Social media image sizes 2024 – these dimensions are recommended for images and videos

Proper image (or video) sizes are a key consideration when it comes to presenting content on social media. In this article, “size” refers to the width and height of an image or video. In this context, we also speak of image dimensions and image proportions – and in the digital age of pixel dimensions or resolutions, of course.

“Format” can also mean different things. Here we talk about aspect ratios and not about file formats. The orientation is an additional criterion, see for example portrait vs. landscape (e.g. 9:16 vs. 16:9).

Successful online marketing requires knowledge of the appropriate social media image sizes and video resolutions. If you do not follow the platforms’ guidelines, you risk that media content is presented in an unclear and unappealing way.

Unfortunately, the guidelines can change with each major update. To get you updated for 2023, we have researched and listed the recommended video and image sizes for the 6 major social media platforms in the next sections.

By the way, if you are looking for the right video formats for social media, you will find them here: The 7 most important video formats – basic knowledge for video marketing.

Instagram

• Profile picture: 320 x 320 pixels
• Image postings:
  1. Square: 1080 x 1080 pixels
  2. Portrait: 1080 x 1350 pixels (4:5)
  3. Landscape: 1200 x 628 pixels
• Stories and reels: 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16)
• Reel cover image: 420 x 654 pixels
• In-feed video ads: 1080 x 1350 pixels

Basic rule: The ideal aspect ratio for stories and reels is 9:16. This is the camera format in which a smartphone usually records video when it is not rotated.

Facebook

• Profile picture or logo: at least 170 x 170 pixels
• Cover image: 851 x 315 pixels (best practice)

Important advice: Depending on the used device, the cover image is cropped differently:

Desktop: 820 x 312 pixels
Mobile devices: 640 x 360 pixels (16:9)

• Cover image for events: 1920 x 1080 pixels (16:9)
• Stories: 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16)
• Images in postings:
  1. Square: 1200 x 1200 pixels
  2. Portrait: 630 x 1200 pixels
  3. Landscape: 1200 x 630 pixels
• Videos:
  1. Square: 1080 x 1080 pixels
  2. Portrait: 1080 x 1350 pixels (4:5)
  3. Landscape: 1280 x 720 pixels (16:9)
  4. Full portrait: 720 x 1280 pixels (9:16)

Tips and tricks: The cover image loads fastest as a JPEG file (sRGB, 851 x 315 pixels) and a file size below 100 KB.

Facebook pages can also use PNG files (perfect for logos). However, the file size must remain below 1 MB. Otherwise, the files will be converted to the JPEG format. With two-dimensional graphics or text, this can lead to messy artifacts.

LinkedIn

• Profile picture: 400 x 400 pixels
• Background image: 1584 x 396 pixels
• Company logo: 300 x 300 pixels
• Company cover image: 1128 x 191 pixels
• Images in postings:
  1. Square: 1080 x 1080 pixels
  2. Portrait: 627 x 1200 pixels
  3. Landscape: 1200 x 627 pixels
• Videos (used primarily as video ads on LinkedIn)
  1. Square: 1920 x 1920 pixels
  2. Portrait: 864 x 1080 pixels (4:5)
  3. Full portrait: 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16)
  4. Landscape: 1920 x 1080 pixels (16:9)

X (formerly Twitter)

• Profile picture: 400 x 400 pixels
• Header image: 1500 x 500 pixels (3:1)
• Images in postings:
  1. Square: 1080 x 1080 pixels
  2. Portrait: 1080 x 1350 pixels (4:5)
  3. Landscape: 1024 x 512 pixels
• Videos:
  1. Square: 720 x 720 pixels
  2. Portrait: 720 x 1280 pixels (9:16)
  3. Landscape: 1280 x 720 pixels (16:9)

YouTube

• Channel profile image: 800 x 800 pixels
• Channel banner: 2560 x 1440 pixels (16:9)
• Video thumbnails: 1280 x 720 pixels (16:9)
• Shorts: 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16)
• Images for community posts: 1600 x 1600 pixels (maximum value)
• Videos:
  • Minimum size: 426 x 240 pixels (web widescreen)
  • Standard size: 1920 x 1080 pixels (16:9, Full HD)
  • Maximum size: 3840 x 2160 pixels (16:9, 8K or UHD-II)

Basic rule: The aspect ratio should always be 16:9 (except for shorts). For videos with 4:3 ratio, a pillarbox is set (black bars on the right and left); for videos that are particularly wide (e.g. 21:9), a letterbox is set (black bars at the top and bottom).

TikTok

• Profile picture: 200 x 200 pixels
• Video contributions:
  1. Portrait (default): 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16)
  2. Square: 1080 x 1080 pixels
  3. Landscape: 1920 x 1080 pixels (16:9)
• In-feed video ads (minimum sizes):
  1. Portrait: 720 x 1280 pixels (9:16)
  2. Square: 640 x 640 pixels
  3. Landscape: 1280 x 720 pixels (16:9)
• In-feed image ads:
  1. Square: 640 x 640 pixels
  2. Portrait: 720 x 1280 pixels (9:16)
  3. Landscape: 1200 x 628 pixels

Tabular overview

Social media image sizes part 1

* Company profile

Social media image sizes part 2

Basic rules

While the platforms each have their own peculiarities when it comes to defaults and specifications, there are two basic rules that you should always follow:

1) When creating content for social media, make sure the most important information or graphics are in the center of the image, as many platforms crop content when viewed on different devices or screen sizes.

2) Even before publishing, check that your content displays correctly on the main devices (desktop, tablet, smartphone). For this purpose, many platforms offer a preview mode. This is the only way to rule out any nasty surprises.

Test the image and video management software from teamnext

For all those who like it especially convenient, we recommend trying out teamnext’s image and video management platform: With the teamnext | Media Hub, you always have the latest social media image sizes and video resolutions at hand. You can resize your media files to the appropriate size with just a few mouse clicks without having to do any research or knowing any special programs. In addition, our solution accelerates the management of media assets with the help of artificial intelligence, e.g. by automatically recognizing people and objects in photos and videos.

If you’d like, you can get started right away with a free 14-day trial for the Media Hub. Additionally, you can book an appointment for a free online product demo with one of our experts at any time. Simply use our contact form for this purpose.