LinkedIn Carousel: How to Make One in 2026 (+20 Patterns)

A LinkedIn carousel is a PDF you upload as a document post. LinkedIn turns each page into a slide people swipe through in the feed. You design the pages anywhere, export one PDF, and attach it with the Add a document button. The slow part is the first template; every carousel after it reuses the layout.

Below are the posting steps as LinkedIn's help center describes them in November 2026. Then the limits that get a file rejected, a page-by-page structure, and 20 carousel patterns you can copy.

How do you make a LinkedIn carousel, step by step?

Design the pages, export a PDF, post it as a document. In more detail:

1. Write the carousel as a text outline first: one idea per page, 8 to 12 pages.
2. Design the pages at one fixed size, square or 4:5 portrait, in an image editor.
3. Export the pages as a single PDF with every page the same size.
4. On LinkedIn, click Start a post, then More, then the Add a document icon (on mobile: tap Post, the More icon, then Document).
5. Choose the file, give the document a title, click Done (on mobile, tap Next).
6. Write the post text above it and click Post, or schedule it.

The steps are from LinkedIn's help page on sharing documents, which also lists what the uploader accepts.

What are the LinkedIn document post limits in 2026?

LinkedIn accepts PPT, PPTX, DOC, DOCX and PDF files up to 100 MB and 300 pages. Upload a PDF anyway. With the fonts embedded, it keeps your type and spacing as you designed them, so open the exported file once before you upload it.

Rule	Value	Source
File types	PPT, PPTX, DOC, DOCX, PDF	LinkedIn help
Maximum file size	100 MB	same
Maximum pages	300	same
Mixed page sizes	Not allowed: set every page to one common size	same
Layered PDFs	Flatten or merge layers before upload	same
Editing after posting	You can edit the text or delete the post, not swap the file	same

The last row is the one that bites. A typo on page 4 means deleting the post and losing its comments, so proofread the PDF before you upload it. LinkedIn publishes no page size. Pick one and keep it: 1080 x 1080 (square) reads well on desktop, 1080 x 1350 (4:5 portrait) takes more of the phone screen. If you already make Instagram carousels, Instagram carousel size covers the same ratios, and one set of pages can serve both networks.

How should the pages be structured?

A carousel that gets swiped to the end has three parts: a cover that makes a promise, pages that each deliver one idea, and a last page that asks for something. Somewhere between 8 and 12 pages suits most topics. A single point needs fewer, and more only works when every page earns its place.

Page	Job	Example
1 (cover)	One promise, big type, 8 words or fewer	"7 pricing mistakes we made before $1M ARR"
2	Why it matters, or the setup	"We changed prices 11 times in 3 years"
3 to 10	One idea per page: headline plus two lines	"Mistake 3: charging per seat for a tool one person uses"
11	Recap, all ideas on one page	A numbered list
12	Ask: follow, comment, or save	"Save this for your next pricing call"

We write the cover last, once we know what the pages say. The hook decides whether anyone opens page 2, and the rules are the same as for a text post. LinkedIn hook examples has six patterns you can adapt. The post text above the carousel is a second hook. Give it its own first line instead of "Swipe to see my new carousel".

Design rules that survive the feed:

• Minimum body text 28 pt at 1080 px; 36 pt or larger on headlines.
• One idea per page. If a page needs two paragraphs, it is two pages.
• Same background, same fonts, same place for the page number on every page.
• A small arrow or "swipe" cue on pages 1 to 3, none after that.
• High contrast: dark text on light, or light text on dark, no mid-gray.

What are 20 LinkedIn carousel patterns that work?

Each pattern is a structure you fill with your own material. Pick the one that matches what you know, rather than the one that looks easiest.

#	Pattern	Cover line to copy	Pages
1	Mistakes list	"7 mistakes we made doing X"	one mistake and the fix per page
2	Before and after	"Our landing page before and after the rewrite"	pairs of pages
3	Step by step	"How we do X in 6 steps"	one step per page
4	Checklist	"The 10-point checklist we run before every launch"	one check per page
5	Myth vs fact	"5 things everyone believes about X that are wrong"	myth on one page, fact on the next
6	Numbers story	"What 1,000 cold emails taught us"	one statistic per page
7	Teardown	"Why this ad works, frame by frame"	one screenshot and note per page
8	Framework	"The 3-part framework we use for pricing"	one part per page, diagram at the end
9	Comparison	"Tool A vs Tool B after 90 days with both"	criteria per page, table at the end
10	Timeline	"12 months of building X, month by month"	one month per page
11	Glossary	"9 terms every new X manager should know"	term plus one-line definition per page
12	Lessons from a failure	"We shut down X. Here is what we learned"	one lesson per page
13	Playbook extract	"Our onboarding playbook, page 1 to 8"	the real document, trimmed
14	Questions to ask	"10 questions to ask before hiring an agency"	one question and why per page
15	Case study	"How client X got Y in Z weeks"	problem, approach, result, proof
16	Templates	"The 4 email templates we send most"	one template per page
17	Hot takes	"5 unpopular opinions about X"	one opinion plus reason per page
18	Annual review	"Our 2026 in 10 numbers"	one number per page
19	Reading list	"8 books that changed how I run X"	cover plus one takeaway per page
20	Quote collection	"What 6 customers said after switching"	one quote and name per page

Patterns 1, 3, 6 and 15 are the safest places to start because they only need material you already have. Patterns 7 and 9 take longer and only work when you have the screenshots or the 90 days with both tools. Pick them once you hold that material.

How do you design the pages faster without a template tool?

Make one master page and duplicate it. In SocialFaktory's image editor, set the canvas to 1080 x 1350. Place the background, headline block, body block and page number once. Then duplicate that page for each idea and change only the text.

Generate the cover or product still, drop it into the editor, and lay the remaining pages out on the same canvas. The editor keeps every page at one format and lets you reorder and duplicate them. Export the pages as images, combine them into one PDF with any PDF tool, and upload it as above.

If the carousel does well, you already have a script, because each page is a scene. The same outline becomes a short vertical video with an AI presenter through AI actors. That matters more now that LinkedIn has announced a US test of pre-roll revenue sharing for creators on October 15, 2026. LinkedIn video monetization covers that test. And a carousel that works on LinkedIn usually works on Instagram with nothing changed but the page size. Plan both in one content calendar.

Take an outline you already have and turn it into a carousel.

In one sentence: A LinkedIn carousel is a PDF of same-sized pages, usually 8 to 12, posted as a document with one promise on the cover and one idea per page.