Social Media Image Sizes 2026 — The Complete Cheat Sheet

May 17, 2026  ·  8 min read

You uploaded an image to Instagram. It came out cropped wrong. You tried Facebook — the cover photo looked squished on mobile. You redesigned for LinkedIn and it looked blurry.

Sound familiar? Every platform has its own required dimensions, and they change more often than you'd expect. This cheat sheet gives you every social media image size for 2026, all in one place, with no fluff.

Bookmark this page. You'll use it regularly.

Why Image Sizes Matter on Social Media

Each platform renders images differently. Upload an image at the wrong dimensions and you'll get one of three outcomes: automatic cropping that cuts off faces, compression artefacts that make your image look blurry, or awkward white bars that make posts look unprofessional.

Getting sizes right also matters for how platforms display your content. Instagram and LinkedIn both crop and recompress images that don't match expected dimensions — the platform does this automatically, and the results are rarely what you intended. A correctly sized image goes up as-is, loads faster, and looks sharper on every device.

Know the correct dimensions before you design, not after. Here's everything you need.

Instagram Image Sizes 2026

Feed Posts — Square, Portrait, and Landscape

Instagram feed posts support three aspect ratios. Each has a specific pixel dimension at the maximum quality Instagram will display:

• Square: 1080 x 1080px (1:1 ratio) — the classic, works everywhere
• Portrait: 1080 x 1350px (4:5 ratio) — takes up more screen space, tends to get more engagement
• Landscape: 1080 x 566px (1.91:1 ratio) — wider feel, good for scenic shots

Instagram compresses all images on upload. The less work it has to do to compress your image, the better the result. Always upload at exactly 1080px wide. Uploading larger images (e.g. 4000px wide) makes Instagram's compression engine work harder, and the output quality suffers.

Export as JPG at 80–90% quality for photos. For graphics with text or flat colours, export as PNG to avoid compression artefacts on edges.

Stories and Reels — 1080 x 1920px

Stories and Reels both use the same full-screen vertical format: 1080 x 1920px (9:16 ratio). This is the standard smartphone screen aspect ratio.

Keep critical content (faces, text, calls to action) within the central safe zone: roughly 1080 x 1420px, centred. Instagram overlays UI elements at the top (profile name, mute button) and bottom (reply bar, share icon) that will cover content placed near the edges.

Profile Picture — 320 x 320px (Displayed as a Circle)

Instagram stores profile pictures at 320 x 320px, but displays them as a circle at 110px on mobile. Upload at 320x320px minimum — higher resolution doesn't help because Instagram won't display it. Keep your logo or face centred with clear space around the edges.

Facebook Image Sizes 2026

Post Images — 1200 x 630px Recommended

Facebook renders post images at different sizes depending on whether you're sharing a link or uploading directly. For direct image posts, 1200 x 630px is the sweet spot. It displays correctly in both the desktop feed and mobile feed without any cropping.

For link preview images (Open Graph images on your website), also use 1200 x 630px. This is the og:image size Facebook recommends for link shares.

Cover Photo — 820 x 312px

Facebook cover photos display at 820 x 312px on desktop and 640 x 360px on mobile. Design at 820 x 312px but keep key content within the central 640 x 312px area so nothing gets cut off on mobile.

Facebook compresses cover photos fairly aggressively. Export as PNG if your cover has text or a logo. For a photographic cover with no text, JPG at high quality is fine.

Profile Picture — 170 x 170px

Facebook profile pictures are stored at 170 x 170px on desktop, displayed as circles in most contexts. Upload at least 170 x 170px — ideally 400 x 400px for future-proofing. Keep content centred and avoid important details at the edges.

Twitter / X Image Sizes 2026

Tweet Images — 1200 x 675px

The ideal tweet image size in 2026 is 1200 x 675px (16:9 ratio). This displays fully in the timeline on both desktop and mobile without any cropping. Twitter/X will crop images that don't match a supported aspect ratio — using 16:9 avoids this entirely.

You can attach up to 4 images per tweet. Design each image to work in isolation so they don't rely on being viewed together.

Header Image — 1500 x 500px

The Twitter/X profile header image is 1500 x 500px. The profile photo overlaps the lower-left corner, so avoid placing important content in that area. The header also gets cropped on mobile — keep critical design elements away from the top and bottom edges.

Profile Picture — 400 x 400px

Twitter/X profile pictures display at 400 x 400px maximum, shown as circles in the feed. Upload a square image at exactly 400 x 400px with your logo or face centred and clear padding at the edges.

LinkedIn Image Sizes 2026

Post Images — 1200 x 627px

LinkedIn feed images should be 1200 x 627px (roughly 1.91:1). This displays without cropping on both desktop and mobile. Clean, high-contrast images with clear text tend to perform better here than busy photographic images.

Company Page Banner — 1128 x 191px

The LinkedIn company page banner is an unusual wide-and-short format: 1128 x 191px. Keep text and logos centred — the banner gets cropped on mobile. Personal profile banners use 1584 x 396px.

Profile Photo — 400 x 400px

LinkedIn profile photos display at 400 x 400px and appear as circles. For company logos, the same 400 x 400px square format applies. Uploading at 400 x 400px is the safe minimum.

YouTube Image Sizes 2026

Thumbnail — 1280 x 720px

YouTube thumbnails should be 1280 x 720px (16:9 ratio). This is HD resolution and displays sharply at every size YouTube uses — from the homepage grid down to suggested video strips on mobile. Maximum file size is 2MB. High-contrast thumbnails with large, readable text consistently outperform photographic-only thumbnails in click-through rate tests.

Channel Banner — 2560 x 1440px

YouTube channel banners display at different sizes across devices. The safe zone — content visible on all devices — is the central 1546 x 423px area of the full 2560 x 1440px canvas. Always design at full size and keep your text and important graphics within the safe zone.

TikTok Image Sizes 2026

TikTok is primarily a video platform, but it does support photo posts and profile images.

• Video/photo posts: 1080 x 1920px (9:16 vertical) — same as Instagram Reels
• Profile picture: 200 x 200px minimum, displayed as a circle
• Photo carousel: 1080 x 1080px or 1080 x 1920px

TikTok applies its own UI overlays to video content: the username, caption, and action buttons appear on the right side and bottom. Keep important content out of those zones, particularly the right 250px and bottom 300px of a 1080 x 1920px frame.

Quick Reference Table — All Platforms

Here's every size in one place. Bookmark this page — it auto-updates each year.

How to Resize Images to Exact Dimensions — Free

You can resize images to exact pixel dimensions using JustDownsize — no account, no upload, everything runs in your browser. Type in the exact width and height, download the resized version in seconds.

If you need to crop to a specific ratio first (4:5 for Instagram portrait, 16:9 for YouTube), do that before resizing. Getting the crop right means the resize produces clean edges with no squashing or stretching.

Once you've resized, run your images through the compress images tool. Social media platforms recompress everything on upload — starting with a well-compressed file means the final result is sharper. For images needing transparency, convert to PNG before uploading.

A quick workflow that works for every platform:

1. Crop to the correct aspect ratio
2. Resize to the exact pixel dimensions in the table above
3. Compress to reduce file size without visible quality loss
4. Export as JPG for photos, PNG for graphics with transparency
5. Upload to the platform

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best image size for Instagram posts in 2026?

For Instagram feed posts, the best sizes are 1080x1080px (square), 1080x1350px (portrait), or 1080x566px (landscape). Portrait 1080x1350px takes up more screen real estate in the feed, which can boost engagement. Always upload at exactly 1080px wide for the sharpest result.

What size should a Facebook cover photo be in 2026?

Facebook cover photos should be 820x312px. Keep important content within the central area so it displays correctly on both desktop and mobile. Export as PNG for cover photos with text or graphics — Facebook's compression handles PNG better for these use cases.

What is the correct Twitter/X header image size?

The Twitter/X header image is 1500x500px. The profile picture overlaps the bottom-left, so avoid placing important content there. Keep key design elements in the upper-right and central areas of the banner.

Can I resize images for social media without losing quality?

Yes. Use JustDownsize to resize images to exact pixel dimensions for free — no upload required, everything runs in your browser. Your original files never leave your device. Set the exact width and height, maintain aspect ratio if needed, and export as JPG or PNG ready for upload.