Social Media Perfect Image Size Guide for 2021
One of the daily deliverables a marketing agency has, is its daily posting on Social Media websites. While this might look like a simple straight-forward task, the devil usually lies in the details.
The main challenge designers & community managers face is getting the right size to post in the right place. A facebook cover photo size is very different then a newsfeed image post size.
Another challenge faced is also fitting the main elements & delivering the message inside the image safe zone. If not done properly, a post might not appear correctly on mobile phones.
Table of contents
- Facebook Cheatsheet
- Instagram Cheatsheet
- YouTube Cheatsheet
- Linked In Cheatsheet
- Twitter Cheatsheet
- Snapchat Cheatsheet
- TikTok Cheatsheet
Facebook images & videos optimal posting size
| Media Type | Optimal Size for Posting | Optimal Ratio |
| Facebook Page Cover Photo | 1200 x 456 px | 2.63 : 1 |
| Facebook Event Cover Photo | 1200 x 675 px | 1.78 : 1 |
| Facebook Group Cover Photo | 1640 x 859 px | 1.91 : 1 |
| Facebook Profile Picture | 340 x 340 px | 1 : 1 – Crops square & round |
| Facebook Link Picture | 1200 x 628 px | 1.91 : 1 |
| Facebook Newsfeed Post Photo | 1080 x 1080 px | 1 : 1 – square format |
| Facebook Newsfeed Post Video | 1080 x 1080 px | 1 : 1 – square format |
Facebook page cover photo safe zone
As mentioned before, a facebook page cover photo might display differently on mobile & desktop versions. The below image shows exactly how a cover photo will appear.
Ideally, you will want to display your most important elements & messages in the area marked as « Safe Zone ».
Bonus Tip: When creating your video post, make sure to have your first frame as the cover photo of the post. A first frame is hardly noticeable to naked eye, however, facebook & instagram will detect it and use it as a highlight.
Instagram images & videos optimal posting size
| Media Type | Optimal Size for Posting | Optimal Ratio |
| Instagram Profile Picture | 180 x 180 px | 1 : 1 – Crops round |
| Instagram Feed Post Photo Square | 1080 x 1080 px | 1 : 1 – square format |
| Instagram Feed Post Photo Portrait | 1080 x 1920 px | 9 : 16 – portrait format |
| Instagram Feed Post Video Square | 1080 x 1080 px | 1 : 1 – square format |
| Instagram Feed Post Video Portrait | 1080 x 1920 px | 9 : 16 – portrait format |
| Instagram Story | 1080 x 1920 px | 9 : 16 – portrait format |
| Instagram IGTV Cover Photo* | 420 x 654 px | 1 : 1.55 |
Bonus Tip: When creating your IGTV video, include your cover photo as a first frame. It will be automatically detected and used by instagram. This is especially useful when using Social Media management softwares like Agora for example, where uploading an IGTV cover is not possible.
Bonus Tip 2: Using the portrait format in your instagram posts will get you the most visibility on your followers' feed.
YouTube images optimal size
| Media Type | Optimal Size for Posting | Optimal Ratio |
| Channel Art | 2560 x 1440 px | 1.78 : 1 |
| Video Thumbnail | 1280 x 720 px | 1.78 : 1 |
| Channel Icon | 800 x 800 px | 1 : 1 – square format |
Linked In images optimal size
| Media Type | Optimal Size for Posting | Optimal Ratio |
| Profile Banner | 1584 x 396 px | 4 : 1 |
| Profile Avatar | 400 x 400 px | 1 : 1 – square format |
| Blog Post | 1200 x 628 px | 1.91 : 1 |
| Company Cover | 1536 x 768 px | 2 : 1 |
| Company Logo | 300 x 300 px | 1 : 1 – square format |
Twitter images optimal size
| Media Type | Optimal Size for Posting | Optimal Ratio |
| Header | 1500 x 500 px | 3 : 1 |
| Profile Photo | 400 x 400 px | 1 : 1 – crops round |
| Tweeted Feed Photo | 1200 x 675 px | 1.78 : 1 |
| Twitter Card Photo (link) | 1200 x 628 px | 1.91 : 1 |
Bonus Tip: An image inside your feed will always open fully when clicked. Knowing that, you might want to hide some elements inside your image that don't show unless the tweet is clicked on.
Snapchat images optimal size
| Media Type | Optimal Size for Posting | Optimal Ratio |
| Snapchat Video Story Size | 1080 x 1920 px | 9 : 16 |
| Snapchat Geofilters size | 1080 x 2340 px | 1 : 2.17 |
Bonus Tip: A Geo filter image should not exceed 300 KB and should be at least 50% transparent (.png)
TikTok images optimal size
| Media Type | Optimal Size for Posting | Optimal Ratio |
| TikTok Profile Photo | 200 x 200 px | 1 : 1 |
| TikTok Video Size | 1080 x 2340 px | 1 : 2.17 |
Social Media image sizes makes a difference
Creating eye-catching images in the proper size for each social media network can make all the difference. You don’t want your followers to see pixelated half images. Social Media management is basically a million small tasks to do to get one thing right. Make your brand look awesomely sexy online.
Get in touch today or book a free consultation and discover how we can help you and your business drive online sales without blowing your budget.