🖼️ Image · Updated October 8, 2026 · 8 min read

Social Media Image Sizes: Cheat Sheet for Every Network

The social media image sizes you need most are 1080×1080 or 1080×1350 for Instagram posts, 1080×1920 for Stories, Reels and TikTok, 1280×720 for YouTube thumbnails, and wide banners such as 1500×500 for X and 1584×396 for LinkedIn. This cheat sheet lists every common size in one place, explains which aspect ratio each network really uses, and shows how to turn one photo into all of them at once without ugly stretching or missing heads.

📐 Try the Resize Image tool now — freeOpen →

1584×396 LinkedIn banner with the whole lavender field photo centered on a deep purple background — Switch the preset and repeat for the next network — the photo stays loaded.

💡 Why the right size matters more than the right filter

Every network crops or rescales images that do not match its expected shape. Upload a wide photo to a Story and the app zooms in; upload a small graphic to a banner and it turns soft; upload a portrait to a link preview and faces get cut at the chin. Starting at the exact pixel size means the platform does as little as possible to your image, so text stays sharp and the subject stays where you put it. It also keeps files lighter, which helps them load quickly on phones.

The social media image sizes cheat sheet

These are the sizes built into the Resize Image presets, grouped by network. Width comes first, then height, in pixels.

Instagram: square post 1080×1080 (1:1), portrait post 1080×1350 (4:5), Story and Reel 1080×1920 (9:16)
TikTok: 1080×1920 (9:16) for photo posts and video covers
YouTube: thumbnail 1280×720 (16:9), channel banner 2560×1440
Facebook: cover 1640×624, shared post and link image 1200×630
X (Twitter): in-feed post 1600×900 (16:9), profile header 1500×500 (3:1)
LinkedIn: feed post 1200×627, profile or page banner 1584×396 (4:1)
Pinterest: standard pin 1000×1500 (2:3)
Websites and link previews: Open Graph image 1200×630

Platforms adjust their layouts every year or two, so treat these as safe upload sizes rather than laws. They are all large enough to look sharp on high-density phone screens.

Aspect ratio first, pixels second

Pixels decide sharpness, but the aspect ratio decides what gets cut. Two images at 1080 pixels wide look completely different at 1:1 and 9:16.

Vertical wins on phones: 4:5 feed posts and 9:16 Stories take up more of the screen than squares
Banners are extreme shapes: 3:1 and 4:1 leave little height, so crop to a horizontal strip of the photo
The Facebook cover preset is 1640×624, roughly twice the classic 851×315 display size, so it stays crisp on large and high-density screens
The YouTube banner displays differently on TV, desktop and phone; keep logos and text inside the central area of about 1546×423

Crop to fill or blurred fit: pick per network

When the photo's shape does not match the target, the tool offers three fit modes. Choosing the right one is the difference between a polished post and an awkward one.

Crop to fill: scales the image until it covers the whole frame and trims the edges; best when the subject is centered with space around it
Fit with blurred background: shows the entire photo and fills the empty bars with a soft, darkened blur of the same image; ideal for turning a horizontal photo into a 9:16 Story
Fit with solid background: shows the full image on a color you pick, which suits logos, screenshots and product shots on white
Format: keep the original, or export JPG for photos, PNG for graphics with sharp text, or WebP for smaller files

A good habit is crop to fill for square and portrait feed posts, blurred fit for Stories and Reels made from landscape shots, and solid fit for banners that carry a logo.

Need exact ratios? See cropping for 4:5 Instagram portraits and 9:16 Stories and Reels.

Safe zones and text placement

Even at the perfect size, parts of your image will be hidden by app buttons, profile photos or cropping on smaller screens.

Stories and Reels: keep text out of roughly the top 250 and bottom 250 pixels, where names, replies and captions sit
X and LinkedIn headers: the profile photo overlaps the lower left, so keep faces and logos centered or to the right
Instagram profile grid previews now appear taller than square, so keep the subject centered in portrait posts
Thumbnails are judged at tiny sizes: three to five large words at most, with strong contrast

Step-by-step

1Open Resize Image, switch to Social media sizes and choose the preset you need, such as Story / Reel / TikTok 9:16 or LinkedIn banner.

Lavender field photo loaded at 1600×1067 before choosing a social media size — Load the photo once; you can switch presets for each network afterwards.

2Pick a fit mode: crop to fill, fit with blurred background, or fit with a solid background color.

LinkedIn banner — 1584×396 preset with Fit + solid background in deep purple and JPG output — Choose the preset for the network, here LinkedIn banner, and a fit mode.

3Drop one or many photos onto the page; every image is resized to the same preset in your browser, with a preview and file size for each.

Result card reading 1584×396 for lavender-field-1584x396.jpg with its Download button — The card shows the exact size that network expects.

4Download each file, or use Download all as ZIP, then switch presets and repeat for the next network.

Common mistakes to avoid

⚠️Uploading one landscape photo everywhere and letting each app crop it, so heads and text disappear in Stories.

⚠️Stretching an image to a new shape instead of cropping or fitting it, which makes people look wider or taller.

⚠️Putting a call to action at the very bottom of a Story, right where the reply bar covers it.

⚠️Exporting graphics with small text as heavily compressed JPGs, which blurs the lettering.

Pro tips

✓Shoot with a little extra room around your subject; it gives every crop more options, so the same photo can become a tall Story, a square post and a thin banner without cutting off heads or products.

✓Resize from the largest original you have, since scaling a small image up always softens it; a 4000-pixel camera photo shrinks cleanly to any preset, while a 600-pixel download stretched to a 2560-pixel banner will look muddy.

✓Use PNG for screenshots and text-heavy graphics and JPG or WebP for photos to balance sharpness and size.

✓Batch a whole campaign: drop every image for the week, pick one preset, and download the ZIP.

✓Bookmark the tool with a preset in the address, such as resize-image.html?preset=ig-story, to jump straight to your most-used size.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best image size for Instagram

Use 1080×1350 (4:5) for feed posts to take up the most screen space, 1080×1080 for squares, and 1080×1920 for Stories and Reels.

Are my photos uploaded when I resize them

No. Resize Image processes every file in your browser and saves the results to your device, so the photos never leave your computer or phone.

Which size works for both Facebook and LinkedIn link posts

A 1200×630 image works for Facebook link posts and Open Graph previews, and LinkedIn's 1200×627 is close enough that the same image displays well on both.

Why does my banner look blurry

Usually the original was too small or it was stretched. Start from a large photo, use the exact banner preset, and save as PNG if it contains text. Some networks also recompress uploads, so a slightly larger, cleaner source file survives that step better.

Can I resize many images to the same size at once

Yes. Drop several images after choosing a preset and every one is resized the same way, with a single ZIP download for the whole batch.

📌 Bottom line

Match each network's aspect ratio first, then its pixel size: 4:5 or 1:1 for feeds, 9:16 for Stories, Reels and TikTok, 16:9 for thumbnails and wide 3:1 or 4:1 for banners; resize from a large original, pick crop or blurred fit, and keep text inside the safe zones.

Open the Resize Image tool →