- ✓Master file should be at least 2000px on the longest edge before cropping
- ✓LinkedIn company cover: 1128x191px (5.9:1) — design left-aligned, mobile crops from the right
- ✓Facebook profile photo: upload at 720x720px even though it displays at 170x170px
- ✓Keep animated content as MP4 not GIF — a short GIF is 10-50x larger than an equivalent MP4
Why Platform Specs Actually Matter
Every major social media platform applies its own compression algorithm to images you upload. If your image is too large, the platform will downscale it. If your image is too small, it will upscale it, creating a blurry result. If you upload a format the platform does not prefer, it will convert it with its own quality settings, which are often aggressive.
Upload a 4K photo to LinkedIn's company page and you will get a muddy thumbnail. Upload a portrait-orientation image to Twitter's default crop and the important part gets cut. Upload an 8 MB PNG to Instagram and the app will compress it to near-unrecognizable quality.
The solution is to prepare images at the correct dimensions before upload, in a format the platform handles well, at a file size under the platform's compression trigger threshold.
Instagram applies compression to any image above approximately 1 MB. Below that threshold, uploaded images pass through with minimal quality loss.
| Content Type | Recommended Dimensions | Aspect Ratio | Max File Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feed square | 1080 x 1080 px | 1:1 | Under 1 MB |
| Feed portrait | 1080 x 1350 px | 4:5 | Under 1 MB |
| Feed landscape | 1080 x 566 px | 1.91:1 | Under 1 MB |
| Stories / Reels cover | 1080 x 1920 px | 9:16 | Under 4 MB |
| Profile photo | 320 x 320 px | 1:1 | Under 200 KB |
Format tip: Instagram accepts JPEG and PNG. Upload JPEG at quality 90 for photos, PNG for graphics with text or logos. The platform converts everything to JPEG internally, so there is no benefit to uploading PNG for photographic content.
Key rule: Always crop feed images to 4:5 (portrait) before uploading. Instagram displays portrait images larger in the feed, giving you more screen real estate than square or landscape posts.
Twitter / X
Twitter applies two separate compression passes: one at upload and one for display. It also applies automatic cropping with an AI algorithm (which is imperfect for faces at the edges of frames).
| Content Type | Recommended Dimensions | Aspect Ratio | Max File Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard tweet image | 1200 x 675 px | 16:9 | Under 5 MB |
| Tweet card (2 images) | 1200 x 1200 px | 1:1 | Under 5 MB |
| Profile photo | 400 x 400 px | 1:1 | Under 2 MB |
| Header / banner | 1500 x 500 px | 3:1 | Under 5 MB |
Format tip: Twitter converts all uploaded images to JPEG for display, even PNGs. For images with transparent backgrounds or logos, upload PNG to preserve clarity, but know the final render is JPEG.
Key rule: Keep critical content away from image edges. Twitter's auto-crop cuts aggressively on mobile. Safe zone is the centre 60% of the image.
LinkedIn is where most people get caught out. The platform applies different compression for personal posts versus company pages, and profile images get displayed at multiple sizes from 72px to 400px depending on context.
| Content Type | Recommended Dimensions | Aspect Ratio | Max File Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post image (single) | 1200 x 627 px | 1.91:1 | Under 5 MB |
| Post image (square) | 1200 x 1200 px | 1:1 | Under 5 MB |
| Profile photo | 400 x 400 px | 1:1 | Under 8 MB |
| Cover / banner | 1584 x 396 px | 4:1 | Under 8 MB |
| Company page logo | 300 x 300 px | 1:1 | Under 4 MB |
| Company page cover | 1128 x 191 px | 5.9:1 | Under 4 MB |
| Article cover | 1200 x 644 px | 1.86:1 | Under 5 MB |
Format tip: LinkedIn handles PNG well and applies less aggressive compression than Instagram or Twitter. For text-heavy infographics and data visualizations, PNG gives the sharpest result.
Key rule: The company page cover is extremely wide relative to height (5.9:1). Design it with left-aligned content, as the mobile crop cuts from the right edge first.
Facebook has the most complex set of size specifications because the same image gets displayed in different contexts (timeline, shared preview, event cover, group header, ad) with different dimensions.
| Content Type | Recommended Dimensions | Aspect Ratio | Max File Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timeline post | 1200 x 630 px | 1.91:1 | Under 8 MB |
| Shared link preview | 1200 x 628 px | 1.91:1 | Platform controlled |
| Profile photo | 170 x 170 px (display) | 1:1 | Upload at 720 x 720 |
| Cover photo | 820 x 312 px | 2.63:1 | Under 100 KB for sharpest result |
| Event cover | 1920 x 1080 px | 16:9 | Under 4 MB |
| Story | 1080 x 1920 px | 9:16 | Under 4 MB |
Format tip: Facebook has a peculiar compression behavior for cover photos above 100 KB. Keep cover images under 100 KB by compressing aggressively (WebP at quality 75 works well) and you will see noticeably sharper results in the final render.
YouTube
YouTube thumbnails are the most important single image in video marketing. Studies consistently show that thumbnail click-through rate is the primary driver of channel growth.
| Content Type | Recommended Dimensions | Aspect Ratio | Max File Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video thumbnail | 1280 x 720 px | 16:9 | Under 2 MB |
| Channel profile photo | 800 x 800 px | 1:1 | Under 4 MB |
| Channel art / banner | 2560 x 1440 px | 16:9 | Under 6 MB |
| Community post image | 720 x 720 px | 1:1 | Under 4 MB |
Format tip: YouTube accepts JPEG, PNG, GIF, and BMP for thumbnails. JPEG is the correct choice. PNG thumbnails add unnecessary file size without visible quality improvement for photographic content.
Key rule: YouTube's safe zone for channel art is 1546 x 423 px centered. Content outside this zone is cropped on TV apps. Design your channel banner with this safe zone in mind and test on both desktop and mobile before publishing.
TikTok
TikTok primarily hosts video, but profile images and slideshow posts have specific requirements.
| Content Type | Recommended Dimensions | Aspect Ratio | Max File Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profile photo | 200 x 200 px | 1:1 | Under 2 MB |
| Photo slideshow slide | 1080 x 1920 px | 9:16 | Under 20 MB |
Format tip: TikTok's slideshow format (available in most markets as of 2025) supports both horizontal and vertical images, but vertical (9:16) fills the screen and performs significantly better in the algorithm.
Pinterest is an image-first platform where vertical images dramatically outperform square or horizontal formats.
| Content Type | Recommended Dimensions | Aspect Ratio | Max File Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard pin | 1000 x 1500 px | 2:3 | Under 20 MB |
| Infographic pin | 1000 x 3000 px | 1:3 | Under 20 MB |
| Story pin | 1080 x 1920 px | 9:16 | Under 20 MB |
| Profile photo | 165 x 165 px | 1:1 | Under 10 MB |
Format tip: Pinterest's algorithm gives preference to pins with a 2:3 aspect ratio in feeds. Square or horizontal images get smaller display space. Always crop to 1000 x 1500 px for maximum visibility.
The Quick Workflow
Rather than memorizing all of these specifications, the practical workflow is:
- Start with a high-resolution master file (at least 2000 px on the longest edge)
- Export platform-specific crops from your original master
- Convert to the correct format (JPEG for photos, PNG for graphics)
- Compress to just under each platform's threshold
Optimage's batch processing tool lets you upload multiple images and convert them all to the correct format and compression level in a single operation, with the option to rename files by destination platform. It removes the manual step of individually exporting and compressing for each platform.
The platforms will compress your images regardless of how you upload them. Your job is to ensure you upload images that survive that compression with their visual quality intact.
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