Exact pixel sizes for social media images are a moving target. Platforms redesign their apps, change their recommended dimensions and add new formats, and any list of precise numbers is out of date sooner than you’d think.
Aspect ratios are much more stable. If you design for the right shape at a generous resolution, your images will look right almost everywhere, even after the next redesign. This cheat sheet focuses on those shapes and the habits that keep your posts from getting awkwardly cropped.
When you need an exact figure for an ad or a strict upload form, check the platform’s own help center. Those pages are updated when specs change; third-party lists, including this one, may not be.
Try it: Crop ImageCrop photos freely or with ready-made ratios for Instagram, Stories, YouTube, Facebook and X, rotate or flip them, or cut a round profile picture.
Open tool — freeThe five ratios that cover almost everything
An aspect ratio is simply width compared to height. A 1:1 image is square; a 16:9 image is 16 units wide for every 9 tall, no matter the pixel count.
| Ratio | Shape | Typical uses |
|---|---|---|
| 1:1 | Square | Feed posts on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, profile pictures, carousel posts |
| 4:5 | Tall portrait | Instagram and Facebook feed posts that take up more screen space |
| 9:16 | Full-screen vertical | Stories, Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Facebook Stories |
| 16:9 | Widescreen | YouTube thumbnails and videos, images in X posts, presentation-style graphics |
| 1.91:1 | Wide horizontal | Link previews on Facebook, LinkedIn and other sites, Open Graph share images |
Pinterest is the main outlier, favoring tall pins around 2:3. Cover and banner images for profiles and pages also use their own very wide shapes, and those change more often than anything else, so look them up each time.
Choosing the right ratio for each post
Feed posts
For Instagram and Facebook feeds, 4:5 is usually the best choice. It fills more of the phone screen than a square, which gives your post more presence as people scroll. Square 1:1 is the safe, universal option when you’ll post the same image on several platforms.
Stories, Reels and short video
Use 9:16 for anything full-screen. A horizontal image posted to a story gets letterboxed with empty bars or zoomed in, and neither looks intentional.
Link previews
When you share a link, the platform pulls an image from the page, usually its Open Graph image. These previews are wide, close to 1.91:1. If your page’s featured image is square or portrait, the preview will crop it. A dedicated share image avoids that, and our Open Graph tag generator lets you set and preview it.
Thumbnails
YouTube thumbnails are 16:9. They’re shown tiny in search results and sidebars, so use large text, a clear face or subject, and strong contrast.
Resolution: go bigger, not smaller
Platforms compress and resize everything you upload. Starting too small makes the result soft and blurry. A safe habit is to export images at least 1080 pixels on the short side for feed and story content, and larger for wide formats like thumbnails and link previews.
Don’t go absurdly large, either. A 6000-pixel photo will be resized by the platform anyway, and you lose control over how it’s sharpened. Resize to a sensible size yourself with an image resizer so the platform has less work to do.
Respect the safe zones
The shape is only half the story. On vertical formats especially, parts of the image are covered by the interface: profile names and progress bars at the top, captions, buttons and reply boxes at the bottom and right side.
- Keep text, logos and faces in the central area of 9:16 images, well away from the top and bottom edges.
- On profile pictures, keep the subject centered, because most platforms display them in a circle.
- On link previews, avoid putting important text near the edges, since some apps crop wide images slightly differently.
- On grid layouts, remember that some profiles display a cropped preview of each post, so check how your grid looks after posting.
How to crop an image to the right ratio
Our free image cropper has ready-made ratios for Instagram, Stories, YouTube, Facebook and X, plus a round profile picture option. It runs in your browser, so your images aren’t uploaded.
- Upload your image, starting from the highest-resolution version you have.
- Choose the ratio you need, such as 4:5 for a feed post or 9:16 for a story.
- Drag the crop frame to position the subject, keeping important details away from the edges.
- Rotate or flip the image if needed.
- Download the cropped image, then resize it if the file is much larger than necessary.
If you want to fit several photos into one post, a photo collage maker with layouts for Instagram posts and stories saves you from cropping each picture separately.
Mistakes that make posts look off
- Using one image for every platform. A 16:9 banner posted as a story looks tiny with huge empty bars. Make a version for each shape.
- Putting text at the very edge. It gets cropped or hidden behind buttons.
- Uploading screenshots of screenshots. Each round of compression makes them worse. Export from the original design file.
- Trusting old cheat sheets. If an upload looks wrong, check the platform’s current help page before redesigning everything.
A workflow that holds up
Design once at a large size, then export three versions: square or 4:5 for feeds, 9:16 for stories and short video, and a wide 16:9 or 1.91:1 for thumbnails and link previews. Keep key content in the center, check the platform’s help pages when something new launches, and you’ll spend far less time fixing cropped heads and cut-off text.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best image size for Instagram posts?
Instagram feed posts work well as square 1:1 or portrait 4:5 images, and 4:5 takes up more screen space in the feed. Check Instagram's help center for the current recommended pixel dimensions, since they change from time to time.
What aspect ratio should I use for stories and reels?
Use a vertical 9:16 ratio for Instagram Stories, Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Facebook Stories. Keep text and faces away from the top and bottom edges, where app buttons and captions cover the image.
Why does my link preview image get cropped?
Link previews on most platforms use a wide image close to 1.91:1, so square or tall images get trimmed. Create a dedicated wide share image and set it as your page's Open Graph image.
