Social media image sizes: a reference guide
A table with the most used sizes and the reasons why an image gets cropped or looks blurry when you post it.
Why each network uses a different size
Each platform shows images in a space with its own aspect ratio: square, portrait, landscape or full screen. If you upload an image with another ratio, the network may crop it, add borders or shrink it. That's why it pays to prepare the image at the exact size before posting.
Table of common sizes
| Network and format | Pixels (width × height) |
|---|---|
| Instagram, portrait post | 1080 × 1350 |
| Instagram, square post | 1080 × 1080 |
| Instagram, story or reel | 1080 × 1920 |
| TikTok, video or cover | 1080 × 1920 |
| YouTube, thumbnail | 1280 × 720 |
| YouTube, channel banner | 2560 × 1440 |
| WhatsApp, status | 1080 × 1920 |
| Facebook, post | 1200 × 630 |
| Facebook, cover | 851 × 315 |
| X, post image | 1600 × 900 |
| LinkedIn, post | 1200 × 627 |
| Pinterest, portrait pin | 1000 × 1500 |
| Twitch, thumbnail | 1280 × 720 |
These are reference sizes. Platforms change them from time to time, so check how your post looks before calling it done.
Aspect ratios worth remembering
- 1:1 (square): profile pictures and classic posts.
- 4:5 (portrait): takes up more space on mobile and usually stands out more in the feed.
- 9:16 (full screen): stories, reels, Shorts and TikTok videos.
- 16:9 (landscape): YouTube thumbnails and videos.
Tips so nothing gets cropped
- Keep important elements away from the edges. Profile pictures are cropped into a circle and stories have the name and buttons at the top and bottom.
- Start from a large image. Enlarging a small image makes it blurry, because it doesn't contain more detail.
- Choose JPG for photos and PNG for graphics with text or transparency.
- If the text matters, check that it can be read on a phone, which is where most people will see it.
Crop or fit
Cropping fills the whole space but loses the edges. Fitting keeps the whole image and fills the rest with a color. Cropping usually works better for photos, and fitting for logos or screenshots with text near the edge.
Fit your images to the size of each social network.
Image resizer