Image Tools

How to Resize and Crop Images for Social Media

Every social network shows images in its own shape. If your photo does not match, important parts can be cut off or the image can look blurry. A few minutes of cropping and resizing makes your posts look clean and professional.

Cropping and Resizing Are Not the Same

Cropping cuts away part of the picture to change its shape, for example from a wide photo to a square. Resizing keeps the whole picture but makes it larger or smaller in pixels. For social media you usually crop first to get the right shape, then resize to the recommended size.

Common Social Media Image Sizes

The sizes below are widely recommended and work well. Platforms change their layouts from time to time, so treat them as a reliable starting point.

  • Instagram square post: 1080 × 1080 px (1:1)
  • Instagram portrait post: 1080 × 1350 px (4:5)
  • Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp stories, Reels and TikTok: 1080 × 1920 px (9:16)
  • Facebook and X (Twitter) link or landscape post: 1200 × 630 px or 1600 × 900 px
  • LinkedIn post: 1200 × 627 px
  • YouTube thumbnail: 1280 × 720 px (16:9)
  • Profile pictures: a square of at least 400 × 400 px – most networks show them as a circle

Step by Step

  1. Open the Image Cropper and choose the shape (aspect ratio) you need, for example 1:1 or 4:5.
  2. Move the crop frame so the important part – a face, a product or text – stays inside.
  3. Open the Image Resizer and set the exact size, for example 1080 × 1350 pixels.
  4. If the file is large, make it smaller with Compress Image so it uploads faster.
  5. Download the image and upload it to your post.

Tips for Sharp Images

  • Start with the largest photo you have. Making a small image bigger always makes it blurry.
  • Keep text and faces away from the edges. Apps place buttons and captions over the top and bottom of stories.
  • Use JPG for photos and PNG for graphics with text or logos.
  • iPhone photos in HEIC format can be turned into JPG with HEIC to JPG before editing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my photo look blurry after uploading?

Social networks compress large uploads. Uploading an image that already has the recommended size usually gives the sharpest result.

Can I use one image for every platform?

You can, but each platform will crop it differently. For the best look, make a square, a portrait and a story version of the same picture.

Are my photos uploaded?

Compress Image runs entirely in your browser, so those photos never leave your device. Other image tools use our server only to create the result you asked for.

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Crop, resize and compress your photos for any social network.

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