How to Resize Images for Social Media — Platform Cheat Sheet

Every social platform has different image size requirements. Get it wrong and your photo gets cropped, stretched, or compressed into a blurry mess. Here's the current spec for every major platform.

Image Size Quick Reference

Platform Post image Cover/header Profile photo
Facebook 1200×630 820×312 170×170
Instagram 1080×1080 (square) — 320×320
Twitter/X 1200×675 1500×500 400×400
LinkedIn 1200×627 1128×191 400×400
YouTube 1280×720 (thumbnail) 2560×1440 800×800
Pinterest 1000×1500 (vertical) 165×165 165×165
TikTok 1080×1920 — 200×200

Facebook Image Specs

Post images:

  • Recommended: 1200×630 pixels
  • Minimum: 600×315 pixels
  • Max display: 470×246 pixels on news feed

Link previews: 1200×628 pixels for the best appearance across all placements.

Cover photo: 820×312 pixels (shown at 640×360 on desktop, smaller on mobile).

Carousel ads: 1080×1080 pixels for square, 1080×1350 for portrait.

Instagram Image Specs

Square posts: 1080×1080 pixels (displayed at 510×510).

Portrait posts: 1080×1350 pixels (3:4 aspect ratio).

Landscape posts: 1080×566 pixels (1.91:1 aspect ratio).

Stories/Reels: 1080×1920 pixels (9:16 aspect ratio). Content is cropped to 4:5 in feed.

Profile photo: 320×320 pixels (circular crop, displayed at 110×110).

Instagram Tip: Upload at full resolution. Instagram compresses anyway, so larger files = better quality after compression.

Twitter/X Image Specs

In-stream images: 1200×675 pixels (16:9). Max 5MB for JPG/PNG, 15MB for WEBP.

Header photo: 1500×500 pixels (displayed at 1500×500, cropped on mobile).

Profile photo: 400×400 pixels (circular, displayed at 100×100).

Card images: 1200×628 pixels minimum for link previews.

Twitter Tip: Images are cropped to 16:9 in timeline. Put important content in the center of your frame.

LinkedIn Image Specs

Post images: 1200×627 pixels for optimal display.

Cover photo: 1128×191 pixels.

Profile photo: 400×400 pixels minimum.

Company page cover: 1128×191 pixels.

LinkedIn Tip: Text in images gets flagged as low-quality content. Keep text minimal or avoid it entirely in post images.

YouTube Image Specs

Video thumbnails: 1280×720 pixels (16:9). Max 2MB. This is arguably the most important image on YouTube — it drives clicks.

Channel banner: 2560×1440 pixels (displayed at various sizes). Safe zone for text: 1546×423 pixels in the center.

Profile photo: 800×800 pixels (circular display).

General Resize Tips

  1. Always resize down, never up — Upscaling creates blurry images. Start large, go smaller.

  2. Maintain aspect ratio — If the platform requires 1:1 and your image is 4:3, crop it or accept auto-cropping.

  3. Use PNG for graphics — Screenshots, text overlays, and graphics look better as PNG (no compression artifacts).

  4. Use JPG for photos — Photos compress well as JPG and load faster.

  5. Export at 2x for retina — If your image will be displayed at 400px wide, export at 800px wide for retina screens.

Batch Resizing Workflow

For consistent sizing across multiple images:

  1. Determine your target dimensions for each platform
  2. Create export presets in your editing software
  3. Export all sizes from original files (never re-export from exports)

The order matters: original → resize → compress → deliver. Never go backward in this chain.