Social Media Image Sizes for 2026 (in Pixels)

Instagram

• Profile picture: 320 × 320 px, shown as a circle.
• Square post: 1080 × 1080 px (1:1).
• Portrait post: 1080 × 1350 px (4:5), the size that takes the most space in the feed.
• Landscape post: 1080 × 566 px.
• Story and Reel cover: 1080 × 1920 px (9:16). Keep text away from the top and bottom, where Instagram shows its own buttons.

YouTube

• Thumbnail: 1280 × 720 px (16:9), under 2 MB. The video length is shown in the bottom-right corner, so keep text clear of it.
• Channel banner: 2560 × 1440 px. Only the middle strip (about 1546 × 423 px) shows on every device, so put the name and logo there.

WhatsApp

• Profile picture (DP): 500 × 500 px, shown as a circle, so keep the face in the centre.
• Status: 1080 × 1920 px (9:16), the full phone screen.

Facebook

• Profile picture: 360 × 360 px, shown as a circle.
• Cover photo: 851 × 315 px on a computer; phones crop the sides, so keep the important part in the middle.

LinkedIn and X (Twitter)

• LinkedIn profile picture: 400 × 400 px.
• LinkedIn banner: 1584 × 396 px. The profile picture covers part of the bottom-left.
• X profile picture: 400 × 400 px.
• X header: 1500 × 500 px.

Fitting a photo without bad crops

When a photo's shape doesn't match the platform's, there are two choices. Crop to fill: the photo fills the whole frame and some of it is cut off, so move the frame to keep the important part in view. Or fit with a border: the whole photo is kept and the extra space is filled, which is better for group photos and pictures with text.

Platforms recompress what you upload, so start from the original photo, not one saved from WhatsApp or a screenshot, and save at the exact size so the platform doesn't have to resize it again.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best size for an Instagram post?

1080 × 1350 px (4:5) for photos, because it takes the most space in the feed. Use 1080 × 1080 px for square images.

What size is a YouTube thumbnail?

1280 × 720 px (16:9), at least 640 px wide, as a JPG, PNG or GIF under 2 MB.

Why does my WhatsApp DP get cut off?

WhatsApp shows it as a circle and crops the corners. Resize it to 500 × 500 px with the face in the centre, or add a border so the whole photo fits.

Why do my photos look blurry after posting?

Platforms resize and recompress uploads. Upload at the exact recommended size, starting from the original photo, so they change it as little as possible.