Image sizes for social media in 2026

Every platform wants a different rectangle. Upload the wrong one and the network crops it for you, usually right through someone's head.

Here are the common sizes in one place, last checked on 7 November 2026.

These come from published size guides rather than from each platform's own documentation, and guides don't always agree. Treat them as a sound starting point.

Make them all from one photo (link to section)

You don't need to crop each one by hand. Tick the sizes you want, click the part of the photo that has to stay in frame, and download a ZIP.

Crop or fit? (link to section)

Crop to fill suits most photos. You lose the edges, but the picture fills the frame. The focus point decides what stays.

Fit with a background keeps the whole picture, which suits product shots and wide group photos. A blurred copy of the photo fills the empty space, so it doesn't look like a mistake.

Three things that catch people out (link to section)

• Safe zones. Stories and Reels cover the top and bottom with interface. Keep text away from those edges. A YouTube channel banner is the extreme case: much of it only shows on TVs, so keep logos in the centre.
• Tall images in feeds. Very tall images get cut off in the feed preview on most networks. Stay at 4:5 or wider unless the platform is built for tall images, like Pinterest.
• File size limits. Networks recompress your uploads, often hard. Starting from a clean, high-quality image gives you the best result, and you can compress it if an upload form complains.