The Comprehensive Guide to Social Media Image Sizes
The Comprehensive Guide to Social Media Image Sizes
Looking for a guide on social media image sizes? Whether you’re running a brand promotion, video, news update, or even a meme, visual content rules the social media landscape. What has become so important is effectively conveying your brand on social media through images and video.
In this quick-scroll world of social media, the visual face of your brand is often the first thing your audience sees and possibly the one thing they remember. It’s hard to cut and paste an image and reuse it across your social networks unless you have a reliable digital marketing team to manage your social media.
Social Media Image Sizes Per Network
Use these links to jump to the specific social media image sizes you need:
Facebook Social Media Image Sizes
With 1.18 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the world’s largest social network. One bad image choice could spell the difference in attracting and engaging with this huge user base and being completely ignored.
One thing to remember when choosing your photos is that there is a difference between how things will display on your timeline and how things will display in a user’s newsfeed. Make sure that you choose dimensions based on where you want most viewers to see your image.
Profile Picture: 180 x 180 (Displays 170 x 170 on Desktop)
Say cheese: this is going to be the photo representing you or your brand on Facebook. This square photo appears on your timeline layered over your cover photo. Your profile picture will also appear when you post to other walls, comment on posts, or when your profile shows up in search results.
Image Guidelines
- Must be at least 180 x 180 pixels.
- The photo will appear on-page as 170 x 170 pixels on a desktop and 128 x 128 on smartphones.
- Profile pictures are 16 pixels from the left and 176 pixels from your desktop’s top of your cover photo.
- Profile pictures are 24 pixels from the left, 24 pixels from the bottom, and 196 pixels from the top of your cover photo on smartphones.
- Photo thumbnail will appear throughout Facebook at 32 x 32 pixels.
Business Page Profile Picture: 180 x 180 (Displays 170 x 170 on Desktop)
Facebook recently changed its Profile image for Business Pages to appear on the left side of the screen. The new-look helps Facebook Business Pages stand out among personal accounts. However, the dimensions are the same, but the photo appears on the page slightly different.
Image Guidelines
- Must be at least 180 x 180 pixels.
- The photo will appear on-page as 170 x 170 pixels on desktop, 128 x 128 on smartphones, and 36 x 36 on most feature phones.
- Photo thumbnail will appear throughout Facebook at 32 x 32 pixels.
- Business Page images crop to fit a square.
Cover Photo: 820 x 312
Your Facebook cover photo will only appear on your Facebook timeline, but it is a lot bigger than the profile picture, which gives you more freedom to choose something creative. Your profile picture might be a good choice for a picture of you or a brand logo. Use this space to post something that speaks more toward you as an individual or as a brand.
Image Guidelines
- Appear on page 820 x 312 pixels. Anything less will stretch.
- Minimum size of 400 x 150 pixels.
- Displays at 820 x 312 pixels on a desktop and 640 x 360 pixels on smartphones.
- For best results, upload an sRGB JPG file less than 100 KB.
- Images with a logo or text may be best as a PNG file.
- Business Page dimensions are the same as personal accounts.
Shared Image: 1,200 x 630
A shared image is one of the most common forms of sharing on Facebook. These images will always appear on your timeline, and ideally, they will show up in most of your followers’ News Feeds — though, with the decrease in organic reach, it’s unlikely that everyone will see your post. The more people engage with your post, the more likely it is that the rest of your followers and their followers will see that activity.
Image Guidelines
- Recommended upload size of 1,200 x 630 pixels.
- Will appear in feed at a max width of 470 pixels (will scale to a max of 1:1).
- Will appear on page at a max width of 504 pixels (will scale to a max of 1:1).
Shared Link: 1200 x 628
Another great tool in your Facebook belt is the ability to share a link. It’s very similar to posting a shared image, but it gives you even more fields to use. You can choose to create a shared link with a small square image to the left and text on the right or with a larger rectangular image on top with text underneath.
Image Guidelines
- Recommended upload size of 1,200 x 628 pixels.
- Square Photo: Minimum 154 x 154px in feed.
- Square Photo: Minimum 116 x 116 on-page.
- Rectangular Photo: Minimum 470 x 246 pixels in feed.
- Rectangular Photo: Minimum 484 x 252 on-page.
- Facebook will scale photos under the minimum dimensions. For better results, increase image resolution at the same scale as the minimum size.
Event Image: 1920 x 1005 (Recommended)
Facebook Events help capture the attention of users and cut through the noise on Facebook. Reminders send to your audience, so having a good space with an even better image is important. Make sure you have the right dimensions down for a Facebook Event cover photo.
Image Guidelines
- Facebook will scale down to minimum dimensions: 470 × 174.
- Shows in feed: 470 × 174.
Fundraiser image: 800 x 300 (recommended)
Facebook has added the ability to create a fundraiser for charitable organizations or personal causes. The cover photo for these fundraisers slightly varies from a typical Facebook cover photo, with a minimum size of 400 x 150. However, the best experience across many display types will come from a higher resolution image.
Looking for Facebook ad sizes?
Facebook ad formatting can be even more complex than organic posts. You can find more information on Facebook image sizes at the Facebook Help Center.
Twitter Social Media Image Sizes
Don’t let its logo fool you–Twitter is not just for the birds. In fact, with 313 million monthly active users, Twitter is one of the social media networks that your customers will most often use to discuss your brand. And recently, Twitter made some big changes to its overall layout.
Profile Photo: 400 x 400 (Displays 200 x 200)
Your Twitter profile photo is the main image that represents you or your brand across the network. It will be seen across the site in many places by many people, making sure it’s of the highest quality. Here are the places your profile photo will be visible on the site.
- On Your Page: The largest display of your profile picture is on your homepage.
- In-Stream: A smaller version of your profile picture appears in a follower’s Twitter stream every time you Tweet. It also appears in the stream of your followers’ followers every time you get a retweet.
- Who to Follow: Your profile picture will appear in the “Who to follow” box. This box is located directly to the right of your Twitter stream. Choose a recognizable image here.
Image Guidelines
- Square Image recommended 400 x 400 pixels.
- Maximum file size 5 MB.
- Image types include JPG, GIF, or PNG.
Header Photo: 1,500 x 500
Your header photo is the image that spans the top of your Twitter profile page. It’s quite a bit larger than your profile photo, so make sure to save it at the highest resolution possible. Because you have more room to be creative with this picture, and it will likely be the first thing your visitors see, make it something captivating.
Image Guidelines
- Recommended 1,500 x 500 pixels.
- Maximum file size of 5 MB.
- Image types include JPG, GIF, or PNG.
In-Stream Photos and Shared Links
Twitter users can attach photos to any of their Tweets. Depending on whether you’re attaching one photo, multiple, or sharing a link, the way photos crop and display in-stream will vary slightly.
Fortunately, in 2021, Twitter made waves with #Twittercropisgone, eliminating the sometimes-unfavorable automated cropping for vertical images that had often become the subject of memes and in-jokes among users of the platform. Extremely wide or tall images with unusual dimensions may still get cropped. Still, for most images in standard 4:3 or 16:9 dimensions (or close to them), you won’t have to worry as much about centering subjects around automated cropping.
The following are some best practices to get an optimal result.
Recommended sizes for images by types of Tweets:
- Image from a Tweet with shared link: 1200 x 628 pixels
- Tweet sharing a single image: 1200 x 675 pixels (recommended, but most images with standard aspect ratios will not crop)
- If you’re sharing two images: 700 x 800 pixels (both images)
- For a Tweet sharing three images:
- Left image: 700 x 800 pixels
- Right images: 1200 x 686 pixels
- Tweet sharing four images: 1200 x 600 pixels (per image)
- Four is the maximum number of images available on one Tweet
- Recommended aspect ratio is 16:9.
- Can edit images if tweeting from Twitter iOS or Android app.
- Maximum file size of 5 MB for photos, 5 MB for animated GIFs on mobile, and 15 MB on the web.
Find more information on in-stream photos at the Twitter Help Center.
Instagram Social Media Image Sizes
Instagram is one of the most popular photo-sharing social networks. It’s the best place to showcase your visual creativity, even down to making a compelling grid out of the way your photos’ thumbnails display in sequence.
Profile Picture: 110 x 110
Instagram relies on visuals, which should indicate how important it is to follow these image size guidelines. Ensure your profile image is recognizable so users can find you even easier through search or explore.
Image Guidelines
- Appear on your profile at 110 x 110 pixels.
- Square photo: make sure to maintain an aspect ratio of 1:1.
Photo Thumbnails: 161 x 161
When someone goes to your page, they’ll be present with all of your content arranged in rows of thumbnails. These smaller renditions of your images and videos will expand when clicked and include a place for people to comment.
Image Guidelines
- The thumbnails will appear on the page at 161 x 161 pixels.
- Square photo: make sure to maintain an aspect ratio of 1:1 ratio.
Photo Size: 1080 x 1080
Instagram is all about the images and videos presented in your followers’ feed. Instagram higher resolution photos when taken from the native application. If you decided to upload a photo or video from any other device, the resolution would be much lower.
Image Guidelines
- The size of Instagram images has been increased to 1080 x 1080 pixels.
- Instagram still scales these photos down to 612 x 612 pixels.
- Appear in feed at 510 x 510 pixels.
- Square or rectangle photos: make sure to maintain an aspect ratio between 1:1 or 1.91:1.
- For portrait (4:5) photos, recommended dimensions are 1080 x 1350 pixels.
Instagram Stories: 1080 x 1920
With more than 300 million daily users, Instagram Stories are a popular source of visuals on the app. There are both video and image options available to publish. Even though these Stories only last 24 hours, it’s still worthwhile to customize your content.
Image Guidelines
- Recommended resolution is 1080 x 1920.
- The minimum resolution is 600 x 1067.
- The aspect ratio is 9:16.
For those looking for more info on Instagram ad sizes, including video specs, check out this guide!
LinkedIn Social Media Image Sizes
With 467 million registered users, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network. Where other social networks may be good drivers of traffic and customers, LinkedIn is a great place for you to source great employees and connect with other industry leaders.
Personal Profile Image: 300 x 300 (Recommended)
LinkedIn started using a new layout for personal profiles and kept the box logo with company pages (more on that below). However, the personal profile dimensions for LinkedIn are very straightforward. This main image represents you on your profile. So anytime someone takes a look at your profile for some quick info, this is the main image representing you. It’s important to get the size right.
Image Guidelines
- Minimum 300 x 300 pixels
- Maximum file size 10MB.
- Image types include JPG, GIF, or PNG.
Personal Background Image: 1584 x 396
LinkedIn’s background image is a newer feature for your profile. It’s a little trickier to find something that fits that space well, but your profile will look great if you get it right.
Image Guidelines
- Recommended 1584 x 396 pixels.
- Maximum size of 4MB.
- Image types include JPG, PNG, or GIF.
Company Logo Image: 300 x 300
One of the two brand logos that you should be uploading to LinkedIn is the standard company logo. This logo is the bigger of the two and will show up right next to your brand name on your LinkedIn homepage. This image also appears in the section called “Companies you may want to follow.” The more enticing the photo, the more likely you’ll gain followers.
- Recommended 300 x 300 pixels.
- Minimum 300 x 300 pixels.
- Maximum 4MB (Square layout).
- Image types include PNG, JPG, or GIF.
Company Cover Image: 1128 x 191 (recommended)
Unlike the personal background image, the company or standard business background image covers the entire top of the page. The image appears much larger than the personal dimensions, giving businesses a bit more space.
Image Guidelines
- Recommended size 1128 x 191.
- Maximum file size of 4MB.
- Image types include PNG, JPG, or GIF.
Shared Image or Link: 1200 x 627 (Recommended)
This size works for LinkedIn posts that share a photo or a link with an image to a blog post or article to your company page’s feed.
Image Guidelines
- The recommended size for images or links: 1200 x 627 pixels based on mobile scaling
- Image types include JPNG, JPG, or GIF.
Life Tab – Main Image & Company Photos
The life tab on LinkedIn company pages lets you provide a more in-depth look at the day-to-day experience of your company’s employees. Currently, the two types of images you can upload here are the main image, which serves as a hero and highlight to your page, and the horizontal scrolling gallery of other company photos beneath.
Image Guidelines
- The recommended size for the main image: 1128 x 376
- The recommended size for company photos: 900 x 600
- Image types include JPNG, JPG, or GIF.
- The life tab only appears on the mobile app and not the mobile web version of LinkedIn so that that exact display sizes will vary by device. Upload the recommended size for the best experience.
Find more information in the LinkedIn Help Center.
Pinterest Social Media Image Sizes
Pinterest can be an amazing social tool for driving referral traffic to your site. This traffic is mostly because 90% of Pinterest pages are external links.
So you need to make sure you’re optimizing your Pinterest page regularly and using proper image sizes for your boards and pins.
Profile Picture: 165 x 165
When setting up your Pinterest account, you have the option to do so using Facebook, Twitter, or email. If you choose Facebook or Twitter, Pinterest will pull in the profile image you have set there.
If you’re using email or would prefer to use a different photo, you can do that too: just upload a square photograph (the larger, the better), and Pinterest will resize it to fit. Like other social sites, your profile picture on Pinterest should closely tie to you or your brand.
Image Guidelines
- Recommended size: 165 x 165 pixels
- Maximum 10 MB.
- Image types include JPG and PNG for profile pictures.
Pin Sizes
When adding a pin to your board, it’s important to remember that Pinterest limits the image’s width but not the length. This pin allows you to add a photo that’s square or one that will scale to be even taller. Just remember to make sure you’re creating large images because they add more value, not just because you can.
Image Guidelines
- We recommended using an image aspect ratio of 2:3 to 1:3.5
- Expanded pins have a minimum width of 600 pixels, so to maintain an aspect ratio, we recommend 900 px.
Board Display
Creating boards is one of the most important things that you can do on Pinterest. It’s important to make sure you’re using an image that fits the size criteria perfectly. Not only is it important to choose a photo that is enticing to your audience, but it’s also important to choose one that’s relevant to that particular board.
Image Guidelines
- 222 x 150 pixels (large thumbnail)
- 55 x 55 (smaller thumbnail)
Find more information in the Pinterest Help Center.
YouTube Social Media Image Sizes
YouTube has more than 1 billion unique users every month and is available on hundreds of millions of devices. More than 1 million brands have already realized that YouTube is a great opportunity to reach their fan base.
Channel Profile Image: 800 x 800
YouTube allows you to select different profile image borders, but the dimensions stay the same. Ensure your YouTube has a profile image set up before you select your border.
Image Guidelines:
- Recommended 800 x 800 pixels.
- Image types: JPG, GIF, BMP, or PNG.
Channel Cover Photo: 2,048 x 1,152
Spice up your YouTube channel with some channel art. When users click through your YouTube videos to your channel, some appealing images could entice them to stay on your page longer and watch more of your videos.
Image Guidelines:
- Recommended 2560 x 1440 pixels.
- Safe area for mobile and web (without text and logo cropping) 1546 x 423 pixels.
- Maximum file size: 4MB.
- Image types: JPG, GIF, BMP, or PNG.
Across Different Devices
Users can stream YouTube on many different platforms and devices, so you must review your creative across devices and confirm that the most important parts of your image, such as text or logos, are displaying legibly in the ‘safe zone’ noted above.
Find more information in the YouTube Help Center.
Video Uploads: 1280 x 720 (Minimum HD)
Uploading your content to YouTube is one of the most important parts of establishing your presence on the site. Videos can tell viewers something about you as a person, or they could show off something that your business might offer.
Video Guidelines
- Videos must maintain a 16:9 aspect ratio. Smaller videos such as 4:3 will pillarbox to fit.
Google My Business Social Media Image Sizes
Google My Business has become an essential platform for businesses with local, brick-and-mortar presences to gain visibility and conduct their review management strategy.
Types of Images for Google My Business:
- Logo: Your recognizable logo image. It may not be available for all types of businesses–see Google guidelines for more detail.
- Cover photo: A photo of your business that will typically be the first one visible. Choose a photo that gives the best overall representation of your place of business for this photo.
- Business photo: You can use your other business photos to highlight different elements of your business or offices and help show off what local visiting customers should look for when they stop by.
Google’s official guidelines recommend the below specs for the best appearance on the platform for all three types of images.
Image Guidelines:
- Recommended resolution: 720 x 720 pixels
- Minimum resolution:250 x 250 pixels
- File size maximum: 5 MB
- Format: JPG or PNG.
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About Worcester Interactive
Worcester Interactive is a full-service digital marketing firm in Worcester, MA, specializing in responsive web design, social media marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and digital advertising. We build websites and create online marketing campaigns for businesses looking to grow their online presence. We love taking on challenging projects that require full-on content strategy, thoughtful design, demanding development, and ongoing, interactive web marketing.
