12 Social Media Image Sizes Worth Bookmarking

Every platform crops differently, and each one re-encodes what you upload. Getting the dimensions right is the difference between a crisp post and a soft, badly cropped one with your logo cut off.

Twelve sizes cover almost everything a marketing team ships. Below each one is the safe zone, the file limit, and what the platform does to your file after upload.

One caveat before the numbers. Platforms change specs without announcement. These reflect current published guidance, and the aspect ratios are far more durable than the exact pixel counts. When a campaign matters, check the platform’s own spec page before you export.

The Whole Set

#	Placement	Pixels	Ratio
1	Instagram feed, square	1080 × 1080	1:1
2	Instagram feed, portrait	1080 × 1350	4:5
3	Stories / Reels / TikTok	1080 × 1920	9:16
4	Facebook feed	1200 × 630	1.91:1
5	LinkedIn post	1200 × 627	1.91:1
6	LinkedIn square post	1200 × 1200	1:1
7	X / Twitter in-stream	1600 × 900	16:9
8	Pinterest pin	1000 × 1500	2:3
9	YouTube thumbnail	1280 × 720	16:9
10	Open Graph / link preview	1200 × 630	1.91:1
11	Profile picture	400 × 400	1:1
12	Cover / banner	Varies, see below	Varies

1. Instagram Feed, Square — 1080 × 1080

The safe default. Square posts display identically in the feed, the profile grid, and most embeds.

Property	Value
Upload size	1080 × 1080
Ratio	1:1
Max file size	30 MB
Formats	JPEG, PNG
Grid crop	None, it is already square

Instagram re-encodes everything, so uploading a 4000 px file gains nothing and often looks worse than a clean 1080 px export. Give it exactly 1080 pixels wide.

See the Instagram post dimensions page for the full spec.

2. Instagram Feed, Portrait — 1080 × 1350

The highest-value size on Instagram, because it occupies the most vertical space in the feed. A 4:5 portrait post is 25% taller than a square one on the same screen.

Property	Value
Upload size	1080 × 1350
Ratio	4:5
Profile grid crop	Centre square

That last row is the trap. Your post appears full-height in the feed but is cropped to a centre square on your profile grid. Keep the essential content within the middle 1080 × 1080 or your grid will show headless models and cropped product shots.

┌─────────────────┐  ← 1080 × 1350 as seen in feed
│   crop zone     │
├─────────────────┤
│                 │
│   SAFE: 1:1     │  ← what the profile grid shows
│                 │
├─────────────────┤
│   crop zone     │
└─────────────────┘

3. Stories, Reels and TikTok — 1080 × 1920

One size covers Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels, Facebook Stories, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Snapchat. Full-screen vertical, 9:16.

The Safe Zones Are the Whole Story

Each platform overlays its own interface on top of your image. Content in those bands gets covered.

Zone	Height	Covered by
Top	~250 px	Profile name, close button, progress bars
Bottom	~350 px	Caption, CTA, engagement buttons, sound label
Right edge	~120 px	Like, comment, share, sound icons

That leaves a usable area of roughly 1080 × 1320, centred. Design inside it, and let the background bleed to the full frame.

┌──────────────┐ 1080 × 1920
│  UI overlay  │ 250 px
├──────────────┤
│              │
│  SAFE ZONE   │ 1320 px
│              │
├──────────────┤
│  UI overlay  │ 350 px
└──────────────┘

Keep all text and logos inside the safe zone. See the Instagram Story page.

4. Facebook Feed — 1200 × 630

Property	Value
Shared link preview	1200 × 630 (1.91:1)
Square feed post	1200 × 1200
Minimum for link previews	600 × 315
Max file size	30 MB

Facebook link previews use the same 1.91:1 ratio as Open Graph, which is convenient: one asset serves both. Below 600 × 315, Facebook falls back to a small thumbnail card instead of a large image card, which is a significant drop in click-through.

Mobile feed crops the sides of very wide images. Keep text within the middle 80%. See the Facebook post page.

5. LinkedIn Post — 1200 × 627

Property	Value
Shared link / single image	1200 × 627 (1.91:1)
Max file size	5 MB
Formats	JPEG, PNG, GIF

LinkedIn’s 5 MB limit is stricter than most. A 1200 × 627 JPEG at quality 85 is around 180 KB, so this is only a problem if someone uploads a raw export.

Text Rendering Is the Real Issue

LinkedIn re-encodes uploads aggressively, and small text suffers. If your image contains type:

• Keep body text at 24 px or larger in a 1200 px-wide canvas
• Use high contrast; thin light-grey type disintegrates
• Export as PNG when the image is mostly text and flat colour
• Export as JPEG at quality 85+ when it is mostly photographic

See the LinkedIn post page.

6. LinkedIn Square Post — 1200 × 1200

Square posts take more vertical space in the LinkedIn feed than 1.91:1 images, for the same reason portrait wins on Instagram. For native posts, where you are not sharing an external link, square is usually the better choice.

Use 1.91:1 when you are sharing a link and want the preview card. Use 1:1 when you are uploading an image directly.

7. X / Twitter In-Stream — 1600 × 900

Property	Value
In-stream image	1600 × 900 (16:9)
Link card, large	1200 × 628
Max file size	5 MB (JPEG/PNG), 15 MB (GIF)

The Card Type Decides the Crop

<!-- Large image card: 1.91:1, prominent -->
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image">
<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://example.com/share-1200x630.jpg">

<!-- Small square thumbnail: usually not what you want -->
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary">

If your links show a small square thumbnail instead of a wide banner, the card type is wrong, not the image. See the Twitter/X post page.

8. Pinterest Pin — 1000 × 1500

Property	Value
Standard pin	1000 × 1500 (2:3)
Max file size	20 MB
Longer pins	Allowed, but truncated in the feed

Pinterest is the one major platform where taller genuinely wins, because the feed is a vertical masonry grid. A 2:3 pin occupies more space than a square one. Going beyond 2:3 gets truncated with a “see more” cut, so 2:3 is the sweet spot rather than the minimum.

Pinterest is also a visual search engine, which makes alt text and surrounding context matter more here than on other platforms. The visual search guide covers it.

9. YouTube Thumbnail — 1280 × 720

Property	Value
Thumbnail	1280 × 720 (16:9)
Minimum width	640 px
Max file size	2 MB
Formats	JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP

That 2 MB limit is the tightest on this list and people hit it regularly, because thumbnails are often exported as PNG. A 1280 × 720 PNG with a photo in it can easily exceed 2 MB. Export as JPEG at quality 88 and it lands around 250 KB.

Design for 168 Pixels Wide

Your thumbnail is displayed at roughly 360 px on desktop search and around 168 px on some mobile surfaces. Whatever you design must still read at that size:

• Three or four words maximum
• Very high contrast between subject and background
• Faces large in frame
• No fine detail, which disappears entirely

See the YouTube thumbnail page.

10. Open Graph / Link Preview — 1200 × 630

The one that controls how your pages look when anyone shares them anywhere: Slack, WhatsApp, Discord, iMessage, Facebook, LinkedIn.

<meta property="og:title" content="12 Social Media Image Sizes Worth Bookmarking">
<meta property="og:description" content="Current dimensions, safe zones and file limits for every major platform.">
<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/og/social-sizes.jpg">
<meta property="og:image:width" content="1200">
<meta property="og:image:height" content="630">
<meta property="og:image:alt" content="Chart of social media image dimensions by platform">
<meta property="og:type" content="article">
<meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/guides/social-media-image-sizes/">

Four Rules That Break Previews

1. Use an absolute URL. A relative og:image path fails in almost every scraper.
2. Declare og:image:width and og:image:height. Without them, some clients render a small card while they wait to measure the image.
3. Serve JPEG or PNG. Many scrapers still do not decode WebP or AVIF. This is the one place on a modern site where you should not serve modern formats.
4. Do not require authentication. If the image sits behind a login, a session cookie, or a bot-blocking rule, the scraper sees nothing.

Previews Are Cached Aggressively

Change the image and the old one persists, sometimes for weeks. Either version the filename or force a refresh:

Platform	Refresh tool
Facebook	Sharing Debugger
LinkedIn	Post Inspector
X	Card Validator
Slack, WhatsApp, Discord	Version the URL

See the Open Graph image page.

11. Profile Picture — 400 × 400

Platform	Upload	Displayed
Instagram	320 × 320	110 px circle
Facebook	400 × 400	170 px circle
LinkedIn personal	400 × 400	200 px circle
LinkedIn company logo	300 × 300	60–130 px square
X / Twitter	400 × 400	133 px circle
YouTube channel	800 × 800	88 px circle

Uploading 400 × 400 everywhere is safe: it exceeds the minimum on every platform without being wasteful.

Design for the Circle

Most platforms crop to a circle, which removes the corners. A square logo with content near its edges loses that content. Add roughly 10% padding on all sides, and test by drawing a circle inscribed in your square export.

12. Cover and Banner Images

The messiest category, because each platform crops differently across devices.

Placement	Upload	Safe zone
Facebook page cover	851 × 315	Centre 640 × 312
LinkedIn personal banner	1584 × 396	Centre-right; avatar covers lower left
LinkedIn company banner	1128 × 191	Centre
X / Twitter header	1500 × 500	Centre; avatar overlaps lower left
YouTube channel art	2560 × 1440	Centre 1546 × 423

YouTube channel art is the extreme case: you upload 2560 × 1440, but the area guaranteed to be visible on every device is only 1546 × 423 in the centre. Everything outside that is cropped on mobile.

For any banner with an avatar overlay, keep the lower-left corner empty. The profile picture sits there and will cover whatever you put underneath.

Generating Every Crop From One Master

Twelve sizes per campaign is a lot of exporting. The efficient approach is one high-resolution master plus URL-based crops.

Shoot or Design at 2560 × 2560

A large square master can be cropped to every ratio on this list without upscaling.

Then Derive by URL

With Sirv, each size is a URL parameter rather than a separate export:

# Instagram square
https://demo.sirv.com/campaign.jpg?w=1080&h=1080&scale.option=fill

# Instagram portrait
https://demo.sirv.com/campaign.jpg?w=1080&h=1350&scale.option=fill

# Stories / Reels / TikTok
https://demo.sirv.com/campaign.jpg?w=1080&h=1920&scale.option=fill

# LinkedIn and Open Graph
https://demo.sirv.com/campaign.jpg?w=1200&h=630&scale.option=fill

# Pinterest
https://demo.sirv.com/campaign.jpg?w=1000&h=1500&scale.option=fill

# YouTube thumbnail
https://demo.sirv.com/campaign.jpg?w=1280&h=720&scale.option=fill

Change the campaign image once and every placement updates.

Or Script It Locally

import sharp from 'sharp';

const SIZES = {
  'ig-square':    [1080, 1080],
  'ig-portrait':  [1080, 1350],
  'story':        [1080, 1920],
  'fb-feed':      [1200,  630],
  'li-post':      [1200,  627],
  'li-square':    [1200, 1200],
  'x-instream':   [1600,  900],
  'pinterest':    [1000, 1500],
  'yt-thumb':     [1280,  720],
  'og':           [1200,  630],
};

async function deriveAll(master, name) {
  return Promise.all(
    Object.entries(SIZES).map(([key, [w, h]]) =>
      sharp(master)
        .resize(w, h, { fit: 'cover', position: 'attention' })  // crops toward the subject
        .jpeg({ quality: 88, progressive: true, mozjpeg: true })
        .toFile(`out/${name}-${key}.jpg`)
    )
  );
}

position: 'attention' tells Sharp to crop toward the highest-entropy region rather than the geometric centre, which usually keeps the subject in frame across ratios. Check the results; it is a heuristic, not a guarantee.

File Size and Format

Every platform re-encodes what you upload, so your job is to give the encoder a clean source, not the biggest one.

Platform	Max upload	Practical target	Format
Instagram	30 MB	Under 1 MB	JPEG
Facebook	30 MB	Under 1 MB	JPEG or PNG
LinkedIn	5 MB	Under 500 KB	JPEG or PNG
X / Twitter	5 MB	Under 500 KB	JPEG or PNG
Pinterest	20 MB	Under 1 MB	JPEG or PNG
YouTube thumbnail	2 MB	Under 500 KB	JPEG

Three Rules

1. Do not upload WebP or AVIF to social platforms or as og:image. Support across scrapers and upload pipelines is inconsistent. Use JPEG or PNG here, and save the modern formats for your own site.
2. Use PNG for flat graphics with text, JPEG for photographs. Re-encoding hits text hardest, and starting from a lossless source gives the platform’s encoder more to work with.
3. Export at exactly the target dimensions. Uploading 4000 px so the platform can downscale it produces a worse result than downscaling yourself with a good filter and light output sharpening.

The export settings guide covers the resample-and-sharpen step.

Summary

The Twelve

#	Placement	Pixels	Ratio	Watch out for
1	Instagram square	1080 × 1080	1:1	Nothing, safest default
2	Instagram portrait	1080 × 1350	4:5	Profile grid crops to centre square
3	Stories / Reels / TikTok	1080 × 1920	9:16	250 px top, 350 px bottom UI overlay
4	Facebook feed	1200 × 630	1.91:1	Below 600 × 315 drops to a small card
5	LinkedIn post	1200 × 627	1.91:1	5 MB cap, small text degrades
6	LinkedIn square	1200 × 1200	1:1	Use for native posts, not link shares
7	X in-stream	1600 × 900	16:9	Card type controls the crop
8	Pinterest	1000 × 1500	2:3	Taller wins, but 2:3 is the limit
9	YouTube thumbnail	1280 × 720	16:9	2 MB cap; must read at 168 px
10	Open Graph	1200 × 630	1.91:1	Absolute URL, JPEG/PNG, declare dimensions
11	Profile picture	400 × 400	1:1	Cropped to a circle, pad the edges
12	Covers and banners	Varies	Varies	Avatar covers the lower left

Checklist

1. ✅ One 2560 × 2560 master exists per campaign
2. ✅ Instagram portrait posts survive the centre-square grid crop
3. ✅ Story text sits inside the 1080 × 1320 safe zone
4. ✅ LinkedIn uploads are under 5 MB with text at 24 px or larger
5. ✅ YouTube thumbnails are under 2 MB and readable at 168 px
6. ✅ og:image is an absolute URL with width and height declared
7. ✅ og:image is JPEG or PNG, never WebP or AVIF
8. ✅ Link previews were refreshed in each platform’s debugger after a change
9. ✅ Profile pictures have 10% padding for the circular crop
10. ✅ Banners leave the lower-left corner clear for the avatar

Sizes 3 and 10 cause the most avoidable damage: a Story with the headline hidden behind the caption bar, and a link preview that renders as a grey box. Fix those two first.