Editor’s note: This post has been updated to match 2019 best practices.
No one wants their social media profile to feature a pixelated photo of their face or brand. You spent time deciding which photo to use, so you’ve got to make sure it looks right.
The dimensions of the profile picture and cover photo are far from uniform across the Internet. They vary from site to site, so it can become quite confusing when trying to add a new photo to an existing profile, or creating a new profile altogether. Below are the recommended dimensions for the profile pictures, cover photos, and visual content you post to your different social media so that your profiles can look the way you’ve envisioned them.
Profile & cover photos
The recommended dimensions of a Twitter profile picture are 400 x 400 px. Keep in mind that your square photo will be cropped into a circle, so make sure everything you want visible is near the center.
For a cover photo, the dimensions are suggested to be 1500 x 500 px.
The screenshot below shows the profile and cover photo as it appears on desktop as of October 2019. You’ll notice that the Twitter experience on desktop has become very similar to the mobile experience — the timeline is narrow, making room for functions to the left and right.
Tweeted photos
Tweeted photos display in the timeline with a 16:9 ratio. If uploaded photos are more square than that, they are cropped until a user clicks to expand the photo. Below, you can see Barack and Michelle’s anniversary photo as Mr. Obama uploaded it, and how it’s displayed in the Twitter timeline.
The recommended dimensions for a Facebook profile picture are 180 x 180 px. This will then be scaled and shown with the following dimensions:
- 170 x 170 px on desktop
- 128 x 128 px on mobile
- 36 x 36 px on feature phones (or non-smart phones)
Your square photo will be cropped into a circle, so make sure everything you want visible is near the center.
Your cover photo is required to be 400 x 150 px. For ideal loading speed, the cover photo you upload for Facebook should be an sRGB JPG file that’s 851 x 315 px and less than 100 kilobytes. And, according to Facebook, if your logo or text is included in the picture, a PNG file will yield the highest quality result.
Your cover photo will be shown in the following dimensions:
- 820×312 pixels on desktop
- 640×360 pixels on mobile
Instagram used to be known for only allowing square pictures (with a 1:1 aspect ratio). That’s no longer the case, but your profile picture will be cropped to a perfect circle. Upload any image you like, but keep in mind that the corners will be cropped to form a 110 x 110 px circle.
The basic profile image size recommendations are the same for personal and for company pages. LinkedIn suggests the following:
- Logo image (personal and company): 300 x 300 px
- Cover image (personal and company): 1536 x 768 px
Companies that choose to enhance their profiles with “Career Pages” gain the ability to add more types of images. Here are the recommended sizes for those image types:
- Main image: 1128 x 376 px
- Custom modules: 502 x 282 px
- Company photos: 900 x 600 px
YouTube
According to YouTube’s support page, the picture you upload for your YouTube channel’s Channel Icon should be 800 x 800 px.
For a Channel Art banner that looks good on desktop, mobile, tablet, and TV, it is recommended to upload a 2560 x 1440 px image with the text and logo within the 1546 x 423 px “center.” The template below (complements of YouTube) clearly shows how Channel Art will be cropped and displayed on each device.
A picture with square dimensions is recommended by Pinterest if no cropping or resizing is desired. A 600 x 600 px photo is listed as the ideal size, yet a 165 x 165 px photo will work just as well.
Pinterest boards put a limit on width (236 pixels), but not height. Clicking on Pins expands images to a minimum width of 600 pixels with height proportionally scaled to match at a 2:3 aspect ratio.
Other Social Media
Yelp
The maximum profile photo size Yelp will display is 250 x 250 px. Photos uploaded by businesses (e.g. of the interior, or of food) can be as big as 5000 x 5000 px.
Tumblr
Profile photo size is 128 x 128 px. Images in your feed will display at a maximum size of 1280 x 1920 px.
Vimeo
The Vimeo website suggests your profile picture be sized to 600 x 600 px. They also give you the option to add a cover video, which is cropped to an aspect ratio of 3:10.
Overview of recommended profile picture sizes
400 x 400 px for a profile picture. 1500 x 500 px for a cover photo.
180 x 180 px for a profile picture. 851 x 315 px for a cover photo.
The Instagram profile photo is cropped to a 110 x 110 px circle.
300 x 300 px for a profile picture. 1536 x 768 px for a cover photo.
800 x 800 px for a Channel Icon. 2560 x 1440 px for the Channel Art banner.
A 600 x 600 px photo is listed as the ideal size, yet a 165 x 165 px photo will work just as well.
The maximum profile photo size Yelp will display is 250 x 250 px.
Profile photo size is 128 x 128 px. Images in your feed will display at a maximum size of 1280 x 1920 px.
The Vimeo website suggests your profile picture be sized to 600 x 600 px.
No one wants to see their face pixelated, stretched, or cropped in odd places; it’s unnatural. By using these recommended picture dimensions on your social media profiles, you can present yourself or your company to the world without headaches and in a way that’s aesthetically pleasing.
If you’re on a Mac and need help adjusting the size of your images, check out our guide to using Preview for editing images.
