2021 Social Media Image Dimensions Guide for Facebook, Instagram, and More

It happens fairly often that users upload images to Facebook, Instagram, or one of the other social media platforms, only to discover that the image is all stretched out and distorted from its original appearance. In most cases, this happens because the image was probably too small, or at least the wrong size for display on that particular platform.Each of the social media platforms is a little different in the way it represents images, and that means you should learn what the recommended dimensions are when uploading images to any of those platforms. It would also be a good idea to familiarize yourself with some of the terms related to image uploading, for instance, aspect ratio, which refers to the height and width of an image. Continue reading below to find out what the recommended aspect ratios are for each of the major platforms.

Facebook image dimensions

There are several different areas you need to be concerned about on Facebook, the first of which is your Profile Image. This profile photo will be formatted as a circle having a minimum size of 180 pixels X 180 pixels. It will be displayed as an image which is 170 pixels X 170 pixels on any desktop computer, and on smartphones, it will be displayed as 128 pixels X 128 pixels.

Your Facebook Cover Image is the one which is displayed at the top of the page behind your profile photo, and the minimum size for this is 400 pixels X 150 pixels, but because of the manner in which it's displayed, you'll be better off to upload a photo sized at 820 pixels X 360 pixels. You should also be aware that your profile photo will always be on top of the cover photo, so it will be necessary to plan for this, or at least to choose an image that is compatible with the placement of your profile photo. A Shared Image on Facebook is one of the most common types of images and should be sized at 1200 pixels X 630 pixels. With a Facebook Shared Link Image, you'll be able to choose how you'd like your image to be displayed. Some of the options you include displaying a square photo with the image on the left and text on the right or a rectangle photo with the image on top and the text below. Both options will ultimately be scaled down when displayed, but to maintain optimal image resolution, you should upload a photo sized at 1200 pixels X 630 pixels. For a Facebook Highlighted Image, you should always upload images sized at 1200 pixels X 717 pixels, although they will be displayed at 843 pixels X 504 pixels. These are the images that are generally used for celebrations or for major announcements. Event images are recommended to upload at 1920 pixels x 1080 pixels, but will be sized down to 470 pixels x 174 pixels.

Recommended Facebook image sizes

• Profile photo: 180 x 180 px
• Cover image: 820 x 360 px
• Feed post image & link image: 1200 x 630 px
• Highlighted image: 1200 x 717
• Event image: 1920 x 1080 px

Instagram image dimensions

Up until very recently, Instagram was primarily known for using square images, but now they are including other sizing options as well. You can now post images that are portrait, landscape, or square, depending on the most beneficial display option. Your Instagram Profile Image should be uploaded at 180 pixels X 180 pixels, although it will actually be displayed at 110 pixels X 110 pixels. Images in your Instagram feed will always be displayed at the best resolution possible, and the maximum resolution is 1080 pixels wide. This means that for a square image, you should upload photos sized at 1080 pixels X 1080 pixels, for portrait photos you should upload 1080 pixels X 1350 pixels, and for landscape photos, you should upload photos sized at 1080 pixels X 608 pixels. Images used in your Instagram Stories are recommended to be sized at 1080 pixels X 1920 pixels, which results in an aspect ratio of 9:16. Whenever you're uploading a video to Instagram, the recommended resolution would be that same 9:16 aspect ratio for vertical videos. For videos that are horizontal in presentation, the recommended aspect ratio is 16:9, and the sizing would then be 1920 pixels X 1080 pixels.

Recommended Instagram image sizes

• Profile photo: 180 x 180 px
• Square feed post image or video: 1080 x 1080 px
• Landscape feed post height: 608 px
• Portrait feed post height: 1350 px
• Instagram Stories image or video: 1080 x 1920 px (9:16 aspect ratio)

Twitter image dimensions

You might think that Twitter is primarily used for short tweets, but there are a great many photos uploaded to the platform. If you want them displayed optimally, you should use the following guidelines.

Your Twitter Profile Image should be uploaded at 400 pixels X 400 pixels, although it will actually be displayed at 200 pixels X 200 pixels. This is a photo which will be displayed in-stream whenever you make a tweet, as well as the photo which is used in the Who To Follow suggestion box.The photo from your Twitter Header Image is very similar to your Facebook Cover Photo, in that it spans the top area of your Profile. The optimal upload size for this image is 1500 pixels X 500 pixels. In-stream photos on Twitter are best represented with an aspect ratio of 16:9, with a minimum size of 600 pixels X 335 pixels, and an ideal size of 1200 pixels X 675 pixels.It will be possible for you to load as many as four images at once for any in-stream tweet, but be advised that the image previews will be changed in accordance with the number of images you upload. As an example when you're uploading two images, they would appear next to each other with 7:8 ratios. When you upload three images, they would appear with a 7:8 ratio on the left side, accompanied by two vertically stacked 4:7 ratio images on the right side. When you upload four images, all four of these will appear in a 2X2 grid, and all will have 2:1 ratios.

Recommended Twitter image sizes

• Profile photo: 400 x 400 px
• Header image: 1500 x 500 px
• Feed post image: 1200 X 675 px (16:9 aspect ratio)

Pinterest image dimensions

The ideal upload size for your Pinterest Profile Image is 600 pixels X 600 pixels, although it will be scaled down in presentation to 180 pixels X 180 pixels. The recommended upload size for Pinterest Board Cover Photos is 600 pixels X 600 pixels, since the board cover frame is square and has a 1:1 aspect ratio.The standard pin size on Pinterest is recommended to have a 2:3 aspect ratio, with sizing ideal at 1000 pixels X 1500 pixels. Anything larger than this may be cropped off or distorted. When uploading Standard Width Video to Pinterest, it's recommended to use videos that are either square and have a 1:1 aspect ratio, or which are vertical and have either a 2:3 aspect ratio or a 9:16 aspect ratio. The recommended sizing for these videos is 1080 pixels X 1080 pixels or 1080 pixels X 1920 pixels.

Recommended Pinterest image sizes

• Profile photo: 600 x 600 px
• Board cover image: 600 x 600 px
• Pinned image: 1000 x 1500 px (2:3 aspect ratio)
• Pinned video: 1080 x 1080 px or 1080 x 1920 px