Social Image Sizes 2026: One Cheat Sheet
Social Image Sizes 2026: One Cheat Sheet
Every platform crops differently. One master file posted everywhere is why headers lose faces, stories lose captions, and product shots turn soft. This cheat sheet gives you verified 2026 sizes for every major placement in one place.
What Is a Social Image Size Cheat Sheet?
A cheat sheet maps each placement to three facts: exact pixels, aspect ratio, and best format. With those three, you can export once per placement instead of hoping one file survives every feed.
Fast workflow: set exact pixels in the image resizer, pick JPG for photos or PNG for graphics, then finish with light passes in the image compressor.
Why One Hub Beats Ten Scattered Guides
Platform specs change quietly. A single maintained hub helps you:
- Avoid crops: export the right shape before upload instead of letting the app guess
- Stay sharp: correct dimensions plus light compression survive recompression
- Save time: one table, one workflow, every platform
- Keep branding consistent: logos and watermarks sit in safe zones on every network
This guide is privacy-focused and performant: secure processing with fast turnaround, and no data leaves your device while you prepare files.
The 2026 Cheat Sheet Table
| Platform and placement | Pixels | Ratio | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instagram square post | 1080 x 1080 | 1:1 | JPG photo, PNG graphic |
| Instagram portrait post | 1080 x 1350 | 4:5 | JPG photo, PNG graphic |
| Instagram story and reel cover | 1080 x 1920 | 9:16 | JPG |
| Instagram profile photo | 320 x 320 | 1:1 | JPG or PNG |
| TikTok profile and post image | 1080 x 1920 for full-screen, 1080 x 1080 for square promos | 9:16, 1:1 | JPG, PNG for text cards |
| Facebook post | 1200 x 630 landscape or 1080 x 1080 square | 1.91:1, 1:1 | JPG photo, PNG graphic |
| Facebook cover | 1640 x 924 desktop safe | 1.78:1 | JPG or PNG |
| Facebook story | 1080 x 1920 | 9:16 | JPG |
| X (Twitter) post | 1600 x 900 landscape or 1080 x 1080 square | 16:9, 1:1 | JPG photo, PNG graphic |
| X header | 1500 x 500 | 3:1 | JPG or PNG |
| LinkedIn post | 1200 x 627 landscape or 1080 x 1080 square | 1.91:1, 1:1 | JPG photo, PNG for charts |
| LinkedIn profile and company cover | 1584 x 396 personal, 1128 x 191 company | wide | JPG or PNG |
| YouTube thumbnail | 1280 x 720 | 16:9 | JPG or PNG under 2 MB |
| YouTube banner | 2560 x 1440, safe area 1546 x 423 | 16:9 | JPG or PNG |
| Pinterest pin | 1000 x 1500 | 2:3 | JPG or PNG |
| Threads and Bluesky post | 1080 x 1080 square or 1080 x 1350 portrait | 1:1, 4:5 | JPG photo, PNG graphic |
Always confirm critical covers on mobile after upload, since visible safe areas shift between app versions.
How to Use This Cheat Sheet
1. Pick the placement before you edit
Do not start from a random crop. Decide the exact row in the table above, then export for that row.
2. Resize to exact pixels
Open the image resizer and enter the pixel dimensions. Keep faces and text inside the center safe zone for covers and banners.
3. Choose format by content
- Photos and portraits: JPG, quality 80-85
- Text cards, charts, screenshots: PNG
- Web versions of the same art: JPG to WebP or PNG to WebP
4. Compress lightly
Social platforms compress again on upload. Leave headroom: aim for 200-500 KB for feed posts, under 2 MB for YouTube thumbnails. Use the image compressor.
5. Clean and brand
Strip location data with the JPG metadata remover or remove GPS before posting. Add a discreet mark with photo watermark for repostable art.
Platform Sections and Deep Dives
- Instagram: square 1080 x 1080, portrait 1080 x 1350, story 1080 x 1920. See best image formats for Instagram and how to fix blurry Instagram uploads.
- TikTok: full-screen 1080 x 1920 images stay sharpest. See TikTok image sizes 2026.
- Facebook: post 1200 x 630, cover 1640 x 924. See best image formats for Facebook.
- LinkedIn: post 1200 x 627, protect charts with PNG. See best image formats for LinkedIn.
- X (Twitter): post 1600 x 900, header 1500 x 500. See best image formats for Twitter.
- YouTube: thumbnail 1280 x 720, banner 2560 x 1440. See best image formats for YouTube.
- Threads and Bluesky: square or portrait, watch center crops. See Threads and Bluesky image guide.
- Pinterest, Reddit, Shopify: see best image formats for Pinterest, best image formats for Reddit, best image formats for Shopify.
Best Practices That Survive Recompression
- Export text 20-30 percent larger than looks necessary on desktop
- Use PNG for any image where text must stay readable
- Never upload a screenshot of a compressed post as a new post
- Preview every important post on a phone before boosting or pinning
- Keep masters archived so you can re-export when specs change
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Posting one landscape master to portrait placements
- Putting faces or logos at the edge of covers
- Saving quote cards as low-quality JPG
- Uploading 5 MB files and expecting sharper results than a clean 400 KB export
- Skipping the metadata check before posting personal photos
Conclusion
Sharp social images come from a repeatable routine: pick the placement, resize to exact pixels, choose JPG for photos and PNG for graphics, compress lightly, then post. Bookmark this sheet and re-export from masters when specs shift.
Prepare your next batch now: resize in the image resizer and polish weight in the image compressor.
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About the author
imgKonvert Team
Image Optimization Specialists
The imgKonvert editorial team publishes practical guides on image conversion, compression, resizing, and metadata privacy best practices.
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