The need to have a strong social media presence has grown over recent years, especially when it comes to visual content dominating much of the social media landscape that we know of in today's age. With this, however, comes optimizing your brand and personal profiles with high-quality content.
So, whether you design your social media images through applications like Canva or PhotoShop, use free stock photos or take your own photos using a camera, social media images are key to engaging with your audience, getting your brand message across and ultimately standing out visually.
From profile pictures, Twitter headers, to cover photos and thumbnails, it has become important for brands and people to effectively convey themselves through the use of good quality images. No two platforms are the same though, so when it comes to using images across different platforms, here is your ultimate guide to social media picture sizes for 2021 with the specific dimensions and tips to help you choose the right image to boost your social media management strategy.
The following social media channels will be covered:
Facebook Image Sizes for 2021
LinkedIn Image Sizes for 2021
Twitter Image Sizes for 2021
YouTube Image Sizes for 2021
Instagram Image Sizes for 2021
Pinterest Image Sizes for 2021
Facebook Image Sizes for 2021
As the world's largest social media platform, Facebook is a channel where you can reach and engage audiences if you are sharing high-quality, relevant content. However, before you share anything, you need to verify the image sizes on Facebook to make sure that the aspect ratio is correct and you're optimizing for viewing across multiple devices.
Note: The type of device you are using impacts how users will see your images on their timeline.
Facebook Profile Photo Image size
Profile Photo: 180x180 pixels
This is the main, square image that represents your brand or personal profile and appears layered over your cover photo. This also appears when you post over Facebook page walls or when you comment on various posts. There are, however, a few more things that you need to know about the social media dimensions that you should use for your Facebook profile picture:
- The picture will appear on a Facebook page as 170x170 px on desktop, 128x128 px on mobile devices, and as a photo thumbnail throughout Facebook as 32x32 px.
- On desktops, profile pictures are located 16 pixels from the left and 176 pixels from the top of your cover photo when viewing on your desktop.
- On smartphones, profile pictures are located 24 pixels from the left, 24 pixels from the bottom and 196 pixels from the top of your cover photo.
- Photo thumbnails will appear throughout Facebook at 32x32 px.
Facebook Business Page Profile Photo size
Business Page Profile Photo: 360x360 pixels
There are a few similarities between a personal Facebook profile picture and one for your Business Page but with Facebook's recent updates, there are certain characteristics that will make your Business Page profile picture stand out more on the platform:
- The ideal image size is 360x360 px but the minimum dimensions are 180x180 px
- The picture will appear on the page as 170x170 px on desktop, 128x128 on mobile devices, and as a photo thumbnail throughout Facebook as 32x32 px.
- The image will be cropped to fit a square.
Facebook Cover Photo Image size
Cover Photos: 820x312 pixels
A cover photo will only appear on your specific Facebook timeline and is layered behind your profile picture. While your profile picture may be an image of yourself or your brand logo, your cover photo is a space where you can get creative and include your brand tagline, a product photo or anything else that speaks to who you are.
- Any images less than 820x312 px will be stretched.
- The minimum social media dimensions for cover photos are 400x150 px.
- Your cover photo will display at 820x312 px on desktop and 640x360 px on mobile devices.
- For the best results, ensure that you upload an sRGB JPG file less than 100 KB.
- If your cover photo includes an image or text, it may be best to use a PNG file.
Facebook Shared Image size
Shared Image: 1200x630 pixels
As one of the common ways of sharing content on Facebook, shared images will always appear on your timeline and should ideally show up in most of your followers’ news feeds — although, with the decrease in organic reach, it’s not likely that everyone will see your post. However, the more people engage with your shared post, the more likely it is that the rest of your followers and their followers will see that activity.
- The recommended upload social media image size is 1200x630 px.
- The shared image will appear in the news feed at a maximum width of 470 pixels and will scale to a maximum aspect ratio of 1:1.
- The shared image will appear on the Facebook page at a maximum width of 504 pixels and will scale to a maximum aspect ratio of 1:1.
Facebook Shared Link Image size
Shared Link: 1200x628 pixels
Facebook also allows you to share a link with a small square image to the left and text on the right, or with a larger rectangular image on top with text underneath.
- The recommended upload image size is 1200x628 px.
- Square Photo: a minimum social media dimension of 154x154 px in feed.
- Square Photo: a minimum social media dimension of 116x116 px on page.
- Rectangular Photo: a minimum social media dimension of 470x246 px in feed.
- Rectangular Photo: a minimum of 484x252 on page.
- Facebook will also scale photos under the minimum dimensions. For the best results, increase the image resolution at the same scale as the minimum size.
Facebook Highlighted Image size
Highlighted Image: 1200x717 pixels
If you want to celebrate a particular milestone, whether that's personal or business-related, a highlighted image will appear on your personal timeline, but will also take up more space than a shared link or image.
- This image will appear on your page at 843x504 px.
- For better quality, choose to upload this image at a higher resolution at that scale.
Facebook Event Image size
Event Image: 1920x1080 pixels
Having an image to accompany your Facebook Event will help gain your audiences' attention. Reminders are sent to audiences who show interest in your event so make sure that you have the right image for the Facebook Event cover photo.
- Facebook will scale down to the minimum social media dimensions of 470×174 px.
- The event image will appear in feed at 470×174 px.
LinkedIn Image Sizes for 2021
As the world's largest professional social media network (with over 700 million users), LinkedIn has become a great platform to not only find jobs and employment but to connect with thought leaders, gain expert insights and create B2B Marketing campaigns. If you don't have the time or resources to create your own images for LinkedIn, use stock photography sites, like Unsplash, to get free social media images that you can use as part of your B2B content marketing strategy.
LinkedIn Personal Profile Photo size
Personal Profile Photo: 400x400 pixels
This is the main image that represents you on your personal LinkedIn account so whenever someone is viewing your profile, this is one of the first images they will see so you want to get this one right.
- It is recommended to have a profile picture between 400x400 px and 20,000x20,000 px.
- Your photo should have a minimum social media dimension of 200x200 px.
- The maximum file size is 10MB.
- Personal image types are limited to JPG, GIF or PNG.
LinkedIn Personal Background Image size
Personal Background Image: 1,584x396 pixels
Similar to the cover photo that appears behind your profile picture on your Facebook feed, this personal background or header image will also appear behind your personal profile image.
- The recommended background image size is 1584x396 px.
- The maximum file size is 4MB.
- Personal background image types are limited to JPG, PNG or GIF.
LinkedIn Company Profile Photo size
Company Profile Photo: 300x300 pixels
This image will appear right next to your company or brand name on your LinkedIn homepage. This image also appears in the “Companies you may want to follow” section, so the more enticing and high quality this image is, the better to attract audiences to your page.
- The recommended image size is 300x300 px.
- The minimum image size is 300x300 px.
- The maximum file size is 4MB (Square layout).
- Company profile image types are limited to PNG, JPG or GIF.
LinkedIn Company Cover Image size
Company Cover Image: 1,128x191 pixels
This image differs from your personal profile company photo because company covers will take up the entire top space of the page. The cover, or header image, will appear larger than the personal dimensions, which gives companies a bit more space to showcase themselves.
- The recommended image size is 1,128x191 px.
- The maximum file size is 4MB.
- Company cover image types are PNG, JPG or GIF
LinkedIn Shared Image or Link Image size
Shared Image or Link: 1,200x627 pixels
This image resolution works for LinkedIn posts that share a photo or contain a link to a blog post or news article that has a photo.
- The recommended size for images or links is 1,200x627 px.
- This image or link will appear at 552x289 px.
- Shared image or link photo types are limited to PNG, JPG or GIF.
LinkedIn Hero Image size
Hero Image: 1,128x376 pixels
This photo is where you can provide a more in-depth look at the day-to-day experiences of your company’s employees. The hero photo also sits as a banner at the top of your company page and is usually larger than other LinkedIn photos.
- The minimum image size is 1,128x376 px.
- The maximum file size is 2MB.
- Usually set to a landscape layout
- Image file types are limited to PNG, JPG or GIF.
LinkedIn Square Logo Image size
Square Logo: 60x60 pixels
This is the company or brand image that appears when you are being searched, and because it is so smaller in photo size, you want to make sure that the photo you use is still recognizable and eye-catching to your audience or potential job candidates.
- The image size is 60x60 px (which is resized to fit).
- The maximum file size is 2MB.
- Image file types are limited to PNG, JPG or GIF.
LinkedIn Business Banner Image size
Business Banner Image: 646x220 pixels
These types of images are more prominent to use because they appear whenever a user visits your company or brand page. With this image located on your homepage, this is a great way to engage with your user, who has most likely been actively searching for you.
- The minimum image size is 646x220 px.
- The maximum file size is 2MB.
- Usually set to a landscape layout.
- Image file types are limited to PNG, JPG or GIF.
Twitter Image Sizes for 2021
If you want to meaningfully engage with your audience, and see what your customers are saying about you, Twitter is the platform to keep your eye on. With recent updates made not just to the user experience and interface of the platform but also the layout, here are some guidelines to using social media images on Twitter.
Twitter Profile Photo Image size
Profile Photo: 400x400 pixels
Your Twitter profile picture is the main image that presents you or your brand and is displayed at 200x200 px in a round format but 400x400 px as a square image. The maximum twitter profile photo image size for is 2MB and the image types are limited to PNG, JPG or GIF. In addition to this, there are 3 different places that your profile photo can appear on Twitter:
- On Your Page: this is the largest display of your Twitter profile picture and can be viewed by your followers as well as audience members who come across your account organically or by paid media.
- In-Stream: this is a smaller version of your profile photo and appears in a follower’s Twitter stream every time you Tweet. It will also appear in the stream of your followers’ followers every time your tweets are retweeted.
- Who to Follow: Your profile photo will also appear next to a link to your page in the “Who to follow” box. This is located directly to the right of your Twitter stream so ensure that you use a high-quality image that is attention-grabbing and easily recognizable.
Twitter Header Photo Image size
Header Photo: 1,500x500 pixels
Your Twitter header image is the photo that appears at the top of your Twitter profile page and is layered behind your profile photo. Because this header photo is slightly larger than your profile photo, make sure you save it at the highest resolution possible. This will give you room to get creative with the image you use for your header and is also one of the first images that followers will see when they come across your profile page.
- The recommended image size for your Twitter header is 1,500x500 px.
- The maximum file size is 5MB.
- Twitter image types are limited to PNG, JPG or GIF.
Twitter In-Stream Photo Image size
In-Stream Photo: 1,024x512 pixels
Twitter users are able to include social media images or even social media infographics to any of their tweets without the photos affecting their tweet character count. Uploaded photos will appear in your followers’ streams and the streams of their followers, if they have retweeted your content.
The platform, however, may collapse your Twitter images into smaller sizes or dimensions in order to fit the user's stream, so make sure that you set your Twitter to display the part of the photo that you want followers to see. You can do this by setting the width of your image to fit the minimum requirements, and horizontally centering your content so the most important elements of the image are visible in the collapsed version.
- The minimum social media dimensions for this in-stream image to appear expanded is 440x220 px with an aspect ration of 2:1.
- The recommended aspect ratio is 16:9.
- You can tweet up to 4 images at one time.
- You can edit images if tweeting from the Twitter iOS or Android app.
- The maximum social media dimensions for this image to appear expanded is 1,024x512 px.
- The image appears in-stream collapsed at 506x253 px on desktop.
- The maximum file size is 5MB for photos, 5MB for animated GIFs on mobile and 15MB on web.
YouTube Image Sizes for 2021
YouTube has presented itself as a phenomenal platform on social media for brands to reach their audiences through social video content, and with over 1 billion unique users, it's understandable why standing out on this platform with good quality images is important.
YouTube Channel Profile Picture Image size
Channel Profile Picture: 800x800 pixels
While YouTube does allow you to select different profile image borders (square or circle), the dimensions stay the same so make sure that your YouTube has a profile picture set up before you select your border.
- The recommended profile image size is 800x800 px.
- The image will display as 98x98 px.
- Channel profile image type are limited to JPG, GIF, BMP or PNG.
YouTube Channel Cover Photo Image size
Channel Cover Photo: 2,560x1,440 pixels
Known as your "channel art", this cover photo can act as a way for viewers to stay longer on your channel and view more of your content if the channel art is highly visual. Use websites, like Canva, to help you create free channel art.
One important thing to remember, though, is that because viewers are watching YouTube content on various devices, the size of this channel cover photo will change in aspect ratios and dimensions. Make sure that you have optimized this particular image for each streaming device.
- Minimum dimensions are 2,048x1,152
- Tablet display: 1,855x423
- Mobile display: 1,546x423.
- TV display: 2,560x1,440.
- Desktop: 2,560x423, although 1,546x423 pixels is always visible. The flexible area in which this image may be visible is 507 pixels to the left and 507 pixels to the right of the safe area.
YouTube Video Upload size
Video Uploads: 1,280x720 (Minimum HD)
Your YouTube channel is incomplete until you start uploading your video content to the social platform, which is one of the most important parts of establishing your online presence on the site. Videos can tell viewers something about you as a person or highlight a product or service that your business is offering.
- All YouTube videos must maintain a 16:9 aspect ratio.
- In order for your video to qualify as full HD, the dimensions you use must be at least 1,280x720 px.
Instagram Image Sizes for 2021
When it comes to showcasing your visual creativity, no other photo-sharing social network is as popular for this as Instagram. With over 500 million users, what is the ideal social media image sizes for your content on this platform?
Instagram Profile Picture Image size
Profile Picture: 110x110 pixels
With Instagram being a visually-based platform, using the right social media image for your profile picture is where it all begins to ensure that audiences can easily recognize you or find you through the Explore tab.
- Your profile picture appears on your profile at 110x110 px.
- The image appears round on the platform but is a square photo with an aspect ratio of 1:1.
Instagram Photo Thumbnails Image size
Photo Thumbnails: 161x161 pixels
When a user goes to your page, your content is presented to them in a format known as "The Grid," which is all of your images and videos arranged in rows of thumbnails. These smaller versions of your images and videos will then expand once a user clicks on the content piece and includes a place for people to comment.
- The photo thumbnails will appear on the page at 161x161 px.
- Thumbnails are presented as square photos with an aspect ratio of 1:1.
Instagram Photo Image size
Photo Size: 1,080x1,080 pixels
Once a user has clicked into a thumbnail of your photo or video, the photo size increases or is enlarged for the user to view. This is where you want to ensure that you upload content at it's highest resolution as Instagram can decrease the resolution of content slightly when it hasn't been taken natively on the app.
- The size of Instagram images has been increased to 1,080x1,080 px.
- Instagram, however, will still scale these photos down to 612x612 px.
- These images will then appear in feed at 510x510 px.
- The photo size is usually displayed as either a square or rectangle with an aspect ratio between 1.91:1 and 4:5 ratio.
- For portrait (4:5) photos, the recommended dimensions are 1,080x1,350 px.
- Smaller featured header images will appear as 204x204 px and larger featured header images will appear as 409x409 px.
Instagram Stories Image size
Instagram Stories: 1,080x1,920 pixels
Instagram Stories has become a popular way of sharing more visual content onto the social network with both video and image options available to users to publish.
- The recommended resolution is 1,080x1,920 px.
- The minimum resolution is 600x1,067 px.
- The aspect ratio for Instagram Stories is 9:16.
- The maximum file size is 4GB.
Pinterest Image Sizes for 2021
As a marketing tool, Pinterest can be an amazing social network to help drive referral traffic to your website because of how the platform is predominately comprised of external links.
So when using this tool as part of your marketing strategy, make sure that you optimize your Pinterest page constantly and use the right social media images for your pins.
Pinterest Profile Photo Image size
Profile Photo: 165x165 pixels
If you choose to set up your Pinterest account through Facebook, Twitter or email, the platform will use those profile photos from those accounts for your Pinterest page. If, however, you want to set up a new profile picture, you'll need to upload a square image that Pinterest will then resize to fit.
- Your profile photo will appear at 165x165 px on the home page.
- It will also appear at 32x32 px on the rest of Pinterest.
- The maximum file size is 10 MB,
- Pinterest image types are limited to JPG and PNG for profile photos.
Pinterest Pin Image size
Pin Image Size: 1,000x1500 pixels
When you're adding a pin to your board, you need to remember that Pinterest puts a limit on the width of the image you pin but not the length, which is great if you want to share social media infographics as pins. This gives you the chance to add an image that is square or one that will scale to be even taller. Just make sure that you create social media images for this platform because they add more value to the user.
- Ideal Story Pin Image Size: 1,080x1,920 px
- Pins on the main page will appear as 236 px, where the height is scaled.
- Pins on a board will appear as 236 px, where height is scaled.
- Expanded pins have a minimum width of 600 px, where height is scaled.
- It is recommended to use an image aspect ratio of 2:3 to 1:3.5
Pinterest Board Display Image size
When it comes to Pinterest, creating boards is one of the most important parts of the platform in order to organize your pins and help drive traffic to your website. When creating boards, make sure that you use social media images that fit the size criteria perfectly. Not only is it important to choose a photo that is enticing to your audience, it’s important to choose one that’s relevant to that particular board.
- The social media dimensions for large thumbnails is 222x150 px.
- The social media dimensions for smaller thumbnails is 55x55 px.
No More Guessing Social Media Images Sizes for 2021
Whether you choose to go landscape or portrait, upload to Facebook or Twitter, make sure you follow this guide to take away the guesswork in figuring out which social media image sizes for 2021 work best on which platforms. Bookmark this post to save it as a reference for when you create images for social media, and sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date with our latest content.
