Image Size Guide for Every Social Media Platform (2026)
The exact pixel dimensions, aspect ratios, and file limits you need — no guessing, no cropping surprises.
Why Dimensions Matter More Than You Think
Upload the wrong size and platforms auto-crop your image, cut off important elements, or compress it into a blurry mess. Each platform has its own ideal dimensions — and some have different sizes for feed posts, stories, profile pictures, and cover images. Getting this right is the difference between a sharp, professional-looking post and one that looks like it was uploaded from 2012. You can check your image's current dimensions instantly with our free tools.
Try it free: Social Media Resizer — Resize images for any social platform in one click. Runs in your browser, no signup needed.
Before uploading, check your image's current dimensions with our Quality Analyzer. If it's too small, upscaling won't add real detail — see our resolution guide for why.
Square post: 1080 × 1080 px (1:1). The classic Instagram format. Still works great for product shots and portraits.
Portrait post: 1080 × 1350 px (4:5). Takes up more screen real estate in the feed — most engagement strategists recommend this format for maximum visibility.
Landscape post: 1080 × 566 px (1.91:1). Loses screen presence compared to portrait. Use only when the image demands a wide aspect ratio.
Stories / Reels: 1080 × 1920 px (9:16). Full-screen vertical. Leave space at top and bottom for UI elements — about 250 px from each edge for safe text placement.
Profile picture: 320 × 320 px minimum, displayed as a circle. Upload at 500+ px for clarity on larger screens.
Feed post image: 1200 × 630 px (1.91:1). This is also the OG image standard — images shared as links will use this ratio.
Feed post photo: 1080 × 1350 px works well. Facebook supports various ratios but displays most naturally at around 1200 px wide.
Cover photo: 820 × 312 px on desktop, crops to 640 × 360 px on mobile. Design for mobile first and make sure the center of the image works at both crops.
Stories: 1080 × 1920 px (9:16), same as Instagram.
Event cover: 1200 × 628 px (1.91:1).
Twitter / X
In-stream image: 1600 × 900 px (16:9) for single images. Twitter crops aggressively — preview cards show roughly 2:1, and the full image expands on click.
Two images: both crop to roughly 7:8 vertical.
Header photo: 1500 × 500 px (3:1). Profile picture overlaps the bottom left, so keep important elements away from that corner.
Profile picture: 400 × 400 px, displayed as circle.
Not sure if your image meets platform requirements? Analyze its quality and dimensions.
Check Image Quality →Feed post: 1200 × 627 px (1.91:1) for link shares, or 1080 × 1080 (1:1) for photo posts. Square images actually perform well on LinkedIn because they take up more vertical space in the feed.
Banner image: 1584 × 396 px (4:1). Extremely wide — keep text centered because edges are cropped on mobile.
Company page cover: 1128 × 191 px.
YouTube
Thumbnail: 1280 × 720 px (16:9). This is non-negotiable — YouTube requires exactly this ratio. Under 2 MB. Use high contrast, readable text (if any), and avoid clutter. Thumbnails are displayed as small as 120 × 68 px in sidebars, so clarity at small sizes matters.
Channel banner: 2560 × 1440 px for upload, but the safe area for text is only 1546 × 423 px in the center. The rest gets cropped differently on TV, desktop, and mobile.
TikTok
Video cover / image post: 1080 × 1920 px (9:16). Same as Instagram Stories. For image posts (carousels), each slide should be this size.
Profile picture: 200 × 200 px minimum.
Standard pin: 1000 × 1500 px (2:3). Pinterest favors tall images — they take up more space in the masonry grid and get more clicks. Some creators go as tall as 1:3 or even 1:4, but Pinterest may truncate anything taller than 2:3 in the feed.
Square pin: 1000 × 1000 px (1:1). Works for infographics and product shots.
The Golden Rule
When in doubt: 1080 px wide, 4:5 vertical. This ratio works well on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and most other platforms without aggressive cropping. It's the safest default for a single image that needs to look good everywhere.
For link previews and OG images: 1200 × 630 px (1.91:1). This is the Open Graph standard that Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Slack, and Discord all respect.
File Format and Quality
JPEG at quality 85-95 is the sweet spot — visually indistinguishable from lossless but dramatically smaller file size. PNG only makes sense for graphics with flat colors, text, or transparency. WebP is supported by most platforms now but JPEG remains the safest choice for photos.
Most platforms cap file size at 5-20 MB. If your image exceeds the limit, the platform will recompress it — often badly. Better to control the compression yourself. Check your image's compression quality with our Quality Analyzer before uploading. Before sharing publicly, strip metadata from your photos to protect your privacy. Also worth knowing: most platforms strip your photo metadata during this process — but not all of them.
Check Your Image
Not sure if your image meets the requirements? Use our Social Media Resizer to crop and resize for any platform in one click, or the Image Resizer for custom dimensions. Upload it to our free Print Readiness Scanner to see exact dimensions, DPI, and file size — or use the Quality Analyzer for a full quality assessment. All tools run in your browser with no signup.
Common Questions
What happens if I upload the wrong size image to social media? The platform auto-crops or letterboxes your image to fit, often cutting off important content. It may also recompress the image more aggressively, adding visible artifacts. Uploading at the correct dimensions gives you control over what's shown and keeps quality high.
What image format works best for social media? JPEG at 80-90% quality for photos. PNG for graphics with text, logos, or transparency. Most platforms convert everything to JPEG or WebP internally, so starting with a high-quality JPEG avoids double compression.
Do social media platforms strip EXIF data from uploads? Most do. Instagram, Twitter/X, and Facebook strip virtually all EXIF metadata. LinkedIn preserves some fields. If you need to share a photo without leaking location or device info, most major platforms handle this automatically — but verify with our EXIF Viewer if privacy matters.
What's the maximum file size for social media images? It varies: Instagram allows up to 30 MB, Facebook 15 MB, Twitter 5 MB per image, LinkedIn 10 MB. If your file exceeds the limit, the platform recompresses it — usually badly. Better to compress it yourself first using the Image Compressor to stay under the cap while controlling quality.
