How to crop an image for social media
- Click the yellow area and pick your photo, or drag the file onto the page.
- Choose the network (Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok...) and the format (post, Stories, cover, profile picture).
- Drag the photo inside the frame and adjust the zoom until it looks right.
- Click Download image. The file comes out at the exact size the network recommends.
Fill or whole photo?
- Fill and crop: the photo covers the whole frame and whatever doesn’t fit is left out. This is the usual way to post.
- Whole photo: the photo appears in full, uncropped, and the empty space gets a background. Blurred photo uses a blurred copy of the photo itself as the background, the effect many people use to post a landscape photo in Stories or a tall photo in the feed without cutting anyone out. You can also use white, black or any color.
Sizes for each network
| Network | Format | Size (px) | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square post | 1080 × 1080 | 1:1 | |
| Portrait post | 1080 × 1350 | 4:5 | |
| Stories and Reels | 1080 × 1920 | 9:16 | |
| Landscape post | 1080 × 566 | 1.91:1 | |
| Status | 1080 × 1920 | 9:16 | |
| TikTok | Video or photo | 1080 × 1920 | 9:16 |
| YouTube | Thumbnail | 1280 × 720 | 16:9 |
| YouTube | Channel banner | 2560 × 1440 | 16:9 |
| Link / post | 1200 × 630 | 1.91:1 | |
| Cover | 1640 × 624 | 2.63:1 | |
| X (Twitter) | Post | 1600 × 900 | 16:9 |
| X (Twitter) | Header | 1500 × 500 | 3:1 |
| Post | 1200 × 627 | 1.91:1 | |
| Profile banner | 1584 × 396 | 4:1 | |
| Pin | 1000 × 1500 | 2:3 | |
| All | Profile picture | 1080 × 1080 | 1:1 |
Networks tweak these numbers from time to time, but the ratios usually stay the same. If you need another size, choose Custom and type the width and height.
What the guides are for
- Stories, Status and TikTok: the dashed lines mark the top strip (name and progress bar) and the bottom strip (reply field and buttons). Keep faces and text between the two lines.
- Profile picture: the circle shows exactly what appears in the round picture.
- YouTube banner: the middle rectangle is the only part shown on phones. TVs show the whole image.
- Rule of thirds: the thin lines split the image into nine parts. Placing your subject on one of the crossings usually makes the photo more interesting.
Your photo never leaves your device
Cropping happens in your own browser. Nothing is uploaded to a server, there’s no sign-up and the image has no watermark.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Instagram crop my photo?
The Instagram feed accepts ratios between 1.91:1 (landscape) and 4:5 (portrait). A 9:16 phone photo, for example, gets cropped in a post. Use Portrait post (4:5), which takes up the most space in the feed, or Whole photo with a blurred background.
Does quality drop?
The image is created at the size the network recommends, which is the size it will be shown at. If your photo is smaller than that, you’ll see a warning, because it has to be enlarged.
JPG or PNG?
JPG for photos, which is what networks prefer. PNG for graphics with text, logos or flat-color backgrounds.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. Drag with one finger to move and use two fingers to zoom. iPhone HEIC photos open too.
I need many photos at the same size. How?
Crop them one at a time here, or use resize image, which changes the size of many photos at once without cropping.