Image Sizes for Every Social Media Platform (2026 Guide)

I maintain social media graphics for three different brands. Every few months, at least one platform quietly changes their image dimensions, and suddenly my templates are off. Headers get cropped in weird places. Thumbnails look blurry. It's a constant low-grade headache.

This is the reference I wish existed — every major platform, every image type, updated for September 2026. I'll also cover the stuff the official docs don't tell you, like what actually happens when you upload the wrong size.

The Master Table

Here's every dimension you need, organized by platform. All values are in pixels (width x height).

Instagram

| Image Type | Dimensions | Aspect Ratio | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | Square Post | 1080 x 1080 | 1:1 | Still the safest default | | Portrait Post | 1080 x 1350 | 4:5 | Takes up more feed space — I use this for most posts now | | Landscape Post | 1080 x 566 | 1.91:1 | Gets cropped in the feed grid | | Story / Reel Cover | 1080 x 1920 | 9:16 | Full screen vertical | | Profile Picture | 320 x 320 | 1:1 | Displays at 110px circle on mobile | | Carousel | 1080 x 1080 or 1080 x 1350 | 1:1 or 4:5 | All slides must share the same ratio |

Gotcha: Instagram still compresses JPGs aggressively. If your image has fine text or thin lines, upload a PNG instead. Instagram converts everything to JPG internally, but starting with PNG gives it more data to work with and the output looks noticeably sharper. I've A/B tested this — the difference on infographics is dramatic.

Facebook

| Image Type | Dimensions | Aspect Ratio | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | Feed Post | 1200 x 630 | 1.91:1 | Also works for link previews | | Cover Photo | 820 x 312 | 2.63:1 | Crops differently on mobile (640 x 360 visible) | | Profile Picture | 170 x 170 | 1:1 | Shows as 176px on desktop, 36px in comments | | Event Cover | 1920 x 1005 | ~1.91:1 | Higher res than regular posts | | Story | 1080 x 1920 | 9:16 | Same as Instagram | | Group Cover | 1640 x 856 | 1.91:1 | Oddly specific |

Gotcha: Facebook cover photos display differently on desktop and mobile. On mobile, the sides get cropped. Keep your important content — text, logos, faces — within the center 640 x 312 safe zone. I learned this the hard way when a client's phone number got cut off on mobile for two weeks before anyone noticed.

Twitter / X

| Image Type | Dimensions | Aspect Ratio | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | In-Stream Post | 1600 x 900 | 16:9 | Max display width is 600px, but upload at 1600 for sharpness | | Header / Banner | 1500 x 500 | 3:1 | Bottom 60px covered by profile pic on mobile | | Profile Picture | 400 x 400 | 1:1 | Circular crop | | Card Image | 800 x 418 | 1.91:1 | For link preview cards |

Gotcha: X crops images to 16:9 in the timeline by default. If you upload a 1:1 square, the top and bottom get chopped. Vertical images get center-cropped aggressively. Always preview how your image will look before posting — or just resize to 1600 x 900 and don't fight it.

LinkedIn

| Image Type | Dimensions | Aspect Ratio | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | Feed Post | 1200 x 627 | 1.91:1 | Very close to Facebook's feed size | | Banner / Background | 1584 x 396 | 4:1 | Ultra-wide, hard to design for | | Profile Picture | 400 x 400 | 1:1 | Square, displayed circular | | Company Logo | 300 x 300 | 1:1 | For company pages | | Article Cover | 1200 x 644 | ~1.86:1 | Slightly taller than feed posts |

Gotcha: LinkedIn's banner is extremely wide and short (4:1). It's tempting to put text on it, but the aspect ratio makes it hard to read on mobile where it displays at maybe 375 x 94 pixels. Use it for branding colors or a subtle pattern, not critical information. I've seen people put their job title in tiny text on their LinkedIn banner. Nobody can read it.

YouTube

| Image Type | Dimensions | Aspect Ratio | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | Thumbnail | 1280 x 720 | 16:9 | Under 2 MB, JPG/PNG/GIF | | Channel Art | 2560 x 1440 | 16:9 | Safe area: 1546 x 423 (center) | | Profile Picture | 800 x 800 | 1:1 | Shows at 98px in comments | | Video Watermark | 150 x 150 | 1:1 | Transparent PNG recommended |

Gotcha: YouTube channel art is 2560 x 1440 but displays at vastly different crops across devices. On TV, you see the full image. On desktop, you see a horizontal strip from the center. On mobile, you see an even narrower strip. YouTube provides a template overlay showing safe areas — use it. The safe zone for text is just 1546 x 423 in the dead center. Everything outside that zone will be visible on some devices and invisible on others.

TikTok

| Image Type | Dimensions | Aspect Ratio | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | Video / Cover | 1080 x 1920 | 9:16 | Full screen vertical | | Profile Picture | 200 x 200 | 1:1 | Small and circular |

TikTok is the simplest. Everything is 9:16. No landscape options, no square posts, no banners. Refreshing, honestly.

How to Resize Without Losing Quality

Resizing sounds simple but there are two things that go wrong constantly.

Problem 1: Upscaling. If your image is 600 x 400 and you resize it to 1600 x 900, you're inventing pixels that don't exist. The result is a blurry, soft mess. Always start with an image that's larger than your target size and scale down. If your source image is too small, you're better off cropping rather than upscaling.

Problem 2: Aspect ratio distortion. Resizing a 1:1 square to 16:9 without cropping means stretching. People look wide. Text looks squashed. It's obvious and it looks terrible. Always crop to the correct ratio first, then resize to the exact pixel dimensions.

WhiskFile's image compressor handles both of these correctly — it defaults to maintaining aspect ratio, and you can choose whether to crop or add padding when the ratios don't match. The image converter is useful when you need to change format before resizing.

Batch Resizing for Multiple Platforms

Here's my actual workflow when I need the same image for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter:

1. Start with the highest-quality source image (ideally 3000+ pixels wide)
2. Open the image compressor
3. Resize to 1080 x 1350 for Instagram (portrait post — maximum feed real estate)
4. Resize the original to 1200 x 630 for Facebook and LinkedIn (they're close enough to share)
5. Resize the original to 1600 x 900 for Twitter/X

Three exports, three aspect ratios, done in under a minute. If your images end up larger than you'd like, run them through the image compressor afterward. A 1080 x 1350 JPG at 85% quality is typically 150–300 KB, which is more than sharp enough for social media.

File Format Recommendations

• JPG for photos — smallest file size, good quality, universal support
• PNG for graphics with text, logos, or screenshots — no compression artifacts on hard edges
• WebP is technically superior to both, but not every social platform accepts it yet. Instagram and Facebook do. LinkedIn doesn't reliably. Stick with JPG/PNG to be safe.

If you need to convert formats, the image to PNG converter handles that without quality loss.

One More Thing: File Size Limits

Each platform has a maximum upload size, and they'll silently reject files that exceed it:

| Platform | Max Image Size | |---|---| | Instagram | 30 MB | | Facebook | 30 MB | | Twitter / X | 5 MB (15 MB for GIFs) | | LinkedIn | 10 MB | | YouTube thumbnails | 2 MB | | TikTok | 15 MB |

Twitter's 5 MB limit is the one that catches people. A 1600 x 900 PNG screenshot can easily be 4–6 MB. If you're over, compress it — don't reduce the dimensions. A compressed 1600 x 900 JPG at 90% quality is typically 400–600 KB. Well under the limit, and the quality is indistinguishable from the original on a screen.