You design an image, post it, and the platform crops your logo, blurs your text, or slices your banner in half. Every network has its own rules, and getting them wrong makes good work look careless — and can quietly cost you reach.
Here are the correct sizes for 2026, network by network, followed by the shortcut that saves you from memorizing any of them.
The three sizes that cover almost everything
If you remember nothing else, remember these. Built at 1080 pixels wide, they handle the vast majority of posts:
- 1080 × 1350 (4:5 portrait) — the single most versatile size. It posts natively to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Threads feeds, and portrait now outperforms square on most feeds.
- 1080 × 1080 (1:1 square) — the classic, still valid everywhere.
- 1080 × 1920 (9:16 vertical) — for Stories, Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Snapchat.
Vertical formats (4:5 and 9:16) now get noticeably more engagement than square on mobile-first platforms, so when in doubt, go taller.
- Feed (portrait): 1080 × 1350 (4:5) — the recommended default in 2026
- Feed (square): 1080 × 1080 (1:1)
- Feed (landscape): 1080 × 566 (1.91:1)
- Stories & Reels: 1080 × 1920 (9:16)
- Profile photo: 320 × 320 (shown in a circle)
A key 2026 detail: Instagram's profile grid switched from square to a taller 3:4 crop. Your 4:5 feed post still displays at 4:5 in the feed, but the grid thumbnail crops to roughly 1080 × 1440 — so keep your subject and text centered vertically.
- Feed post: 1080 × 1350 (4:5) or 1080 × 1080 (1:1)
- Link preview (Open Graph): 1200 × 630 (1.91:1)
- Cover photo: 851 × 315 on desktop — keep text centered, since mobile crops the sides
- Profile photo: 320 × 320
YouTube
- Thumbnail: 1280 × 720 (16:9), under 2 MB, JPG or PNG
- Channel art: design within the central 1546 × 423 safe area so nothing important is cropped across devices
Always check your thumbnail at its tiny preview size (around 210 pixels wide). If the text or faces aren't clear that small, it will underperform — that's where click-through is won or lost.
- Feed image: 1200 × 1200 (1:1) or 1200 × 627 (1.91:1 landscape)
- File size: up to 8 MB (3 MB for company pages)
LinkedIn is where correct dimensions matter most for perceived professionalism — your audience is evaluating you as a potential partner, so a stretched or cropped image reads as a red flag.
TikTok, X and Pinterest
- TikTok: 1080 × 1920 (9:16); 4:5 also displays well for photo posts
- X (Twitter): 1600 × 900 (16:9) for in-stream landscape images
- Pinterest: 1000 × 1500 (2:3) — the tall pin that the platform favors
The rules that apply everywhere
A few habits keep your images sharp on every network:
Upload at 1080 px wide minimum. Platforms downscale large images cleanly but upscale small ones into a blur.
Respect safe zones. For 9:16 vertical content, keep text and logos out of the top ~250 px and bottom ~350 px, where the app places its UI.
Mind file limits. YouTube thumbnails cap at 2 MB; most feeds allow several MB. Smaller files load faster and avoid heavy re-compression.
Format: WebP is accepted on most major networks in 2026, but JPG remains the safest universal fallback. Use PNG for images with text or logos where crisp edges matter.
Resize to any of these free, in your browser
You don't need a design app to hit these numbers. Photopik's resizer lets you set any exact width and height — or lock an aspect ratio like 4:5 or 9:16 — and export in seconds. Everything happens in your browser, so your images are never uploaded.
One last thing: platforms change these specs several times a year — Instagram alone updated its grid again in 2026. The sizes above were current as of July 2026; when a launch really matters, it's worth a quick check against the platform's own help pages before you post.