Best Image Sizes for Social Media (and How to Prepare Them)
2026-06-28
Every platform crops and re-compresses what you upload. Start from the right shape and size and your images look crisp and load fast; ignore it and they get squished, cropped awkwardly, or softened. Here's a practical reference, with the aspect ratios that matter most.
Think in ratios, not just pixels
Platforms care most about aspect ratio — the shape — because they scale your image to fit. Get the ratio right and the exact pixels matter less (within reason). The three you'll use most: 1:1 square for avatars and feed posts, 4:5 or 3:4 vertical for feeds that favor tall images, and 9:16 for full-screen stories and short video covers. Landscape 16:9 suits video thumbnails and banners.
Quick reference
Profile avatar: 1:1, around 400×400 px is plenty since platforms downscale it. Feed post: 1:1 (1080×1080) or 4:5 (1080×1350) takes the most space. Story / Reel / Short cover: 9:16 (1080×1920). YouTube thumbnail / cover banner: 16:9 (1280×720). Xiaohongshu (RED): vertical 3:4, 1080×1440 fills the feed best.
How to prepare an image
Crop to the target ratio first so nothing important gets cut by the platform's auto-crop. Our avatar & aspect crop tool locks ratios like 1:1 and 16:9 for you, and gives a circle mask for round avatars; for freeform trimming use the crop tool. If you need exact pixel dimensions, follow up with resize.
Always compress last
Since platforms re-compress uploads anyway, giving them a clean, right-sized, compressed file means the version viewers actually see stays sharper. For platform-specific presets, try our Xiaohongshu compressor. Crop → resize → compress, in that order, and your images will look their best everywhere — all done privately in your browser.