2024 Social Media Image Sizes: Your Guide to Picture-Perfect Posts
Everything changes, nothing stays the same, including the size of graphics used on social media platforms. You may feel like as soon as you get a handle on what size image goes where, the rules change. But humans are visual, and on social media, getting the graphics just right is important. The images you choose can make or break your post! So, once you’ve done all the hard work of picking the perfect image, you don’t want to upload the wrong size and ruin your post with a distorted display.
Unfortunately, identifying the correct image sizes for your posts can be challenging. Cross-posting between social media platforms is a must, but no two platforms are alike. Each has their own style, layout, and ideal image size. And they don’t always make finding their recommended image sizes in their help centers an easy task! That’s where we come in. Here are the 2024 images sizes for social media for Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), and LinkedIn.
Social Media Image Sizes Pro Tips
First, let’s look at some pro tips that apply universally when posting images on social media sites.
- You may be tempted to upload an image that is smaller than the ideal size recommended by the social media platform you’re using, but don’t! Using images sized to the correct minimum number of pixels will look better and load faster.
- In this case, bigger really is better. Many times, you’ll be asked to upload an image that is far larger than what will display. This may be confusing, but the purpose is to ensure your image looks good when automatically sized down by the platform.
- To avoid pictures that look great now but not in the future, always upload images at the maximum resolution allowed whenever possible.
- Pixels? Aspect ratio? Ideal size? If you’re confused by these terms, we’ve got you covered. Pixels refers to the resolution, or the quality, of your image file. Aspect ratio is the width and height—the square, landscape, or portrait shape of your image. The ideal size is the resolution that has been found to display best within the social media platform’s feed.
- Format matters! As a business, your profile photo and/or cover photos will likely include text or logos, so the preferred format of your images is a .PNG file. This is because the background of .PNG images are transparent, allowing the text or logo to be displayed more clearly. For the photos you use in your posts, either the .JPG or .PNG format will work well.
Facebook Image Sizes
Facebook image sizes have changed many times since its launch in 2004, making creating posts there one of the more difficult tasks to keep straight. And, of course, there’s no one size fits all that applies to every post. You’ll find on most of the social media platforms, but especially on Facebook, that the size required for your image will be based on the specific type of post you’re working with.
- When using a logo as your Facebook Page profile picture, 851 x 315 pixels is best. Don’t forget your image will be displayed as a circle!
- For the cover photo on a Facebook Page or Group, the minimum size is 851 x 315 pixels. Keep in mind your profile picture will partially cover the left side. Planning an event? Size that cover photo to 1200 x 628 pixels before you post. Event cover photos can’t be edited after they’re uploaded.
- Square posts, carousel posts, and multi-image ads on Facebook should be sized at 1200 x 1200 pixels.
- Facebook’s link image previews, single-image ads, and landscape image shares look best at 1200 x 630 pixels.
- Sharing a portrait post? Size your image to 1080 x 1350 pixels.
- Stories are displayed vertically in portrait aspect ratio, with a best fit size of 1080 x 1920 pixels.
For almost all other posts or ads on Facebook, the ideal size is 1080 x 1080 pixels.
Instagram Image Sizes
Remember when Instagram only displayed images as square? Well, no more. Let your creativity run free because you can post in landscape, portrait, or square these days! Whatever shape you choose, a minimum of 1080 pixels wide (the same width as a mobile phone display) will look best in your feed. Anything less, and your image may appear pixelated.
- Just like Facebook, Instagram profile photos are displayed as a circle. For the best results, upload your profile photo at 320 x 320 pixels.
- If you’re sticking to an old-school square image for an Instagram post, ad, or carousel, the best size is 1080 x 1080 pixels.
- Instagram landscape images, ads, and carousel posts should be 1080 x 566 pixels, while portrait image or carousel posts are best sized to 1080 x 1350 pixels.
- Your Instagram Stories will look great at 1080 x 1920 pixels with 250 pixels of free space at both the top and bottom of the image. If you find your Stories are taking a while to load, you can decrease the resolution but maintain a 9:16 ratio to avoid automatic cropping that might not look good.
- Reels and Reels cover photos on Instagram are always portrait and are also best at 1080 x 1920 pixels, with a small caveat regarding ratio. The image ratio for Reels is 9:16 but is cropped to a square 1:1 ratio in the profile feed and a 4:5 ratio in the home feed.
- For Instagram thumbnails, your photo will be displayed at 161 x 161 pixels, but still upload at the minimum recommended width of 1080 pixels.
Since Instagram typically uses the same ratios across the different types of posts, if you need to decrease resolution, the general rule is to ensure you maintain an aspect ratio of 1.91:1 for landscape, 4:5 for portrait, and 1:1 for square.
X (fka Twitter) Image Sizes
The social media platform formerly known as Twitter has changed dramatically in recent years, including some changes to the recommended image sizes.
- Just like Facebook and Instagram, X profile photos are round. The platform will crop your image to a circle from the recommended size of 400 x 400 pixels.
- X cover photos display at 1500 x 500 pixels, so make sure you choose an image that looks good at a wide width.
- Posts on X can be either landscape or portrait, with the same resolution for both. For landscape and multiple image posts, use 1600 x 900 pixels. For portrait, switch to 900 x 1600 pixels.
- Square posts on X should be sized at 1080 x 1080 pixels.
- X asks for a minimum of 800 x 418 pixels for link preview images.
When in doubt, choose a picture with a high resolution and an aspect ratio of 16:9 (or 9:16) and X will automatically change the image to their ideal size.
LinkedIn Image Sizes
The user interface on LinkedIn has improved exponentially, especially in the last few years. There are now more options for uploading, editing, and publishing images and content that have made this platform much easier to use. LinkedIn allows for unusually high resolution for images, so always upload at the highest resolution possible. As long as the aspect ratio is correct, LinkedIn will resize your photos automatically.
- LinkedIn Company Page profile photos (typically logos) are square with rounded corners with a recommended image size of 300 x 300 pixels.
- LinkedIn cover photos on a company page use a resolution of 1128 x 191 pixels. Keep in mind that your profile photo will cover a large part of the left side of your cover photo so be sure to check how your page looks on both desktop and mobile before publishing.
- Posting an article? The recommended size for the header image is 1920 x 1080 pixels.
- When you’re creating a post that includes an image, the photo should be 1200×627 pixels.
- LinkedIn advertising can be an important source of new leads for companies. When you’re running ads, the company logo on both regular and Spotlight ads will display at 100 x 100 pixels. For the image background on Spotlight ads, the photo should be 300 x 250 pixels.
- For sponsored content, a single image ad should be 1200 x 627 pixels while a content carousel should be square 1080 x 1080 pixels. You can always upload larger images, though. Just make sure your single ad image is at a 1.91:1 aspect ratio and your carousel images are square with a 1:1 aspect ratio.
- If you’re posting an image alone, choose a landscape image with a resolution of at least 1104 x 552 pixels.
Using the correct image sizes across all your social media platforms can be a complicated endeavor. But uploading the wrong resolution or aspect ratio can result in oddly cropped, pixelated, or distorted images—a mistake that can reflect badly on your company and brand. You want all your posts to not only capture attention but also reflect the professionalism and expertise your customers expect. Need help with social media? Talk with one of our marketing experts today.