Upload a photo that's the wrong size and one of two things happens: the platform crops it awkwardly and cuts off someone's head, or it stretches and compresses it until it looks blurry. Both are avoidable — you just need to resize to the right dimensions before you upload, not after.
Here's the exact size for every image slot on the platforms people actually use, and how to hit those dimensions in under a minute.
Quick Reference Table
| Platform | Profile Photo | Cover / Banner | Post Image | Story / Reel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 320×320px | — | 1080×1080 (square) / 1080×1350 (portrait) | 1080×1920 | |
| 320×320px | 820×312px (desktop) | 1200×630px | 1080×1920 | |
| 400×400px | 1584×396px | 1200×627px | — | |
| X (Twitter) | 400×400px | 1500×500px | 1600×900px | — |
| YouTube | 800×800px | 2560×1440px | Thumbnail: 1280×720px | 1080×1920 |
Keep the numbers above bookmarked — but the details below matter more than the raw pixels.
- Square post: 1080×1080px (1:1) — the safest default, displays fully in the grid without cropping.
- Portrait post: 1080×1350px (4:5) — takes up more vertical space in the feed, generally gets more attention.
- Landscape post: 1080×566px (1.91:1) — use sparingly, it takes up the least feed space.
- Story / Reel: 1080×1920px (9:16) — anything not shot in this ratio gets letterboxed with bars.
Instagram compresses images fairly aggressively — starting with a file that's already sharp and correctly sized keeps more quality after their compression pass than trying to compensate with a huge oversized upload.
- Profile photo: uploads at 320×320px, but displays as small as 170×170px depending on where it shows up — keep the subject centered so it doesn't get lost when cropped to a circle.
- Cover photo: 820×312px on desktop, but Facebook crops differently on mobile (roughly 640×360px visible) — keep anything important centered, not near the edges.
- Shared post image: 1200×630px is the standard that also controls how your link preview looks when someone shares your site.
- Profile photo: 400×400px, displayed as a circle — same centering rule as Facebook applies.
- Cover banner: 1584×396px — a wide, short strip. Text or logos near the left edge can get hidden behind your profile photo overlay, so keep key content centered-right.
- Post image: 1200×627px for link shares and standard posts.
X (Twitter)
- Profile photo: 400×400px, cropped to a circle on display.
- Header image: 1500×500px.
- In-stream image: 1600×900px (16:9) displays without cropping in the timeline.
YouTube
- Channel banner: upload at 2560×1440px, but only the center 1546×423px "safe area" is guaranteed to be visible across TV, desktop, and mobile — don't put text or logos outside that zone.
- Video thumbnail: 1280×720px (16:9), under 2MB, as a JPG or PNG.
- Channel profile photo: 800×800px.
How to Resize and Crop for Any of These
- Open Resize Image, upload your photo, and enter the exact pixel dimensions from the table above.
- If your original photo isn't the right aspect ratio (not just size), use Crop Image first to cut it to the right shape before resizing — resizing alone will stretch or squash a mismatched ratio.
- If the finished file is too large for the platform's upload limit, run it through Compress Image — it reduces file size while keeping resolution intact.
All three are free, work in the browser, and don't add a watermark.
Things That Trip People Up
Never upscale a small image to hit a size requirement. Stretching a 400×400px photo up to 1080×1080px doesn't add detail — it just makes the existing blur bigger. Start with the largest original you have and size down, not up.
Aspect ratio matters more than exact pixel count. A 1200×630px image and a 2400×1260px image are both fine for a link preview because they're the same 1.91:1 ratio — but a 1200×800px image will get cropped unpredictably because the ratio is wrong, even though the pixel count is close.
Circular crops cut more than you think. Profile photos display as circles on almost every platform. Keep faces and logos centered with breathing room — anything near the corners of a square upload gets clipped by the circular mask.
"Safe zones" exist for a reason. Cover banners and channel art render differently across devices. Keep essential text and logos in the center of the image, not near the edges, so nothing gets cut off on mobile.
Quick FAQ
What happens if I upload the wrong size? Most platforms will auto-crop or auto-resize your image to fit, but you lose control over which part gets cut and often end up with visible compression artifacts.
Do these dimensions change often? The core aspect ratios (square, 16:9, 9:16, 1.91:1) have stayed stable for years even as exact pixel recommendations get nudged up for higher-resolution screens — sizing to the ratio first is the safer long-term habit.
Can I use PNG instead of JPG? Yes for logos, text, or graphics with sharp edges and transparency — PNG preserves those better. For regular photos, JPG is smaller and just as good visually at these sizes.
Is there a single size that works everywhere? A 1080×1080px square comes closest — Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn all display it without cropping — but platforms with wide formats (X headers, YouTube banners) still need their own dedicated sizes.
Related Free Tools
- Resize Image — set exact pixel dimensions
- Crop Image — fix the aspect ratio before resizing
- Compress Image — shrink file size without losing resolution
- PNG to JPG — convert format if a platform rejects your upload
- Remove Background — clean up a profile photo before cropping it square