Social media image sizes 2026: official specs for 10 platforms

Image size cheat sheets go stale because the platforms keep changing the numbers. YouTube's thumbnail help page recommended 1280 x 720 pixels as recently as December 2024. Today it recommends 3840 x 2160. Instagram's Help Center now keeps portrait photos up to 3:4, while Meta's developer reference for apps that publish to Instagram still lists 4:5 as the tallest ratio.

Every number below comes from a platform's own help center or developer docs, as they read on October 21, 2026. When a platform publishes no recommended size, the table says so. The few third-party figures are labeled with the company that published them.

The short answer

For Instagram feed photos, upload at least 1080 pixels wide with a ratio between 1.91:1 (1080 x 566) and 3:4 (1080 x 1440). Instagram crops anything outside that range.
For Pinterest, use a 2:3 image at 1000 x 1500 pixels.
For YouTube video thumbnails, use 16:9 at 3840 x 2160, and never go below 640 pixels wide.
For LinkedIn photo posts, use 1080 pixels wide with a ratio between 3:1 and 4:5. Custom images on link posts from a LinkedIn Page are 1200 x 627.
Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky, and TikTok publish file size or ratio limits for feed photos but no recommended pixel size. Check the limits table before you export.
Keep faces, logos, and text away from the edges of covers and headers. Facebook, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube all say their covers get cropped on some screens.

Feed post sizes for every platform

Where a platform gives only a minimum, a maximum, or a ratio range, the table shows that instead of a recommended size.

Platform	Post format	Recommended size (px)	Aspect ratio	Source
Instagram	Feed photo, wide	1080 x 566	1.91:1	Instagram Help Center
Instagram	Feed photo, square	1080 x 1080	1:1	Instagram Help Center (1080 px width rule)
Instagram	Feed photo, portrait	1080 x 1440	3:4	Instagram Help Center
Instagram	Carousel	Same as feed photos	One orientation for every item	Instagram Help Center
Facebook	Feed photo	Not published	Not published	Facebook Help Center
LinkedIn	Photo post	1080 wide (minimum 552 x 276)	3:1 to 4:5	LinkedIn Help
LinkedIn	Page post with a link and custom image	1200 x 627	1.91:1	LinkedIn Help
X	Single photo	Not published	2:1 to 3:4 displays in full	X Help Center
Threads	Photo or carousel	Not published (scaled to 320 to 1440 wide)	Up to 10:1	Meta for Developers
Bluesky	Photo	Not published	Not published	Bluesky lexicon
Pinterest	Standard Pin	1000 x 1500	2:3	Pinterest Business Help
Pinterest	Carousel	Not published	1:1 or 2:3	Pinterest Business Help
YouTube	Video thumbnail	3840 x 2160 (minimum 640 wide)	16:9	YouTube Help
YouTube	Shorts thumbnail	2160 x 3840 (minimum 640 tall)	9:16	YouTube Help
TikTok	Photo post	Not published (1080p maximum through the API)	Not published	TikTok for Developers
Google Business Profile	Photo	720 x 720 (minimum 250 x 250)	Not published	Google Business Profile Help

Two rows need a note. Instagram's Help Center gives the 1080 pixel width and the 1.91:1 to 3:4 range, so the square row is simply that width at 1:1. Google publishes one set of photo guidelines for the whole Business Profile and nothing separate for photos in posts, so that row uses the general guidelines.

File size and count limits

Platform	Max file size	Images per post	File types	Source
Instagram	8 MB (developer reference)	Up to 20 in a carousel	JPEG (developer reference)	Instagram Help Center, Meta for Developers
Facebook	Under 15 MB recommended, PNG under 1 MB	Not published	JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, TIFF	Facebook Help Center
LinkedIn	5 MB	Up to 20	Not published	LinkedIn Help
X	5 MB	Up to 4 media items	GIF, JPEG, PNG	X Help Center
Threads	8 MB	2 to 20 in a carousel	JPEG, PNG	Meta for Developers
Bluesky	2 MB	Up to 4	Any image type	Bluesky lexicon
Pinterest	20 MB on desktop, 32 MB in the app	2 to 5 in a carousel	PNG, JPEG	Pinterest Business Help
YouTube thumbnail	50 MB on desktop, 2 MB on mobile	1	JPG, PNG	YouTube Help
TikTok	20 MB per image	Up to 35	JPEG, WebP (API)	TikTok Help Center, TikTok for Developers
Google Business Profile	10 KB to 5 MB	Not published	JPG, PNG	Google Business Profile Help

What changed on Instagram

The profile grid went vertical

In January 2025 Instagram replaced the square profile grid with taller rectangles. Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, explained the switch in an Instagram story quoted by PetaPixel: "most of what's uploaded, both photos and videos, are vertical in their orientation."

Instagram has not published the grid's exact ratio in its Help Center, and third-party guides disagree. Buffer's guide says grid previews are 4:5 (1080 x 1350). Planoly's guide says the grid shows images at 3:4 (1013 x 1350). Both companies sell social media software, as eksis does. Neither is official, so keep faces and text near the middle of the frame.

3:4 photos arrived in May 2025

On May 29, 2025, Mosseri wrote on Threads that Instagram "now supports 3:4 aspect ratio photos" and that a 3:4 image would "appear just exactly as you shot it." The Help Center now lists 3:4 as the tallest ratio Instagram keeps without cropping, at 1080 x 1440.

4:5 or 3:4?

The app and the publishing API still disagree. The Help Center accepts 1.91:1 to 3:4. Meta's developer reference for the endpoint that third-party tools, eksis included, use to publish says images "must be within a 4:5 to 1.91:1 range," with an 8 MB limit, JPEG only, and a width between 320 and 1440 pixels. If you post from the Instagram app, 3:4 gives you the most height. If you schedule through a tool, check which portrait ratios it sends.

One more rule from the Help Center: a carousel can hold up to 20 photos and videos, and the orientation you choose for it applies to every item.

What changed on YouTube

An archived copy of YouTube's thumbnail page from December 20, 2024 recommended 1280 x 720 with a 2 MB limit for videos. The current page recommends 3840 x 2160 for videos and 2160 x 3840 for Shorts, keeps the 640 pixel minimum, and raises the limit to 50 MB on desktop. Uploads from mobile are still capped at 2 MB for video thumbnails.

YouTube also notes that vertical videos with a 16:9 custom thumbnail get an auto-generated 4:5 thumbnail on the home, explore, and subscription pages.

Profile photos and covers

Platform	Image	Size (px)	Notes	Source
Facebook Page	Profile picture	320 x 320	Displays at 176 x 176 on computers and 196 x 196 on smartphones, cropped to a circle	Facebook Help Center
Facebook Page	Cover photo	Minimum 400 x 150, loads fastest at 851 x 315	sRGB JPG under 100 KB; 16:9 on computers, 2.4:1 on mobile	Facebook Help Center
LinkedIn profile	Profile photo	400 x 400 to 7680 x 4320	PNG or JPG, 8 MB max	LinkedIn Help
LinkedIn profile	Background photo	1584 x 396	8 MB max	LinkedIn Help
LinkedIn Page	Logo	400 x 400 (minimum 268 x 268)	PNG or JPEG, 3 MB max	LinkedIn Help
LinkedIn Page	Cover image	1512 x 256	Can be trimmed to fit the screen	LinkedIn Help
X	Profile photo	400 x 400	JPEG, GIF, or PNG, 2 MB max	X Help Center
X	Header	1500 x 500	Up to 60 px at the top and bottom can be cropped	X Help Center
YouTube	Profile picture	Renders at 98 x 98	15 MB max, no animated GIFs	YouTube Help
YouTube	Banner	2560 x 1440 recommended, 2048 x 1152 minimum	16:9, safe area for text and logos 1235 x 338 at the minimum size, 6 MB max	YouTube Help
Bluesky	Avatar and banner	Not published	PNG or JPEG, 1 MB max each	Bluesky lexicon

The Instagram, TikTok, and Google Business Profile help pages we checked give no pixel size for profile pictures, logos, or covers. For Google, the general photo guidance of 720 x 720 recommended and 250 x 250 minimum is the closest thing to one.

Prepare images for each platform in eksis

eksis checks every image against the rules of each account you post to while you write, and it does the Instagram crop for you. It does not change profile photos or covers, so set those in each app.

The composer re-checks the post as you edit. A file over a platform's size limit, or a ratio the platform rejects (Pinterest outside 1:2 to 1.91:1, for example), shows as an error before you schedule. An image narrower than the platform's minimum, such as 600 pixels on Pinterest or 552 on LinkedIn, gets a warning that it may look soft.
For Instagram feed posts and carousels, the Instagram settings have a Crop row with 1:1, 4:5, 3:4, and 16:9. If you leave it alone, eksis picks the shape closest to the first photo and trims the rest from the center. The cropped JPEG copy is made when the post publishes, at most 1440 pixels wide, and the original in your media library stays whole for your other platforms. The preview labels a trimmed photo with "cropped to 4:5" or whichever shape applies.
For TikTok photo posts, PNG files and images larger than TikTok's 1080p limit go out as a JPEG copy that fits.
For YouTube, the Thumbnail setting takes an uploaded JPG or PNG at least 640 pixels wide, or a frame you pick from the video.
eksis takes 2 to 10 photos in an Instagram carousel, fewer than the 20 Instagram allows in its own app. It takes up to 20 for LinkedIn and Threads, up to 35 for TikTok, up to 10 for Facebook, 2 to 5 for a Pinterest carousel, and up to 4 for X and Bluesky.
On Starter and above, uploads stay in the media library so you can reuse them. On Free, an upload stays with its post and is deleted after the post publishes. Compare plans.

Sources

All were read on October 21, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best image size for an Instagram post in 2026?

Upload at least 1080 pixels wide. Instagram's Help Center keeps photos at full resolution when the ratio is between 1.91:1 (1080 x 566) and 3:4 (1080 x 1440), so 1080 x 1440 is the tallest option. If you publish through a scheduling tool, Meta's developer reference still lists 4:5 as the tallest ratio, so check what your tool supports.

Is the YouTube thumbnail size still 1280 x 720?

No. YouTube's help page now recommends 3840 x 2160 for video thumbnails, with a minimum width of 640 pixels, so a 1280 x 720 file is still accepted but is no longer the recommendation. Desktop uploads can be up to 50 MB, and mobile uploads up to 2 MB.

What size is the Instagram profile grid?

Instagram has not published it. Since January 2025 the grid shows vertical rectangles instead of squares, but Buffer's guide says 4:5 and Planoly's guide says 3:4. Keep the important part of each image near the center so it survives either crop.

Is there one image size that works everywhere?

No. A square image falls inside the accepted ranges for Instagram and LinkedIn, and inside the range X shows in full for single photos, but Pinterest recommends 2:3 and YouTube thumbnails are 16:9. Covers and headers each have their own shape, so they need separate files.

Does eksis resize images for each platform?

For Instagram feed posts and carousels, eksis crops each photo to the shape you pick (1:1, 4:5, 3:4, or 16:9) and sends a JPEG copy at most 1440 pixels wide. For TikTok photo posts it converts PNG files and images over 1080p into a JPEG copy. Elsewhere it flags size and ratio problems in the composer instead of changing the file.

Social media image sizes for 2026, checked against each platform's own help pages

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