Best Image Sizes for Social Media (2026 Cheat Sheet)
Every platform has its own preferred image dimensions. Upload the wrong size and your image gets cropped, stretched, or pushed off-screen. Here’s the current cheat sheet.
Feed posts:
- Square: 1080 × 1080 (1:1)
- Portrait: 1080 × 1350 (4:5) — takes more screen real estate, recommended
- Landscape: 1080 × 566 (1.91:1)
Stories & Reels: 1080 × 1920 (9:16)
Profile picture: 320 × 320 (displays as circle)
Carousel: same as feed posts; all images same aspect ratio
TikTok
Videos: 1080 × 1920 (9:16)
Profile picture: 200 × 200
Cover images for series: 1080 × 1920
Feed posts:
- Photo: 1200 × 630 (landscape) or 1080 × 1080 (square)
- Stories: 1080 × 1920 (9:16)
Cover photo: 851 × 315 (desktop) / 640 × 360 (mobile crop) — design for both
Profile picture: 320 × 320
Event cover: 1920 × 1005
Twitter / X
Tweet image: 1600 × 900 (16:9)
- Single image: shows fully
- Multiple images: cropped to 7:8 in preview
Header / banner: 1500 × 500 (3:1)
Profile picture: 400 × 400
Feed posts:
- Image: 1200 × 1200 (square) or 1200 × 627 (landscape)
- Document posts (PDF/PPT): 1200 × 1500 portrait
Profile cover: 1584 × 396
Company page cover: 1128 × 191
Profile picture: 400 × 400
YouTube
Video thumbnail: 1280 × 720 (16:9) — see Make a YouTube Thumbnail
Channel banner: 2560 × 1440 (with safe zone 1546 × 423 in center for mobile)
Profile picture: 800 × 800
Shorts: 1080 × 1920 (9:16)
Standard pin: 1000 × 1500 (2:3) — vertical is critical here
Square pin: 1000 × 1000
Long pin: 1000 × 2100 max (taller pins get pinned more but truncated in feed)
Profile picture: 165 × 165
Board cover: 600 × 600
TikTok / IG Reels / YouTube Shorts (vertical video roundup)
All want 1080 × 1920 (9:16) at 30 fps minimum. Designing one vertical video works across all three.
Cover/thumbnail image (for static preview): same 1080 × 1920.
Universal sizes that mostly work
If you need ONE size for cross-platform posting:
Square 1080 × 1080: works on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter (cropped). Most universal.
Vertical 1080 × 1350: works on Instagram (4:5), tolerable on Facebook/LinkedIn.
Vertical 1080 × 1920: required for Reels/Stories/TikTok/Shorts.
Horizontal 1920 × 1080: works on YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook.
Aspect ratios at a glance
| Ratio | Best for |
|---|---|
| 1:1 (square) | Instagram feed, Facebook, LinkedIn |
| 4:5 (portrait) | Instagram feed (max vertical), Pinterest-ish |
| 9:16 (vertical) | Stories, Reels, TikTok, Shorts |
| 16:9 (landscape) | YouTube, Twitter, web banners |
| 1.91:1 (Open Graph) | Link preview cards (web meta image) |
| 2:3 |
Practical workflow
- Design at the largest size you’ll need
- Export at platform-appropriate sizes (resize down, not up)
- Use Image Resizer for exact dimensions
- Use Image Cropper for aspect ratio changes
- Compress with Image Compressor — most platforms accept up to ~5 MB
Why exact dimensions matter
Wrong size = visual problems:
- Too small → upscaled by platform, looks blurry
- Too big → uploaded fine but wastes bandwidth/time
- Wrong aspect ratio → cropped/letterboxed/squished
Right size = pixel-perfect display on every device and view.
File size guidelines
Most platforms:
- Max file size: 5-30 MB depending on platform
- Format: JPG (most universal), PNG (for transparency), MP4 (video)
- Compression: high quality JPG (~85% quality) usually best balance
For most uses, files under 2 MB upload fast and look great.
When to design wider
If you’ll have text overlay or important content:
- Stories/Reels safe zone: keep important content within central 1080 × 1500 area (top 240 and bottom 240 may be covered by UI)
- Pinterest description area: leave bottom 100-150px clear if your design has text
- YouTube thumbnail title area: lower right may be covered by duration badge
Bonus: Open Graph (link previews)
When someone shares a link to your content on social media, the preview image uses Open Graph dimensions:
Recommended: 1200 × 630 (1.91:1)
Add to your website’s HTML head:
<meta property="og:image" content="https://yoursite.com/preview.jpg" />This is what shows when your link is shared anywhere.
TL;DR
Most-used sizes:
- Instagram feed: 1080 × 1350 (portrait) or 1080 × 1080 (square)
- Stories / Reels / TikTok / Shorts: 1080 × 1920 (9:16)
- YouTube thumbnail: 1280 × 720 (16:9)
- Twitter post: 1600 × 900 (16:9)
- Facebook: 1200 × 630 (landscape) or 1080 × 1080 (square)
- LinkedIn: 1200 × 1200 or 1200 × 627
- Pinterest: 1000 × 1500 (2:3 vertical)
Workflow: design at highest resolution needed → use Image Resizer for each platform → Image Compressor if files are large.