Social Media Image Size Guide

Every platform crops uploads to its own frame. Post something at the wrong size and the platform decides what to keep, which is how heads get cut off, text falls outside the frame, and a carefully composed image ends up looking off. Uploading at the native size means you control the crop, not the algorithm.

Size also affects reach. On Instagram a 4:5 portrait post takes up more vertical space in the feed than a square, so it earns more attention as people scroll. Sizing to the format each platform favors is one of the cheapest ways to get more from content you already made.

Aspect ratio is the shape of the image, the relationship between width and height, like 1:1 for a square, 4:5 for a portrait, or 9:16 for a full-screen vertical. Pixel size is the actual resolution, like 1080 x 1350 px. Two images can share a ratio while one is far sharper because it has more pixels.

Match the ratio first so nothing gets cropped, then export at the recommended pixel size or larger so the image stays crisp. Going bigger than the recommended size is fine because platforms downscale cleanly, but going smaller forces them to upscale, which looks soft.

Design your key visual at the largest ratio you will need, usually 9:16 or 4:5, and keep the important content, faces, logos, and text, inside a central safe zone. From that one master you can crop down to a square or a landscape without losing anything that matters.

Keep text well inside the edges, because interface elements like captions, buttons, and profile icons overlay the margins of stories and reels. Design once with those margins in mind and the same asset adapts to every placement in this guide, in about 5 minutes.