Resize Images for Instagram, Facebook and YouTube (Current Sizes)

Social apps crop aggressively. A 4:3 photo posted as an Instagram portrait loses heads and product labels. YouTube will letterbox or crop a thumbnail that is not 1280x720. Facebook covers hide the edges on mobile. Resize to the frame you intend, then crop if the subject is off-centre. The general resizer tutorial is how to resize without losing quality. This page is the size chart.

Useful target sizes

Platforms tweak UI padding. These are the sizes that still work as of 2026. When in doubt, keep important content in the centre 80%.

• Instagram feed square: 1080 x 1080.
• Instagram portrait: 1080 x 1350 (4:5). This is the largest feed tile.
• Instagram landscape: 1080 x 566 (1.91:1) if you must go wide. Portrait usually performs better in-feed.
• Stories / Reels cover: 1080 x 1920. Keep usernames and stickers out of the top and bottom 250 px or so.
• Facebook / LinkedIn landscape post: 1200 x 630 is a safe share ratio.
• Facebook page cover: 820 x 312 on desktop; keep the subject centred so mobile does not clip it.
• YouTube thumbnail: 1280 x 720 (16:9). Faces and text need to read at 160 px wide in suggested videos.
• YouTube channel banner: 2560 x 1440 with the safe area in the centre. TV and mobile crop the sides.

How to hit the size

1. Open Image Resizer and add the original. Work from the camera file, not a previous social download.
2. Set the exact width and height, or a matching aspect lock then crop. For a square avatar, 1080 x 1080 with the face centred.
3. If you need a different crop than a simple scale, use the Image Crop Tool with the same ratio, then resize.
4. Compress the result with Image Compressor so Instagram does not compress a 5 MB PNG into mush.

Mistakes that get you cropped

• Posting a landscape photo into a 4:5 slot and hoping. Crop it yourself.
• Putting the YouTube title in the thumbnail corners. Mobile UI covers them.
• Upscaling a 400 px logo to 1280 x 720. It will look soft. Design the thumbnail at size, or start from a larger still.
• Using a stretched screenshot as a Reel cover.

Frequently asked questions

What size is an Instagram post?

1080 x 1080 for square, 1080 x 1350 for portrait. Create it at that size rather than posting a huge photo and letting the app guess the crop.

What size is a YouTube thumbnail?

1280 x 720, JPG or PNG, under 2 MB. Readable text, high contrast, no tiny details.

Does resizing happen on a server?

No. The resizer runs in your browser.

Open the Image Resizer and set the pixels before you post. Free, no signup.