Guide
Social Media Image Sizes: Every Platform's Dimensions (2026)
Exact pixel dimensions, aspect ratios, and format recommendations for every post type on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, and Pinterest.
Why image dimensions matter for social media
Every social platform recompresses uploaded images. When you upload an oversized image, the platform scales it down and then applies lossy compression — two quality-reducing steps. When you upload an undersized image, the platform upscales it before display, causing visible blurriness and pixelation.
Uploading at the exact recommended dimensions means the platform only applies its recompression step once, at the intended size, producing the best possible final quality. Upload at 2× the CSS display size to support high-DPI (retina) displays without blurriness.
Aspect ratio matters too: platforms crop images that don't match their expected ratios. An Instagram feed post uploaded at 16:9 will be cropped to square (1:1) unless you set it explicitly to portrait — you lose content from the sides. Plan your composition for the target aspect ratio.
| Post type | Aspect ratio | Recommended dimensions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feed — Square | 1:1 | 1080 × 1080 px | Standard default; safe for all feeds |
| Feed — Portrait | 4:5 | 1080 × 1350 px | Max screen real estate; best engagement |
| Feed — Landscape | 1.91:1 | 1080 × 566 px | Minimum height before crop to square |
| Stories | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 px | Full screen; safe zone within center 1080×1420 |
| Reels | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 px | Same as Stories |
| Profile photo | 1:1 | 320 × 320 px | Displayed as circle; keep subject centered |
For feed posts, portrait (4:5) at 1080×1350 takes up the most vertical screen space in the feed, which is correlated with higher engagement. Square (1:1) is the safe default when you're unsure how the content will be cropped.
| Post type | Aspect ratio | Recommended dimensions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feed post — single image | 1.91:1 | 1200 × 630 px | Standard feed post |
| Feed post — square | 1:1 | 1080 × 1080 px | Performs well on mobile |
| Stories | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 px | Full screen vertical |
| Cover photo (page) | ~2.7:1 | 820 × 312 px | Displayed differently on mobile (640×360) |
| Profile photo | 1:1 | 170 × 170 px | Displayed as circle |
| Event cover | ~1.9:1 | 1920 × 1005 px | High resolution for quality |
Facebook compresses images more aggressively than most platforms. For photographs, upload at 1200px minimum width. For graphics and text-heavy images, PNG format reduces visible compression artifacts compared to JPEG.
Twitter / X
| Post type | Aspect ratio | Recommended dimensions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post — single image | 16:9 | 1200 × 675 px | Displayed inline in timeline |
| Post — portrait | 4:5 | 1080 × 1350 px | Cropped to 2:1 in timeline preview |
| Header / banner | 3:1 | 1500 × 500 px | Profile header image |
| Profile photo | 1:1 | 400 × 400 px | Displayed as circle |
Twitter/X previews multi-image posts with automatic cropping. When posting two images, each is displayed at roughly 2:1 aspect ratio. Keep key content centered to survive automatic crops. Twitter's compression is medium — JPEG at quality 90 or PNG for graphics gives good results.
| Post type | Aspect ratio | Recommended dimensions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post — single image | 1.91:1 | 1200 × 628 px | Standard post image |
| Post — portrait | 4:5 | 1080 × 1350 px | Takes more feed space |
| Post — square | 1:1 | 1080 × 1080 px | Works well for infographics |
| Article cover | ~1.9:1 | 1920 × 1080 px | Featured image for LinkedIn articles |
| Profile photo | 1:1 | 400 × 400 px | Minimum 200×200; circle crop |
| Banner / background | 4:1 | 1584 × 396 px | Profile background image |
LinkedIn is commonly used for infographics and data visualizations. For text-heavy images, use PNG to avoid JPEG artifacts around sharp text edges. LinkedIn's audience is primarily desktop, so landscape and wide formats perform well.
TikTok
| Content type | Aspect ratio | Recommended dimensions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video (primary) | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 px | Full screen vertical; standard TikTok format |
| Profile photo | 1:1 | 200 × 200 px | Displayed as circle |
| Photo post | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 px | Swipeable photo carousels; vertical preferred |
TikTok is fundamentally a vertical video platform. Still images are a secondary format — photo carousels are supported but treated as videos in the feed. All content should be designed for 9:16 full-screen vertical viewing with safe zones near the top and bottom edges where UI overlays appear.
YouTube
| Asset type | Aspect ratio | Recommended dimensions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video thumbnail | 16:9 | 1280 × 720 px | Max 2 MB; shown in search results |
| Channel banner | ~6.2:1 | 2560 × 1440 px | Safe zone: center 1546×423 for all devices |
| Channel icon / profile | 1:1 | 800 × 800 px | Displayed as circle across YouTube |
| Shorts thumbnail | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 px | Vertical — same as TikTok format |
YouTube thumbnails are one of the highest-impact images you can optimize — they directly influence click-through rate from search results. High-contrast, clear text at large font size, and a recognizable face or focal point are known to perform well. Use PNG for thumbnails with text overlays.
| Pin type | Aspect ratio | Recommended dimensions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Pin | 2:3 | 1000 × 1500 px | Standard portrait; performs best |
| Square Pin | 1:1 | 1000 × 1000 px | Less vertical space in feed |
| Long Pin | 1:2.1 (max) | 1000 × 2100 px | Maximum before truncation with "more" button |
| Story Pin | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 px | Idea Pins; full screen vertical |
| Profile photo | 1:1 | 165 × 165 px | Circle crop |
Pinterest's grid layout rewards tall images — a 2:3 portrait pin takes up more vertical space in the masonry grid than a square or landscape pin, resulting in more visual presence. The maximum recommended ratio before the image gets truncated with a "see more" button is approximately 1:2.1 (height twice the width).
Format recommendations per platform
All major social platforms recompress uploaded images, so your uploaded format is less important than on a standard website. That said, the format you upload affects how much quality survives the platform's recompression:
- Photographs: Upload JPEG at quality 90–95 or PNG. The platform will recompress to JPEG regardless. Starting with high quality gives the platform's algorithm more data to work with, producing a sharper final result.
- Graphics, infographics, text overlays: Upload PNG. Sharp edges and text survive the platform recompression much better from PNG than from JPEG (which adds artifacts around sharp edges that compound in the platform's second compression pass).
- Screenshots: PNG. Same reason as graphics.
- WebP: Most platforms accept WebP as upload format but convert it to JPEG/PNG on their end. Uploading WebP offers no benefit over JPEG for photographs.
Multi-platform tips
- Design at 1080px wide: This is the common denominator across Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter/X. A 1080×1080 square works everywhere without cropping.
- Keep subjects centered: Different platform crops pull from the center. Content near edges gets cropped on some platforms while preserved on others.
- Create platform-specific versions for important content: Don't rely on one image for all platforms. A LinkedIn infographic needs more horizontal space than an Instagram portrait. Invest the five minutes to export separate versions.
- Strip metadata before uploading: Platforms strip it during processing, but GPS coordinates in the raw upload are briefly accessible. Strip EXIF (especially GPS data) before uploading any photo taken at a private location.
- Check dimensions after upload: Open the published image in a new tab and check its dimensions. If the platform has cropped or scaled your image, adjust your source and re-upload.
Frequently asked questions
What image size is best for social media in 2026?
It depends on the platform and post type. For Instagram feed posts, 1080×1080 (square) or 1080×1350 (portrait 4:5) gives maximum screen real estate. For Stories and Reels on any platform, 1080×1920 (9:16 vertical) is standard. For Twitter/X, 1200×675 for inline posts. Always check platform-specific requirements as dimensions change frequently.
What image format should I use for social media?
JPEG for photographs (social platforms recompress uploads anyway — start with high-quality JPEG at 90+). PNG for graphics, screenshots, and images with text (preserves sharp edges). Social platforms strip EXIF metadata and recompress all uploaded images, so uploading a pre-optimized file at the recommended dimensions produces better final quality than uploading a large file that gets heavily recompressed.
Why do my images look blurry after uploading to Instagram?
Instagram recompresses all uploaded images. Blurriness usually means you uploaded an image smaller than the recommended dimensions (Instagram then upscales it) or at a very low quality setting (Instagram's recompression compounds the quality loss). Upload images at exactly 1080px wide (or 1080×1350 for portrait), in JPEG format at quality 90+, and the platform recompression will produce much better results.
Do social media platforms strip EXIF data?
Most major platforms strip EXIF metadata during upload processing — Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, and TikTok all remove it. However, best practice is to strip EXIF (especially GPS coordinates) before uploading, as metadata may be briefly accessible before processing completes and platform policies can change.