Help Center has a full section for it. The “About Meta Creative Hub” page says it “is designed for businesses to collaborate securely on ad mockups”, and that “you don’t need any design skills”.[4] A mockup can be shared by link with people “whether or not they are Meta Creative Hub collaborators”, with a Days active setting and a box to “Allow importing to Ads Manager”.[5] Ads Manager’s Ad setup offers “Use Creative Hub mockup” once the mockup’s “Show in Ads Manager” slider is on.[6] The old creative.fb.com address redirected to a facebook.com/ads/creativehub page that returned a server error when we opened it, so go in through Business Manager or the help pages.
Which free Facebook ad mockup generators exist, and what does each render?
We opened these on October 9, 2026 and describe each only from its own page. None is connected to Meta.
| Tool | What it renders | Inputs | Cost, sign-up, watermark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Showfolk ad mockup | Facebook feed, Instagram feed, Story and Reel, with the safe zones drawn as red bands | One image; page name, primary text, headline | Free, no sign-up, no watermark; the image is never uploaded |
| Vaizle | Facebook feed image, carousel and Story, with a desktop and mobile toggle[9] | Page name, primary text, headline, description, URL, likes, comments, CTA button[9] | “100% free, no watermark, no sign-up”[9] |
| Adkit | Facebook feed, Stories and Reels, in image-only, mobile and desktop views[10] | An image or video upload; the page lists no copy fields[10] | Free, “No signup required”; watermark not stated[10] |
| Screenhance | A square feed post and a 9:16 Story template[11] | Page name, copy, headline, domain, CTA label, reactions and comments; product images as layers[11] | Free to edit and preview; “Free exports include a watermark; paid options remove it”[11] |
| AdManage.ai | Facebook feed, Instagram feed, Instagram Story and TikTok in-feed, from an image or a video[12] | Drag and drop a file, or pick a sample creative[12] | “No account required, no usage limits, and no watermarks”[12] |
Pick by what you need to check. For “where does the headline cut?”, use a tool with copy fields (Showfolk, Vaizle, Screenhance). For “is my logo under the Reels buttons?”, use one that draws the safe zone (Showfolk) or renders the Reel (Adkit).
How to make a Facebook ad mockup in five minutes with Showfolk’s free tool
- 1
- 2
Open the mockup tool and drop the feed image in
Showfolk’s ad mockup runs in your browser; the file is never uploaded, so an unreleased product is safe to preview. - 3
Type the page name, primary text and headline
The page name appears at the top of the card with “Sponsored” under it, the primary text above the image on Facebook and as the caption on Instagram, and the headline in the link box below. Use the real copy. - 4
Switch between Facebook feed and Instagram feed
Both use the same 4:5 image; the chrome differs. If you dropped in a 9:16 file, the tool says the top and bottom are cut off, because feeds crop anything taller than 4:5. - 5
Switch to Story and Reel and turn on the safe zones
The vertical views draw red bands over the areas the app covers: roughly the top 14%, and the bottom 20% on a Story or 35% on a Reel. If the image is not 9:16, the tool says so. - 6
Screenshot each view for the approval
Four screenshots are the mockup. Then build the ad in Ads Manager and check its own preview before publishing.[1]
If you have no ad to preview yet, Showfolk makes one from your website in your fonts, colors and logo, in both shapes, with the headline and logo inside the safe zone. How the Facebook ad generator works.
Which mistakes does a mockup catch?
The headline cut at “See more”. Primary text in the feed shows a few lines, then folds. If the offer is in sentence three, the reader never sees the price. Meta suggests 50 to 150 characters for the feed and 44 on Reels;[7][8] put the offer in the first line or on the image.
The logo under the interface. A logo in the bottom corner of a Story or Reel is the classic one. Meta’s 35% bottom margin on Reels is more than a third of the frame.[8] The fix is to move the logo up, or to make the 9:16 version a real layout rather than a stretched feed ad.
A 1:1 image in a 4:5 slot. A square image is allowed in the feed, but 4:5 is taller and takes more of the screen. Meta’s feed page recommends 4:5,[7] and the square version is a smaller ad for the same money.
A 9:16 image in the feed. The feed shows images up to 4:5 tall, so a Story file dropped into the feed loses its top and bottom. The reverse, a feed image in a Story, shows as a small picture with filled space around it.
Text too small for a phone. If the words on the image need a zoom at phone width, they are too small or too many.
Questions people ask
- What is a Facebook ad mockup?
- A picture of your ad as Facebook or Instagram would display it: the image inside the feed card or the full-screen Story or Reel, with the page name, primary text, headline and button around it, used for approval and for checking the safe zone and truncation before publishing.
- Does Meta have a free ad mockup tool?
- Yes, two. Ads Manager previews a draft ad in every placement and can share a preview link that stays active for 30 or 60 days. Meta Creative Hub builds mockups without a campaign and shares them by link.
- Does Meta Creative Hub still exist in 2026?
- As of October 9, 2026, Meta’s Business Help Center has a full Creative Hub section: about, create a mockup, share a mockup preview, create ads from mockups. The old creative.fb.com address returned a server error for us, so enter through Business Manager.
- How do I preview a Facebook ad before publishing?
- In Ads Manager, the Ad preview panel shows the draft in each placement, and Advanced preview shows every placement with any creative enhancements applied. Click Share to copy a preview link (30 or 60 days) or send a notification to your phone.
- What size should an Instagram ad mockup be?
- 4:5 at 1440 × 1800 pixels for the feed and 9:16 at 1440 × 2560 for Stories and Reels, per Meta’s Ads Guide; 1080 × 1350 and 1080 × 1920 are the same shapes smaller. On 9:16 keep the top 14%, bottom 35% and 6% of each side clear.
Sources
Every figure above points at one of these. Facts were last checked on .
- [1]Meta Business Help Center: About ad previews in Meta Ads Manager on desktop. “these are only examples of how your ad may appear”; Share previews active 30 or 60 days for an unpublished ad, 24 hours for a published one; Preview on device (iOS only); View on Facebook shows the ad in your feed for 10 minutes; “Ad previews are not paid impressions”; what previews do not show
- [2]Meta Business Help Center: Share an ad preview in Meta Ads Manager. Share, Share a link, Days active 30 or 60; links “aren’t password protected”; anyone “with a Facebook profile, even people outside your business” can open one; “You’ll need to be logged into Facebook”; the link stops working when the ad is published
- [3]Meta Business Help Center: Preview a published ad in Meta Ads Manager on desktop. Share previews for a published ad (24 hours), Preview on device, See post, View on Facebook (10 minutes)
- [4]Meta Business Help Center: About Meta Creative Hub. “designed for businesses to collaborate securely on ad mockups”; “You don’t need any design skills”; small business owners among the intended users; live on 2026-10-09
- [5]Meta Business Help Center: Share a mockup preview (Creative Hub). Share by link “whether or not they are Meta Creative Hub collaborators”; Days active; “Allow importing to Ads Manager”; links not password protected
- [6]Meta Business Help Center: Create ads from mockups (Creative Hub). Turn on “Show in Ads Manager”; in Ad setup choose “Use Creative Hub mockup”; unsupported objectives
- [7]Meta Ads Guide: Image ad specs for Facebook Feed. JPG or PNG; 4:5; 1440 × 1800; primary text 50 to 150 characters; headline 27; 30 MB maximum; 600-pixel minimum width
- [8]Meta Ads Guide: Image ad specs for Instagram Reels. 9:16; 1440 × 2560; primary text 44 characters; “roughly 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom, and 6% on each side of your asset free from text”
- [9]Vaizle: Free Facebook ad mockup generator. Feed image, carousel and Story; page name, primary text, headline, description, URL, CTA; “100% free, no watermark, no sign-up”
- [10]Adkit: Facebook ad preview tool. Feed, Stories and Reels; image-only, mobile and desktop views; image or video upload; “No signup required”
- [11]Screenhance: Facebook post mockup. Square feed and 9:16 Story templates; editable page name, copy, headline, domain, CTA; “Free exports include a watermark; paid options remove it”; “an independent design tool” not connected to Meta
- [12]AdManage.ai: Meta ad preview. Facebook feed, Instagram feed, Instagram Story and TikTok in-feed; image and video formats; “No account required, no usage limits, and no watermarks on your previews”
