Instagram wants longer videos. Will creators find them worth the cost?
Instagram’s push into long-form video with Features could bring it into closer competition with YouTube. But creators say the format’s success will depend on monetization, production costs and whether brands and audiences follow them beyond Reels.
Meta Platforms-owned Instagram is making a push into long-form videos with “Features”, a new format that allows creators to upload horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes. After testing it with creators in Brazil, Instagram is rolling it out to select creators in the US. The move puts the platform in more direct competition with Alphabet-owned YouTube for podcasts, interviews and other long-form content.
In a video shared on Instagram on 26 October, platform head Adam Mosseri and vice-president of product Tessa Lyons discussed Features. A companion feature, Clips as Reels, will allow creators to link up to eight short clips to a full-length video. “When you want to go deeper with the creators you love and the content that they’re creating, you should be able to do that on Instagram,” Lyons said.
The move could challenge an established viewing habit: discovering creators through Reels before switching to YouTube for their full-length content. Instagram’s expansion into longer videos could also intensify competition for connected-TV audiences. Instagram and YouTube did not respond to Mint's queries by press time.
A key question for creators is whether longer videos on Instagram will offer a direct source of income, given that the platform’s current monetization model remains heavily dependent on brand collaborations.
“YouTube illustrates what Instagram eventually needs to compete with,” said Rohit Dalmia, chairman and managing director of CineNow, an investment platform focused on Indian film rights. He pointed to YouTube’s model, under which eligible creators receive 55% of the net advertising revenue the platform earns from ads shown before, during or alongside their videos.
“If Meta wants creators to invest seriously in long-form video, it needs to offer a clear, dependable way to earn from it,” said content creator Jaspal Singh Sindhal. He estimated that 70–80 million monthly views on YouTube Shorts could earn a creator around ₹50,000–60,000, while a million views on a long-form video could bring in around ₹1 lakh, cautioning that these are not fixed payouts.
Beyond Reels
With Instagram yet to announce per-view monetization for Features, the shift to longer videos could significantly raise production costs for creators accustomed to making Reels.
Comedy creator Aanya Roy estimates that shooting a professional Reel costs ₹6,000–10,000, with editing adding ₹4,000–5,000 and studio rental another ₹6,000–8,000. Finance creator Kushal Lodha, who produces 90–120-minute podcasts for YouTube, said freelance editors charge around ₹1,000 per minute for long-form editing.
Amit Dhawan, co-founder of influencer marketing firm Crack’d, estimates that a 10–30-minute video can cost ₹50,000 to several lakhs. “Long-form pushes creators towards small teams: a dedicated editor, someone on research and scripting, and better cameras, mics and lighting. For a mid-tier creator, that could mean an extra ₹1–2 lakh a month, plus a one-time gear upgrade,” he said.
For professionally produced formats, Dalmia estimates that a video podcast costs ₹25,000–80,000 or more per episode, while a high-end digital series can cost ₹30 lakh–1 crore per episode.
The difference is particularly pronounced for research-heavy formats. “On Instagram, I build short vertical videos around one compelling question or an idea and a clear payoff. On YouTube, our documentaries develop that question through research, evidence and storytelling. They need different skills, teams, budget and time,” said science creator Gaurav Thakur. He added that producing a documentary can involve 12–15 people working for seven to nine days, with costs running into lakhs.
The cost equation
The higher cost of producing long-form videos has prompted creators and media companies to explore whether artificial intelligence (AI) can reduce production time and expenses.
“AI-assisted scripting, editing and localization could reduce production effort,” said Rohan Lobo, partner and technology, media and telecommunications industry leader at Deloitte South Asia. “For smaller Indian creators, the sensible approach is to start with existing equipment, use AI and content reuse to manage costs, and invest further only when longer content delivers incremental revenue. Otherwise, higher production spending becomes difficult to justify.”
JetSynthesys chairman Rajan Navani, whose company developed AI video-generation platform JetKreate, said leading AI models still generate short clips that can be stitched into longer narratives. “As the technology evolves, the opportunity lies in strengthening continuity across scenes, maintaining consistent characters and visual styles, and giving creators greater control,” he said.
The growing use of AI-generated advertisements by brands could pose another challenge for influencers, giving companies a more cost-efficient way to reach consumers. At beauty and skincare brand RENÉE Cosmetics, AI-generated ads recorded 30.16% higher engagement, alongside a 70–80% reduction in production time and a 1.62% lower cost per result, according to co-founder Priyank Shah. This could put pressure on creators to demonstrate the value they bring beyond an advertisement’s reach.
Monetization test
Beauty and lifestyle creator Sanjogta Chawla said around 80% of her brand briefs over the past year involved short-form videos. “For me, roughly 70% of income comes from short-form, 20% from long videos and 10% from affiliates and user-generated content,” she said.
Chawla added that she would shift 10–15% more of her planning towards long-form over the next year if Instagram offers reliable reach and brands can measure its performance.
The short-form bias is also reflected in brand budgets. At RENÉE Cosmetics, 90% of the digital video marketing budget goes towards short-form videos, including Reels, while long-form content accounts for 10%. “We see the two formats as complementary, with short-form content helping capture attention and long-form content enabling more detailed product demonstrations,” Shah said.
Instagram allows Reels of up to 20 minutes, but videos longer than three minutes are not recommended to new audiences. Features therefore marks another attempt to build a place for longer videos on the platform. Whether creators invest in it will depend not only on reach, but also on whether the returns can justify the additional time, people and money involved.
About the Author
Rudrani Chattopadhyay is a Mumbai-based journalist. At Mint, she covers the creator economy and education, with a particular interest in the smaller trends taking shape across digital media. She believes every trend has a story behind it and likes digging into the people, ideas and shifts that sit beneath what is immediately visible. Before joining Mint, she worked at The Statesman in Kolkata, where she started as an intern before working as a sub-editor on the print news desk. She holds a master’s degree in Media Science and a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Calcutta. Rudrani keeps too many tabs open in her mind, is a raging maximalist and has a soft spot for historical fiction and feminist literature. She is happiest when in the company of coffee.
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