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Sunset photo printed in different social media sizes with a tape measure and glass marbles

Social media image sizes: a simple cheat sheet

Writer: juliehume
juliehume
1 day ago
7 min read

Last checked 27 Oct 2026


I can never remember social media image sizes. Every time I make a banner or a thumbnail I end up googling it and finding different answers on every site. So I've made myself a cheat sheet, and you're welcome to borrow it.


Here's what pushed me over the edge. For years everyone (me included) said a YouTube thumbnail should be 1280 x 720. YouTube's own help page now recommends 3840 x 2160. That's three times the width and height, and loads of guides out there haven't caught up. If the "official" number can quietly change like that, it's worth having one page you know was checked recently, so I'll keep this one up to date.


Marketing yourself is one of the challenges of being self-employed that nobody warns you about. You're the accountant, the receptionist, the social media manager and the graphic designer all at once, and nobody gives you a style guide. This won't make you a designer, but it will stop your face getting cropped in half.


Social media image sizes at a glance


All sizes are in pixels, width x height. Where a figure isn't on the platform's own help pages I've marked it with ¹ so you know it's the number most guides use rather than gospel.


Platform

Image

Size (px)

Aspect ratio

Good to know

Instagram

Post, portrait

1080 x 1350

4:5

My safe pick. Instagram now allows up to 1080 x 1440 (3:4)

Instagram

Post, square

1080 x 1080

1:1

The classic

Instagram

Post, landscape

1080 x 566

1.91:1

Widest Instagram allows

Instagram

Story or Reel

1080 x 1920 ¹

9:16

Meta's ads guide suggests 1440 x 2560; max 30 MB

Instagram

Profile photo

320 x 320 ¹

1:1

Shows as a small circle

YouTube

Video thumbnail

3840 x 2160

16:9

Was 1280 x 720. Minimum 640 wide; 2 MB on mobile, 50 MB on desktop

YouTube

Shorts thumbnail

2160 x 3840

9:16


YouTube

Channel banner

2560 x 1440

16:9

Minimum 2048 x 1152. Keep text inside the middle 1235 x 338. Max 6 MB

YouTube

Profile picture

800 x 800 ¹

1:1

Displays at just 98 x 98

LinkedIn

Profile photo

400 x 400

1:1

Max 8 MB

LinkedIn

Banner (background photo)

1584 x 396

4:1

Under 8 MB

LinkedIn

Company page logo

400 x 400

1:1

Max 3 MB

LinkedIn

Company page cover

1512 x 256 ²

about 6:1

Max 3 MB

LinkedIn

Link preview image

1200 x 627

1.91:1


LinkedIn

Single image post

1200 x 1200

1:1

720 x 900 (4:5) also works. From LinkedIn's ad specs

Facebook

Page profile picture

320 x 320

1:1

Cropped to a circle

Facebook

Page cover photo

851 x 315

about 2.7:1

Loads fastest as an sRGB JPG under 100 KB

Facebook

Link preview image

1200 x 630

1.91:1

Max 8 MB

Facebook

Feed post

1080 x 1350 ¹

4:5

Meta's ads guide suggests 1440 x 1800

Facebook

Story

1080 x 1920 ¹

9:16

Meta's ads guide suggests 1440 x 2560

X (Twitter)

Profile photo

400 x 400

1:1

Max 2 MB

X (Twitter)

Header

1500 x 500

3:1


X (Twitter)

In-post photo

1600 x 900 ¹

16:9


X (Twitter)

Link card image

1200 x 628 ¹

1.91:1


TikTok

Photo post or video

1080 x 1920 ¹

9:16

TikTok's developer docs cap photos at 1080p and 20 MB

TikTok

Profile photo

200 x 200 ¹

1:1

TikTok only gives a 20 x 20 minimum

Pinterest

Standard Pin

1000 x 1500

2:3

Taller Pins may get cut off. Max 20 MB on desktop

Pinterest

Profile cover

800 x 450 (minimum)

16:9


Pinterest

Profile picture

165 x 165 ¹

1:1


Pinterest

Board cover

600 x 600 ¹

1:1


Google Business Profile

Photos

720 x 720

1:1

Minimum 250 x 250. JPG or PNG between 10 KB and 5 MB


¹ Not published on the platform's own help pages. This is the figure most design guides use, and it works, but treat it as a sensible default rather than a rule.


² LinkedIn's help centre says 1512 x 256. Some guides say 4200 x 700, which is roughly the same shape, just bigger.


A quick word on file size. Those MB limits are the most a platform will accept, not a target. Every platform squashes your upload anyway, and a smaller file looks just as good and uploads faster. I built a little tool to reduce image size in KB (it's free, no sign-up), and it has a rename field too, so "IMG_4471.jpg" can become "julie-hume-linkedin-banner.jpg" before it goes anywhere.


Social media image sizes by platform


Instagram post size


Go for 1080 x 1350 (4:5). It takes up more of the feed than a square, and it's within what Instagram officially supports, which is anything from 1.91:1 landscape to 3:4 portrait at 1080 pixels wide. Instagram added the taller 3:4 shape (1080 x 1440) fairly recently, so if you've got lots of old 4:5 posts, they're still absolutely fine.


Instagram story size


Stories and Reels are 9:16, full screen. 1080 x 1920 is the size everyone uses. Meta's own ads guide now recommends 1440 x 2560, which is the same shape at a higher resolution. Keep words and logos away from the top and bottom, because the profile icon and reply box sit there.


YouTube thumbnail size


This is the one that changed. YouTube now recommends 3840 x 2160, up from the old 1280 x 720, with a 2 MB limit if you upload from your phone and 50 MB from a computer. Same 16:9 shape though, so your old templates aren't wasted; just export them bigger.


YouTube banner size


Upload at 2560 x 1440, but only the middle strip (1235 x 338) shows on every device. Put your name and anything important in there and treat the rest as background.


LinkedIn banner size


1584 x 396 for your personal profile. On a phone your profile photo covers the bottom left, so keep text to the right. For a company page cover, LinkedIn says 1512 x 256.


Facebook cover photo size


851 x 315 for a Page, saved as a JPG under 100 KB for quick loading. It's cropped differently on phones and computers, so keep the important bits central.


X (Twitter) header size


1500 x 500, and yes, people still search for "Twitter header size". Your profile photo overlaps the bottom left corner.


TikTok photo size


TikTok barely publishes image sizes. 1080 x 1920 (9:16) is the safe bet, and its developer docs cap photos at 1080p anyway.


Pinterest pin size


1000 x 1500, a 2:3 portrait. Pinterest may cut off anything much taller.


Remove location data from photos before you post


Here's the bit I actually care about most. Most phone photos carry hidden data called EXIF metadata. It can include the date, the time, the phone model and, if location was switched on, the exact GPS spot the photo was taken. Some platforms strip it when you upload. Plenty of other places (email attachments, shared folders, some websites, some messaging apps) don't always do it.


Researchers have been showing for over a decade how photo location data can be pieced together with other public information to work out where someone lives, and when they're away from home. So I've built a free tool to remove location data from photos, no sign-up needed. Choose your photo and the tool cleans it right there in your browser. It never gets sent to me or saved anywhere.


And while we're here, a gentle one. Think twice before posting photos of your kids, especially publicly. I'm not going to tell anyone how to parent. But a school logo on a jumper, a street sign in the background, a car number plate or a geotag can say more than you meant to share. Internet Matters suggests turning off location tagging and steering clear of school uniforms or house numbers in shots. The NSPCC has similar advice about not sharing identifying details alongside children's photos. And the ICO, the UK's data protection regulator, says that once a photo goes on a public account rather than a private one for friends and family, you need to think about whether the people in it would expect it to be used that way, and take extra care with children.


None of that means never posting. It just means a quick look before you hit share.


FAQ


What size should images be for social media?


There isn't one size, sadly. If you want a single shape that works almost everywhere, a 1080 x 1350 (4:5) portrait does nicely in feeds, and 1080 x 1920 (9:16) covers Stories, Reels, Shorts and TikTok. For banners and covers, check the table above, because they're all different.


What are the recommended social media image sizes for 2026?


The table above has them, checked on 27 Oct 2026. The big change this year is the YouTube thumbnail, now 3840 x 2160 rather than 1280 x 720. Instagram's newer 3:4 portrait option is worth knowing about too.


What is the 5:3:2 rule for social media posts?


It's a content mix rule of thumb, not an image size rule, and it isn't an official platform guideline. For every ten posts, roughly five share other people's useful content and three are your own content. The remaining two are something personal and human. I like it as a reminder that not everything has to be a sales pitch.


What social media uses 1920x1080?


1920 x 1080 is standard 16:9 landscape HD, so it's the go-to for YouTube videos and works for landscape posts on X and LinkedIn. Flip it to 1080 x 1920 and you've got the vertical size for Stories, Reels, Shorts and TikTok.


Sources


Everything without a ¹ comes from the platform's own pages, checked on 27 Oct 2026:



That's a wrap


I'll keep this page updated whenever a platform moves the goalposts, so bookmark it and save yourself the googling. If you're wondering why I bother making free little tools like these, I wrote about why I built Use Your Marbles. And there are more free tools for freelancers in the Toybox.


Use them, don't lose them!


Julie

 
 
 

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