Social Media Image Size Reference

You're posting the same image to Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and Facebook, and each one wants different dimensions. Skipping the resize means cropped thumbnails or pixelated profile photos. The reference shows current dimensions for every common post type on every major platform.

Covers feed posts, stories, reels, profile pictures, cover/banner images, ad units, and the platform-specific quirks — Instagram's preference for 1:1 versus 4:5, LinkedIn's bizarre cover photo aspect ratio, X's cropping behavior at different aspect ratios.

Platforms update their requirements every so often (especially when they roll out new features). Last-checked dates are shown so you know how stale the figures might be. When in doubt, design at 2x the listed size so future-proofing is built in.

Each platform has dimensions that the content management system expects, and platforms tend to compress aggressively to keep page-load times reasonable. Knowing the expected dimensions saves you from cropped previews and from compression artifacts compounding what was already a low-quality image. The reference covers feed posts, stories, reels and shorts, profile photos, cover/banner images, ad units, and the platform-specific behaviors that catch people out.

Current major dimensions to remember: - Instagram feed (square): 1080×1080. Feed (portrait): 1080×1350 (4:5). Stories and reels: 1080×1920 (9:16). - LinkedIn feed: 1200×627 horizontal, 1080×1080 square. Cover photo: 1584×396 (the wonky aspect ratio that almost everyone gets wrong on first try). - X (Twitter) image: 1200×675 ratio for feed display, larger source preferred. - Facebook feed: 1200×630 horizontal. Cover photo: 851×315 (also a unique aspect ratio). - YouTube thumbnail: 1280×720. Channel art: 2560×1440 with a safe area for cropping. - Pinterest pin: 1000×1500 portrait (2:3 ratio is the strongest performer). - TikTok video: 1080×1920 (9:16).

A worked example: you have one product photo and want to post it on Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and Facebook. Designing once at 1080×1350 (4:5 vertical) covers Instagram feed at full quality. For LinkedIn and Facebook (1200×630), you'd need either a horizontal crop or a redesign with the subject centered so cropping doesn't kill it. For X, the 1200×675 ratio is similar enough to the LinkedIn version. Practical workflow: design the vertical Instagram version first (toughest aspect), then create horizontal variants by extending the canvas or repositioning the subject.

What the reference can't future-proof: platforms update specs every 12–18 months, sometimes with little notice. Last-checked dates are shown so you know how stale the figures might be. As a defensive practice, design at 2x the listed size — uploading a higher-res image lets the platform downsample (which preserves quality) rather than upscale (which doesn't). And keep your raw source files, not just the platform-cropped versions; when specs change you'll want to regenerate from source.