Upload the wrong shape and Instagram crops your headline, YouTube blurs your thumbnail, or X hides half your chart. Getting social media image sizes right is one of the cheapest ways to make your posts look professional, and it takes seconds once you know the numbers.
Every size below was checked against the platform's own help or developer pages where one exists, and we say clearly when a figure is a common industry standard rather than an official rule. At the end, you'll see how to resize any image to the exact size in a few clicks with our free Image Resizer, which runs in your browser and never uploads your photos.
QUICK ANSWER
Quick reference: Instagram feed 1080 x 1350 (4:5) or 1080 x 1080 (1:1); Stories, Reels and TikTok 1080 x 1920 (9:16); YouTube thumbnail 16:9 (1280 x 720 works, YouTube now recommends up to 3840 x 2160); X post 1600 x 900 or 1200 x 675 (16:9); Facebook link preview 1200 x 630; Pinterest pin 1000 x 1500 (2:3).
Social media image sizes: quick reference table
| Platform and placement | Recommended size (px) | Aspect ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram feed, portrait | 1080 x 1350 | 4:5 |
| Instagram feed, square | 1080 x 1080 | 1:1 |
| Instagram feed, landscape | 1080 x 566 | 1.91:1 |
| Instagram/Facebook Stories, Reels, TikTok | 1080 x 1920 | 9:16 |
| YouTube video thumbnail | 1280 x 720 up to 3840 x 2160 | 16:9 |
| YouTube Shorts thumbnail | 1080 x 1920 up to 2160 x 3840 | 9:16 |
| X (Twitter) single image | 1600 x 900 or 1200 x 675 | 16:9 |
| Facebook / link preview (Open Graph) | 1200 x 630 | 1.91:1 |
| LinkedIn link/post image | 1200 x 627 | 1.91:1 |
| Pinterest standard pin | 1000 x 1500 | 2:3 |
Platforms change their layouts often, so treat the aspect ratio as the rule that matters most. If the ratio is right, the platform can scale the pixels; if the ratio is wrong, it will crop.
Instagram image sizes
Instagram's help article on image resolution explains the rules in one paragraph: photos are stored at up to 1080 pixels wide. If you upload something wider, Instagram scales it down to 1080; if it's narrower than 320 pixels, it gets enlarged (and looks soft). Photos keep their resolution when the aspect ratio falls inside the supported range, from 1.91:1 landscape to a tall portrait format. Anything outside that range gets cropped.
Instagram has updated the tall end of that range over time (older versions of the page said 4:5, newer ones mention 3:4), so 1080 x 1350 (4:5) remains the safest portrait size: it fills more of the feed than a square and is accepted everywhere, including scheduling tools.
Stories and Reels
Use a full-screen vertical 9:16 canvas at 1080 x 1920. Keep text and faces away from the top and bottom edges, where the profile name, captions and buttons sit.
YouTube thumbnail size
The classic answer is 1280 x 720, and it still works. But YouTube's own custom thumbnail help page now asks for thumbnails "as large as possible" and recommends 3840 x 2160 for videos (and 2160 x 3840 for Shorts), with a minimum width of 640 pixels. Use JPG or PNG with a 16:9 ratio for regular videos.
File size limits depend on how you upload: YouTube lists 2 MB on mobile and 50 MB on desktop for video thumbnails. If your 4K thumbnail is too heavy for mobile upload, compress it or export at 1920 x 1080; it's still sharp on almost every screen.
Thumbnail tips that help clicks
- Large, readable text of three to five words at most. Most viewers see your thumbnail at phone size.
- High contrast between subject and background.
- Avoid putting key details in the bottom-right corner, where the video length badge appears.
Creators using AI-generated visuals should also read our explainer on YouTube's AI disclosure rules.
TikTok, X, Facebook, LinkedIn and Pinterest
TikTok
TikTok is a full-screen vertical app, so photos and covers should be 9:16 at 1080 x 1920. Keep important text in the centre; the right side holds the like, comment and share buttons and the bottom holds your caption.
X (Twitter)
X doesn't publish one fixed pixel size for posts. A 16:9 image at 1600 x 900 or 1200 x 675 is the widely used standard and displays without awkward cropping. Square (1080 x 1080) and portrait (1080 x 1350) images also work for single-photo posts. In multi-image posts, X crops each image into a grid tile, so keep the subject centred.
Facebook and link previews
When someone shares your blog post or website on Facebook, the preview image comes from your page's Open Graph tag, not from the post itself. Meta's developer guidance on sharing images recommends 1200 x 630 pixels for the best display on high-resolution screens, with 600 x 315 as a minimum. The same 1.91:1 image works well on LinkedIn (1200 x 627) and in X link cards. On a Blogger site, the first image in your post usually becomes the preview, which is one reason we cover image sizing in how we built the Botvana Blogger theme.
Pins are vertical. A 2:3 ratio at 1000 x 1500 is the standard pin shape; much taller pins may be cut off in the feed.
How to resize an image for any platform (free)
Here's how to get exact sizes with the free Botvana Image Resizer. It processes images on your device, so nothing is uploaded.
- Choose an image (JPG, PNG or WebP).
- Pick a preset: Instagram post (1080 x 1080), Instagram portrait (1080 x 1350), Instagram/TikTok story (1080 x 1920), YouTube thumbnail (1280 x 720), Facebook/link preview (1200 x 630), LinkedIn post (1200 x 627), X post (1600 x 900) or Pinterest pin (1000 x 1500). Or type a custom width and height.
- Choose a mode. Crop to fill covers the whole frame (best for photos). Fit with background places the whole image on a colour of your choice, which is ideal for logos, charts and screenshots you don't want cropped.
- Pick a format. JPG for photos, PNG for graphics with text, WebP for the smallest files on websites.
- Download and upload to the platform.
If the file is still large, run it through the Image Compressor. Not sure what ratio a custom size works out to? The Aspect Ratio Calculator will tell you.
Common image mistakes to avoid
- Uploading straight from a phone camera. A 4000-pixel-wide photo gets scaled down by the platform anyway, often with worse compression than if you'd resized it yourself.
- Stretching instead of cropping. Always keep the aspect ratio locked unless you are deliberately using a background fill.
- Text near the edges. Leave a margin of about 10% on every side for platform overlays and cropping.
- Tiny text. If you can't read it on your phone at arm's length, nobody else will either.
- One image for every platform. Make at least three versions of important visuals: vertical 9:16, portrait 4:5 and landscape 16:9 or 1.91:1.
Related: Need to tweak a design after resizing it? Our Canva Brush guide shows how to edit designs with AI prompts.
Sources and further reading
- Image resolution on Instagram (Instagram Help Center)
- Add custom thumbnails on YouTube (Google Help)
- Images for link sharing (webmaster guide) (Meta for Developers)
FAQ
What is the best image size for Instagram in 2026?
1080 x 1350 pixels (4:5) for portrait feed posts, 1080 x 1080 for square posts and 1080 x 1920 (9:16) for Stories and Reels. Instagram stores photos at up to 1080 pixels wide.
What size is a YouTube thumbnail?
Use a 16:9 image. 1280 x 720 works, but YouTube now recommends uploading as large as possible, up to 3840 x 2160, with a minimum width of 640 pixels.
What image size works on every social platform?
None fits all perfectly. A 1080 x 1350 (4:5) image works well on Instagram, Facebook and X feeds, but you'll still want 9:16 for Stories and TikTok and 16:9 for YouTube.
What size should a link preview image be?
1200 x 630 pixels (1.91:1), as Meta recommends for Facebook sharing. The same image works for LinkedIn and X link cards.
Will resizing an image reduce its quality?
Making an image smaller keeps it sharp. Making a small image bigger (upscaling) makes it blurry, so always start from the largest original you have.
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