Recommended Social Media Image Sizes and Dimensions
You’d think that posting an image on social media is something that even preschoolers can do. True, everyone can click on Upload or Post Image and get their image out there. But posting a picture is not the same thing as posting a picture correctly or getting it to do what you want it to do. A big part of this are the recommended social media image sizes.
Different social media platforms have different standards when it comes to image sizes, or, more importantly, image dimensions. If you don’t meet those standards, the resulting output will be skewed, cropped in all the wrong places, blurry…just plain wrong.
Using proper social media image sizes is particularly important for businesses and brands, for everyone using social media for more than just a personal profile or an addictive pastime. In fact, businesses working with paid ads have to be particularly careful. Not only do image size requirements differ from one social media network to another, but they also differ within the same network, depending on the format. Your Page Like ads may be completely different, image-wise, than your Website Conversion ads, and so on.
Another problem is the fact that social media networks keep changing the image size requirements. In order to help you keep up with this complicated dynamics, we’ve decided to list all the major social media networks and their specific image dimension requirements.
Learn everything about recommended social media image sizes so your content can shine in its full potential and read about:
As of October 2019, Facebook had 2.4 billion users across the globe. That’s a market of an incredible size and unimaginable potential. With such a massive network, of course you want all your images, ads and other content to be delivered to your users perfectly.
Profile Picture
The most important image on your Facebook is your profile image. It’s a photo that represents who you are and what your brand is all about. Not only is it the first thing people see on your profile, but it also appears next to your name as you post or comment on other users’ walls.
Right now, the rule of thumb for profile pics is to make them at least 180×180 pixels. The same size applies for business profile photos, but bear in mind that those always get cropped to a square, so that’s something to keep in mind.
Another thing to consider is that Facebook scales images down so they look right on desktop and mobile alike. Consequently, a 180×180 picture will appear as 170×170 on desktop, 128×128 on smartphones and 36×36 as a thumbnail.
Cover Photo
Even though your cover photo only displays on your profile, you still have to pay special attention to it. It’s the largest picture on your profile, and, as such, allows for more creativity in expressing yourself and promoting your brand.
Right now, the image size requirements for Facebook cover photos are 820×312, displaying as 640×360 on smartphones.
Another thing to consider here is image quality. Cover pictures allow for HD photos, so make use of that. For best results, go with a sRGB JPG file, or a PNG file for images that consist of a logo or text.
Shared Image
A shared image is the image you upload and share on your timeline, displaying it to your friends and followers (the number will depend on your reach) but it will also be stored in one of the folders in your Photos. The recommended upload size for these is 1200×630 pixels. The picture will appear on your page at a 500 pixels max-width, and on the feed at a max width of 470 pixels. In both cases, it will be scaled to 1:1 at max.
Highlighted Image
A relatively new feature, highlighted images are larger than a classic shared image and, therefore, represent a very popular promotional tool for businesses and brands. For best results, highlighted images should be 1200×717 pixels.
Shared Link
Shared links are similar to shared images, but they offer a few more possibilities. For instance, your post can consist of a square image to the left and text to the right, or a large rectangular image with some text below. For shared links, the recommended upload size is 1200×628 pixels. Square photos should be minimum 154×154 in feed and 116×116 on page, while the rectangular ones are at least 476×249 in feed and 484×252 on page.
Note that Facebook will scale images that are below the minimum size requirements. If you want your images to still look decent after scaling, make sure to change the image resolution to meet the minimum requirements.
Event Image
Event images are very important as they are supposed to help your event stick out in the sea of other events. The recommended dimensions are 1920×1080 in a 16:9 aspect ratio. In the feed, the image will scale down to 470×174.
Facebook Ads
As for the ads, the preferred dimensions for Page Like ads are currently 1200×628 (1080 x 1080 for a 1:1 image).
Another thing to pay attention to is the text to image ratio. In short, the amount of text in your Facebook Ad should not exceed 20%. If you’re unsure as to how to make this ratio, you can perform the platform’s own Image Text Check, a validation tool that makes sure your ad meets the requirements.
Facebook Stories
Facebook stories may not be as hyped as Instagram stories, but apparently more and more people (especially brands!) are using them, so it might be a good idea to remember that preferred image dimensions for Facebook stories are 1080×1920 pixels, in a 9:16 aspect ratio.
You can also snap your pictures directly from the stories app, if you don’t feel like figuring out the correct image dimensions. Finally, since Instagram is owned by Facebook, it’s only logical that you can post content cross-platform, meaning you can share your Instagram stories on Facebook, and vice versa.
Remember when Instagram required all photos be uploaded as a square, in a 1:1 ratio? That sure messed up a lot of amazing pictures. Fortunately, the all-square pictures are a thing of the past, as now we get to use different picture formats for our posts, stories and ads. However, it needs to be said that square images still perform best on Instagram.
Profile Picture
As you probably know, Instagram displays profile pictures in a circle frame, so some parts of your image are bound to be cropped out to fit the circle. Still, the recommended ratio for profile pictures is 1:1 and the dimensions are 110×110 pixels.
Instagram posts
– For square images, the recommended size is 1080x1080px.
– For vertical images (portrait), the recommended size is 1080x1350px.
– For horizontal images (landscape), the recommended size is 1080x566px.
Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories may be even more important than “regular” posts these days, so you definitely want to make sure you get them right. Instagram crops images for stories automatically, so if you want to have complete control of what your story will look like, consider snapping your pic (or taking your video) directly from the app. If you, however, want to use one of your photostream photos or videos, you won’t get the exact same image size unless you upload it in the required dimensions.
An Instagram Story image should be 1080x1920px, in a 9:16 ratio.
Finally, bear in mind that Instagram compresses files for stories so they appear in slightly lower quality compared to the original file. This is particularly frustrating with videos but for now, there’s no way to avoid it.
Instagram Ads
The ads on this popular platform are a particularly valuable marketing tool, thanks to the unique way of displaying these ads. Instagram users, as they scroll, can only view one ad at a time, so these ads really get their full attention – they don’t get lost in the sea of other ads scattered across the screen.
Right now, there are three image ad sizes available on the platform:
– Horizontal: recommended at 1200×628 pixels, in JPG or PNG, 30MB max.
– Square: recommended at 1080×1080 pixels.
– Vertical: 600×750 minimum, 4:5 aspect ratio.
Video ads
For all video formats, the requirements are 4GB maximum file size, 60-sec max length, 30fps max frames.
– Horizontal: 600×315 minimum resolution, 1.91:1 aspect ratio.
– Square: 600×600 minimum resolution, 1:1 aspect ratio.
– Vertical: 600×750 minimum resolution, 4:5 aspect ratio.
Video ads in Stories
The Instagram Stories video ad should be 1080×1920 pixels, 9:16 ratio, minimum 720p resolution, max video size 4GB.
Carousel ads
The latest marketing tool offered by Instagram, the Carousel allows you to use both images and videos to promote your brand.
For Carousel image ads, the requirements are 1080×1080 pixels, while for the video ads in Carousel the recommendation is 600×600 minimum.
One of the most important social networks for brands and businesses, Twitter is primarily text-oriented, but that’s not to say images and videos don’t play an important role. In fact, image-based content on Twitter is becoming more and more important, so you definitely want to get them right.
Profile photo
On Twitter, your profile photo will be displayed on your homepage, and also, in smaller versions, in-stream and in the “Who to follow” box.
It’s recommended to use a square image in 400×400 pixels. Supported formats are JPG, GIF or PNG and the maximum file size is 2MB.
Header photo
Header photo in Twitter is similar to the cover photo on Facebook. It will be displayed on top of your profile page and it is the first thing your visitors notice when visiting your page. It’s quite large, so you want to use a really good photo, in the highest resolution possible.
The recommendation for the header photo is 1500×500 pixels. Supported formats include JPG, PNG and GIF.
Shared photo
As you know, in addition to text, you can also share images in your Twitter stream. Bear in mind, though, that Twitter may trim it to a smaller version that will fit your followers’ stream more appropriately. To make sure the right part of the picture gets displayed, you have to meet the minimum requirements, which are 440×220 (a 2:1 ratio). Maximum dimensions for the picture to appear expanded are 1024×512.
It’s important to mention here that if you share a link with an image on Twitter, the image can also be displayed as part of the Twitter Card, but the image will be a bit smaller compared to the classic shared image, so make sure that the parts of the image you want to be displayed are centered horizontally.
Ideal size for Twitter Card images is 800×320 pixels.
In the beginning, LinkedIn may have been all about job ads and recruitment, but these days this platform is gaining in media-rich content, especially images. Whether you’re a business or a private user, you definitely want to appear as professional as possible, and getting your images right is a big part of that impression.
Personal Profile Picture
The personal profile picture is recommended to be between 400×400 and 20,000×20,000 pixels. The minimum is 200×200 pixels. Max file size is 2GB and the supported formats include JPG, GIF and PNG.
Personal Background Image
This is a relatively new feature that many people aren’t even using, as it is a bit hard to get it right or to decide what is appropriate to display. Still, we recommend you give it a shot, as it might give your profile a more than welcome kick.
Recommended size is 1584×396 pixels, maximum size is 4GB and supported formats are JPG, PNG or GIF.
Logo Image
This one is very important, since your logo is the first thing people notice. On LinkedIn, you get to display two logos. One is your company logo, which is slightly bigger and more prominent, and the square logo is smaller and shown in search results.
For the bigger company logo, use an image that is at least 300×300 pixels, maximum 4GB file size.
For the square logo, the recommended size is 60×60 pixels (resized to fit), maximum 2MB file size.
Both images should be PNG, JPG or GIF.
Company Cover Image
The company cover image is similar to the personal background image, except it’s bigger and covers the entire top area of the page. The recommended size is 1536×768, appearing as 1400×425 pixels. Minimum size is 1192×220.
Banner Image
This is one of the latest features on LinkedIn. The banner image appears at the top of your company homepage, which means it’s displayed only to users who purposely navigate to your company profile. As such, it represents a great opportunity to promote your brand.
This image should be minimum 646×220 pixels, landscape layout, maximum 2MB file size.
Hero Image
Hero image is the image that sits at the top of your company page and is bigger than any other image. This is a picture that’s truly worth a thousand words, so you want to make sure it’s sharp, clear and representative of what you stand for.
The size requirements for the hero image are 1128×376 pixels, the minimum is 1128×376 and the maximum file size is 2MB. The layout for the hero image is always horizontal.
Pinterest is among the most image-centered social media networks, so obviously you need to pay particular attention to the size and quality of your pictures. This is even truer if we consider the fact that Pinterest is an amazing tool for driving traffic to your site.
Profile Picture
When you sign up for Pinterest for the first time, you can use your Facebook or Twitter account, in which case Pinterest will pull your profile pic from those networks. If you want to use a different picture or you’re signing up with email, you need to upload a brand new picture, so make sure you get the size right.
Image size requirements for Pinterest profile pictures are 165×165 pixels, which is how big your picture will appear on your homepage, while on the rest of the platform it will be scaled down to 32×32. Maximum file size is 10MB.
Pins
Pinterest may limit the image width but not the height. In fact, the platform is known for its tall images, so plan your pictures accordingly and resize them, where necessary. The recommended image size in 2020 for standard pins is 1000 x 1500px (2:3 aspect ratio), for tall pins it’s 600 x 1260 px (1:2.1 aspect ratio), and lastly, for square pins the dimensions are 1000 x 1000px (1:1 aspect ratio).
Boards
When organizing images in boards (which is probably the most important thing to do on Pinterest), keep in mind that the recommended sizes are 222×150 pixels (for large thumbnails) and 55×55 (for smaller thumbnails).
You’d think that images have no business over on YouTube, as an exclusively video platform, but remember that, if you have a YouTube channel, you still need a profile image and cover photo.
Channel Profile Photo
The recommended image size for channel profile photo is 800×800, displaying as 98×98. YouTube supports JPG, PNG, GIF and BMP files.
Channel Cover Photo
The channel cover photo is somewhat wider, and the recommended size is 2560×1440 pixels. The safe area for mobile and web is 1546×423 pixels. Maximum file size is 4MB.
Video Uploads
Although this is a whole separate subject, we’ll just mention that videos should be uploaded in a 16:9 ratio, sized at least 1,280×720 pixels.
Reddit is a platform that does not allow for posting images directly. This means that you can’t just upload a picture from your computer and put it in a Reddit post. Instead, what you can do is upload a picture using an image hosting service like Imgur.com, and then post the link. However, you can (and should) use images in your Reddit ads.
Reddit Ad Images
Using featured images in your Reddit ads is part of the good ad practice on this platform, and helps you stand out among so much other, text-based content.
For Card images, the image size requirements are 1200×628 pixels (max 3MB file size) while for thumbnails the recommendation is 400×300 pixels (up to 500KB).
Due to the nature of this social networking platform, different users opt for different image sizes, but there are some general guidelines to follow.
Profile Images
Your profile picture is not as frequently displayed across Tumblr as it is in other platforms. It will appear as a thumbnail next to your posts in a follower’s feed and, of course, on your profile page.
The recommended minimum is 128×128, and supported formats include JPG, GIF, BMP and PNG.
Image posts
The recommended size for high-res images (not including superwide panoramas) is 1280×1920 pixels, or 500×750 for dashboard view.
For photosets, the recommended width for one image in a row is 500 pixels, for two-image rows it’s 245 pixels and 160 pixels for three images in a row.
Link posts are 130×130 pixels for the thumbnail that Tumblr grabs from the link.
Snapchat is a bit specific when it comes to image sizes because the way it works is the user snaps a picture that gets automatically formatted, and posts it right away, without too much thinking about details. If you, however, prefer to plan your posts a bit more meticulously, you should know that the recommended image size for Snapchat is 1080×1920 pixels.
Google Ads supports a very long list of image formats you can use for your ad, but certain formats seem to do better than others. These are the most common (and most popular) image sizes for Google Ads:
– 250 x 250 (Square)
– 200 x 200 (Small Square)
– 468 x 60 (Banner)
– 728 x 90 (Leaderboard)
– 300 x 250 (Inline Rectangle)
– 336 x 280 (Large Rectangle)
– 120 x 600 (Skyscraper)
– 160 x 600 (Wide Skyscraper)
– 300 x 600 (Half-Page Ad)
– 970 x 90 (Large Leaderboard)
There’s one size that is not available for desktop or tablet but works on mobile devices (high-end smartphones), and that’s 320 x50 (Mobile Leaderboard).
Conclusion
Like we said earlier, optimizing the images you use across all social media networks, using high-quality pictures that tell a compelling story about you or your brand, is essential in building a strong online presence. We hope that this little guide to recommended social media image sizes will help you figure out just how to use images to step up your social media game.
We hope that you found this article to be helpful. If you liked it, please feel free to check out some of these articles as well!
