Social media image size cheat sheet

Throughout this post, you’ll find the size and dimensions of every type of social media graphic you’ll be creating. But here’s the TL;DR cheat sheet:

Facebook

• Profile image: 170 x 170 pixels
• Cover photo: 830 x 312 pixels
• In-feed images: 1,200 x 628 pixels
• Stories: 1,080 x 1,920 pixels
• Link thumbnails: 1,200 x 628 pixels

Instagram

• Profile image: 180 x 180 pixels
• In-feed posts: 1,080 x 1,080 pixels
• Stories: 1,080 x 1,920 pixels
• Reels: 1,080 x 1,920 pixels
• Highlights: 180 x 180 pixels

Twitter

• Profile image: 400 x 400 pixels
• Header image: 1,500 x 500 pixels
• Tweet images: 1,200 x 675 pixels
• Link thumbnails: 800 x 418 pixels

Pinterest

• Profile image: 180 x 180 pixels
• Cover image: 1,600 x 900 pixels
• Board covers: 200 x 200 pixels
• Pin image size: 1,000 x 1,500 pixels
• Pinterest story pin size: 900 x 1,600 pixels

LinkedIn

• Profile image: 400 x 400 pixels
• Background photo: 1,584 x 396 pixels
• Post images: 1,104 x 736 pixels
• Link thumbnails: 1,200 x 628 pixels

YouTube

• Profile image: 250 x 250 pixels
• Channel art: 2,500 x 1,440 pixels
• Video thumbnails: 1,280 x 720 pixels
• End cards: 1,280 x 720 pixels
• Watermarks: 150 x 150 pixels
• Posts: 500 x 500 pixels
• Stories: 1,080 x 1920 pixels

Different types of social media graphics you will make

On various social networks, you can create a smorgasbord of posts. Here’s a list of visuals you can make and publish on different networks:

Facebook

Profile image

The profile image displays at 170 x 170 pixels. You need to upload a square, but the final image will appear as a circle. (This seems to be the case across the board for each social media channel in this post.) You can upload images up to 2048 x 2048 pixels for higher quality. It’s best to use a headshot or logo here.

Cover Photo

The cover photo measures 820 x 312 pixels. You can also upload videos.

In-feed images

These are images that appear in the Facebook newsfeed. The recommended size is 1,200 x 628 pixels. But Facebook will resize them in the feed to have a maximum width of 680 pixels, and the height adjusts according to the width. Users can view a larger version if they click on the image. Uploading a larger image improves the sharpness, even though Facebook reduces the size.

Stories

Facebook Stories are a popular format. They measure 1,080 x 1,920 pixels and take up the entire mobile screen. Stories are popular for two reasons. One is that they appear at the top of the feed and people see them as soon as they log in. While the other is that they only last 24 hours and people want to get a peek before they disappear forever. The FOMO is real.

Link thumbnails

The ideal thumbnail size is 1200 x 628 pixels. The minimum size is 560 x 292 pixels, and the aspect ratio is 1.91:1. Using images of this size will ensure that the large thumbnail appears when you share a link.

Instagram

You can only publish images and videos on Instagram. This is why it’s imperative to create the best images. But you won’t magically get powerful results just because you publish beautiful images.  Your success hinges on how well your images educate or entertain the Instagram crowd.

Profile picture

It displays at 180 x 180 pixels. You will need to upload a square image, but it shows as a circle.

In-feed posts

Ideal sizes vary for square, portrait, and landscape images.

Square image size: 1,080 x 1,080 pixels.

Portrait image size: 1,080 x 1,350 pixels.

Landscape image size: 1,080 x 566 pixels

The dimensions you choose should depend on the image you are making. I find that square images work best most of the time because they’re perfectly sized for Instagram’s grid gallery format. However, this study from Dash Hudson found that portrait images may actually do best.  Square images came in second and landscape images came in last. The differences aren’t monumental, but they can add up over time.

Stories

Instagram stories are 1,080 x 1,920 pixels, and they take up the whole screen on mobile. Just like Facebook stories, they vanish in 24 hours.

You can also overlay interactive stickers, such as questions, polls, countdown timers, and quizzes.

Highlights: 

Instagram stories last for just 24 hours. After that, they’ll appear in your archive. You can restore them any time and place them under your bio as highlights with a cover photo.

Cover photos are circle-shaped, but you need to upload a square image. It should be 180 x 180 pixels, just like the profile image. But you can upload a larger image for better quality. Because the bio is limited to very few characters, you can use highlights to inform people about your business.

Twitter

As you might guess by now, images get more retweets. Many of the most retweeted tweets are images.

Profile picture

A circle profile picture is displayed, but you should upload a square image. The recommended dimensions are 400 x 400 pixels.

Header image

The header image appears at the top of the account. It has to be 1,500 x 500 pixels.

Tweet images

The ideal image size is 1,200 x 675 pixels.

Link thumbnail

The ideal Twitter link thumbnail size is 800 x 418 pixels. But the image you use for the Facebook link thumbnail will work because the aspect ratio is the same (1.91:1).

Pinterest 

Pinterest is probably the most image-centric social network. You can publish videos here too, but images make up the significant chunk of content.

Profile picture

This should be a minimum of 180 x 180 pixels. The recommended size for uploading is 600 x 600 pixels. Here too, it’ll unfold as a circle even though you must upload a square.

Cover image

You can see the cover image at the top of the profile. The ideal image size is 1,600 x 900 pixels, but you can also use video. If you don’t want to use an image or video, you can display your latest pins.

It’s a nice way to give potential followers a sneak peek of what they’ll see if they follow you. Make sure you pin top-quality images if you plan to display your latest pins.

Board covers: 

You can also add covers to your boards. These should be 200 x 200 pixels.

Pin image size

The ideal Pinterest image size is 1000 x 1500 pixels, and the aspect ratio is 2:3. Portrait images do well on this site.

Portrait images do better on Pinterest because of the way the feed appears. On most social networks, posts appear one below the other. On Pinterest, they appear next to each other in columns. When you create a taller image, you have a longer column that overshadows smaller images, occupies more space, and attracts more attention.

Pinterest story pin size

You can publish story pins on Pinterest, but they’re different from stories on other networks. These pins appear in the feed, and show up as carousels with a minimum of 2 slides and a maximum of 5 slides. Story pins have to be 900 x 1600 pixels (9:16 aspect ratio).

LinkedIn 

Profile picture

LinkedIn recommends you upload a 400 x 400 pixel image.

Background photo

The LinkedIn background photo or cover image should be 1,584 x 396 pixels. The aspect ratio is 4:1.

Post images

Post images should be 1,104 x 736 pixels. This is for both pages and profiles.

Link thumbnail

Link thumbnails must be 1,200 x 628 pixels. It’s the same as Facebook. The recommended aspect ratio is also the same (1.91:1).

YouTube

Most people think YouTube is a video social network or search engine where you can only publish videos. But there are several types of images you can post here. These include:

Profile picture

For YouTube, the final image ends up being 250 x 250 pixels in size, but you must upload an 800 x 800 pixel image. It gets cropped to a circle.

Channel art

The channel art is similar to a cover image on other networks as it soars over the channel. It should be 2,560 x 1,440 pixels.

Thumbnails

The thumbnail is 1,280 x 720 pixels. It appears on videos when people search for them or when YouTube recommends them in the feed. You also see thumbnails when you visit a channel.

End cards

End cards appear in the last five to twenty seconds of a video. You can place elements such as recommended videos, playlists, a subscribe button, and a link. You don’t need to place a background image, but adding one that’s 1,280 x 720 pixels helps reduce distractions.

Watermark

After the video starts, you can set the time at which your watermark appears. You might have seen a watermark on the bottom right corner of videos. When you scroll over this image, a subscribe button appears. Most people use their company’s logo or a call to action. Keep in mind that your image has to be 150 x 150 pixels at least.

Posts

You can post pictures in your channel’s community. YouTube suggests an aspect ratio of 1:1 since images appear as squares in the feed. I recommend a minimum size of 500 x 500 pixels.

Stories 

Like on other networks, stories are 1,080 x 1,920 pixels and take up the whole mobile screen.