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The Ultimate Guide to Social Media Image Sizes

Sara Ensan
Written By
Sara Ensan
Published On
May 09, 2022
Image with a desktop window showing a cover and profile photo.

Do you always find yourself having to search for the newest image dimensions when making a banner or post for your social media accounts? Well, now all you have to do is bookmark this page and your searching days will be over! 

Keep reading for a comprehensive list of all of social media’s optimal image dimensions and explore the best practices to consider when making these images. In this blog, we cover the following platforms:

Before getting started please note that whenever dimensions are provided, they are written as width x height, and they are all measured in pixels.

Safe Zones

Whenever you upload a cover photo or banner to a social account, you run the risk of it getting cropped from the sides when you view it on different devices or different sized browser windows. To avoid this problem, it’s always best practice to keep all of the most important text or elements in the safe zone.

What is a safe zone? The safe zone in the case of social media banners is where the desktop and mobile dimensions cross over. For example, the dimensions of a Facebook profile cover photo on desktop are 820px x 312px, while on mobile they are 640px x 360px, so it would be best practice to design a banner that is 820px x 360px (the two largest dimensions) with a safe zone of 640px x312px (the two smallest dimensions). If none of that made sense, check out the image below!

Diagram showing the safe zone relative to a desktop and mobile banner.

Another consideration to keep in mind when designing banners specifically is that there is typically a profile photo overlapping the banner in the bottom left corner. This just means that you should make sure nothing important is placed in that general area either.

Image Dimensions for Facebook

Facebook is probably the most complicated platform to make graphics for on this list because every type of page from an Event page to a Group page has different dimensions for its cover photo both on desktop and mobile, so always make sure you are using the right one to avoid unwanted stretching or cropping!

No matter what type of page you have on Facebook, the profile photo is 180 x 180px, and make sure to keep in mind that while the photo will be displayed as a square on your page itself, on posts, ads and everywhere else, it will be cropped into a circle.

As mentioned above, cover photo dimensions will vary depending on they type of page, see below:

If you want to take your Facebook page a step further, learn how to make and upload a cover video!

The last set of graphics you might encounter on Facebook is post images. When an image is posted on Facebook, it displays at 700 x 700px on your feed, while an image from a link will display at 1200 x 628px. For Facebook Ads, Facebook has a whole guide for optimal technical requirements here.

A couple of final considerations worth noting when making Facebook graphics are that they load fastest as JPG files that are less than 100 KB. That being said, if there is text or a logo on the graphic, a PNG file would be best for display.

Diagrams of Facebook image dimensions.

Image Dimensions for LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a much simpler platform when it comes to types of pages and safe zones. In terms of types of pages, there are only two: a personal profile and a company page, each with their own sized banner images. As for safe zones, for LinkedIn, you don’t need to worry about them because images will display in the same proportions on mobile as they do on desktop! 

Let’s get right into the dimensions you came here for, starting with a personal profile. The profile photo on this page is 400 x 400px, and the banner is 1584 x 396px.

On the other hand, a company page has a profile photo (logo) that is 300 x 300px and a banner displays at 1128 x 191px.

In terms of a post or carousel, images are optimal at 1080 x 1080px (square), or 1920 x 1080px (portrait).

When creating a LinkedIn article a few dimensions to consider are the article feature image at 1200 x 644px and the article banner image at 600 x 322px.

Diagrams of LinkedIn image dimensions.

Image Dimensions for Instagram

Image dimensions on Instagram are as simple and straightforward as it gets, especially without having cover photos.

To start, a profile photo on Instagram is 320 x 320px. As for Instagram posts, you can choose to post a photo in three different aspect ratios. The classic post is a square at 1080 x 1080px, but if you want to switch things up you can also post a portrait photo at 1080 x 1350px or a landscape photo at 1200 x 608px. Instagram ads can also be posted in any of these three dimensions.

If you want even more tips on how to make your Instagram photos look their best, check out this blog post.

Diagrams of Instagram image dimensions.

Image Dimensions for Twitter

Diagrams of Twitter image dimensions.

On Twitter the optimal profile photo size is 400 x 400px, and it should be under 2MB, while a banner is 1500 x 500px, and has to be under 5MB. 

When posting a single image on your Twitter feed it will display at 1200 x 675px, however, you can attach up to four images per post, and the addition of each image will change the dimensions the photos are displayed at. Refer to the diagram below for the full breakdown.

Visual of the varying dimensions of photos relative to how many are included in one post.

Image Dimensions for Pinterest

Pinterest keeps its dimensions rather simple with profile photos displaying at 165 x 165px and it is recommended to make pins with a 2:3 ratio, optimally 1000 x 1500px, that being said, while all pins maintain the same width, they can be infinitely tall. These parameters also apply to Pinterest ad graphics.

Diagrams of Pinterest image dimensions.

Image Dimensions for YouTube

There aren’t too many graphics to consider on YouTube as it is a video dominant platform, but there are a few important ones! Your profile photo is 800 x 800px, and your channel’s banner image is 2048 x 1152px. Last but not least, your video thumbnails are 1280 x 720px.

Diagrams of Youtube image dimensions.

If you ever need a quick reference for a social media image size, bookmark this page or see the infographic below!

If that was a lot of information and you don’t want to deal with any of it, get in touch with us and we can take care of all your social media needs!

Diagram of all your social media image dimensions
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Sara Ensan

Sara Ensan is a Senior Digital Designer at TIA with a love for bringing ideas and brands to life through captivating visuals across digital platforms. Outside of work, she's always looking for her next travel destination, going to a concert, or making Pinterest boards for a house she doesn't own yet.
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