Social Media Image Size Checker

A social media image size checker saves you from the most common publishing mistake there is: posting an image that gets cropped, letterboxed, or blurred because it does not match the platform's display spec. Every network renders images at its own aspect ratios, minimum resolutions, and file-size caps — and those specs differ not just between platforms but between placements on the same platform. This page pairs an instant, in-browser checker with the complete 2026 size reference for LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, Threads, and Bluesky.

Most-used sizes at a glance: 1080×1080 (1:1 square posts), 1080×1350 (4:5 portrait feeds), 1080×1440 (3:4 Instagram grid-native), 1080×1920 (9:16 Stories, Reels, and TikTok), and 1200×630 (1.91:1 link previews). Jump to a platform's full table: LinkedIn · X · Instagram · Facebook · TikTok · Pinterest · YouTube · Threads · Bluesky.

How to use the social media image size checker

1. Drop your image onto the checker above, or click to browse. Nothing uploads — the file is read locally in your browser.
2. Read the summary: exact pixel dimensions, reduced aspect ratio (for example 16:9 or 4:5), file size, and format.
3. Scan the results matrix. Every placement on every platform is graded pass, close, or fail, with the specific reason — wrong shape, too small, or over a file-size cap.
4. Fix the failures that matter for where you actually post: resize or crop in your editor to the recommended dimensions, then drop the new export back in to confirm it passes.

Because everything runs locally through your browser's FileReader API, the checker works with drafts, unreleased creative, and client assets — the image is never uploaded, transmitted, or stored anywhere.

How the checker grades your image: the method

Each placement gets three independent checks, and the worst result wins:

• Aspect ratio. Your image's width÷height is compared to the placement's target ratio. Within 2% is a pass (imperceptible), within 8% is "close" (a minor edge crop), beyond that is a fail — the platform will center-crop the excess, and the verdict tells you whether the sides or the top and bottom get cut, and roughly how much.
• Resolution. The checker computes how much the platform would need to scale your image up to fill the recommended frame after cropping to shape. If no upscaling is needed, it passes. If it clears the platform's documented or widely-reported minimum width but falls short of the recommendation, it is marked close — usable, but soft. Below the minimum is a fail.
• File size. Where a platform documents a hard cap — X profile photos (2MB), YouTube thumbnails (2MB), Bluesky uploads (~1MB) — the checker compares your actual file size against it. Over the cap means the platform rejects the file or recompresses it aggressively.

The point of grading against every placement at once is triage: one glance tells you which platforms your current export already serves and which need a dedicated rendition.

Social media image sizes for 2026: the complete reference tables

These are the same specs the checker grades against — recommended upload size, aspect ratio, documented or widely-reported minimums, documented file caps, and how each placement actually crops. Values are the platform-documented or widely industry-reported numbers as of early 2026; most have been stable for years, with Instagram's 3:4 grid the most recent significant change.

Safe zones and crop behavior

Meeting the pixel spec is necessary but not sufficient — platforms overlay UI and re-crop by device, so where you place content inside the frame matters as much as the frame itself:

• Vertical formats (Stories, Reels, TikTok). On a 1080×1920 canvas, usernames and controls occupy roughly the top 250px, while captions, action buttons, and the TikTok engagement rail occupy the bottom ~310px and right edge. Keep text and faces in the central band.
• Banners and covers. The X header (1500×500) loses its left and right edges on mobile and its lower-left to the avatar. LinkedIn's personal banner (1584×396) is overlapped at the lower-left by the profile photo. A Facebook cover uploaded at 820×312 displays as ~640×360 on phones. YouTube channel art is the most extreme: upload 2560×1440, but design inside the central 1546×423 safe area — the only region visible on every device.
• Profile photos. Assume a circular crop everywhere. Anything in the corners of your square upload will be cut on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, and Bluesky alike.
• Instagram's 3:4 grid. Since the 2025 grid change, profile thumbnails preview at 3:4. A 4:5 post still displays fully when opened, but its grid tile trims a sliver from the top and bottom — center your subject vertically, or shoot for 1080×1440 natively.
• Timeline previews on X. Single images with ratios between 3:4 and 2:1 display uncropped; anything outside that window is center-cropped in the feed and only shows in full when tapped.

Common mistakes that get images cropped, stretched, or blurred

• Posting one landscape export everywhere. A 16:9 image is fine on X and YouTube but surrenders more than half its potential screen space on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok, where vertical formats dominate. Export per-ratio renditions instead of one file.
• Ignoring platform minimums and letting the platform upscale. Anything below a placement’s minimum width gets stretched up and looks soft. Upscaling never adds detail — always export at or above the recommended size.
• Putting text near the edges of Stories and Reels. The top ~250px and bottom ~310px of a 1080×1920 canvas sit under usernames, captions, and action buttons. Text there is routinely unreadable or hidden.
• Designing banners for one device. X headers, Facebook covers, LinkedIn banners, and YouTube channel art all crop differently by device. YouTube is the extreme case: of a 2560×1440 upload, only the central 1546×423 is visible everywhere.
• Blowing past file-size caps. Oversized files get recompressed on the platform’s terms. Bluesky (~1MB) and YouTube thumbnails (2MB) are the caps people hit most; X profile photos cap at 2MB.
• Forgetting the circular crop on profile photos. Nearly every platform displays profile photos as circles. Square-corner logos and edge-to-edge text lose their corners — keep the mark centered with breathing room.

Cross-posting cheat sheet: which sizes travel well

Teams that publish across networks rarely export nine bespoke images per post. In practice, three to five master renditions cover nearly every placement:

On engagement, industry-reported benchmarks consistently favor formats that fill more of the screen: vertical and portrait posts typically outperform landscape on mobile-dominated feeds, which is why 4:5 and 9:16 have become the working defaults for organic social. Treat those as directional tendencies, not guarantees — creative quality swamps format effects.

Frequently asked questions

Related free tools

Sizing the image is one leg of a healthy social post. Use our free OG image checker to verify the og:image and Twitter Card tags that control how your links preview when shared, the UTM builder to tag the URLs in those posts so the traffic they win is actually attributable, and the LinkedIn headline generator to sharpen the profile those perfectly sized banners sit on.