Best image sizes for social media

Published March 28, 2026

The exact pixel numbers for social platforms change often, but the underlying sizing logic stays the same. If you understand aspect ratio, safe margins, and export quality, you can make images that hold up across most social placements without rebuilding them from scratch every time.

Think in aspect ratios first

Instead of memorizing a long list of platform-specific dimensions, start with the shape of the destination. Most social uses fall into a few repeatable formats.

Square

Good for versatile posts, product visuals, and preview images that need to stay balanced across feeds.

Portrait

Useful when you want more vertical presence and a layout that uses screen space more aggressively.

Landscape

Works well for headers, previews, and images that need to feel wider than they are tall.

Story or vertical frame

Best when the image is meant to occupy the full height of a mobile screen.

Choose the final crop before you export

If you know the destination, crop the image to that shape before final export. That keeps important edges from being clipped later and helps you decide where text, logos, and subjects should sit in the frame.

  • Keep key elements away from the edges.
  • Leave extra breathing room if the platform may add UI overlays.
  • Use a tighter crop when the image itself is the main subject.

Use enough resolution without making the file huge

The image should be large enough to look clean after upload, but not so large that it becomes unnecessarily heavy. A balanced workflow is usually better than exporting the biggest file you can generate.

If the source image is already small, upscale first and then resize to the final delivery size. If the image is already large enough, resizing alone is usually enough.

Export checklist

  • Confirm the crop is correct for the destination.
  • Make sure text is still readable at the smaller display size.
  • Check that the image still looks clean on a phone screen, not just on a desktop monitor.
  • Keep a master copy so you can make another version later without starting over.

Where SoLoImageStudio fits in

SoLoImageStudio is useful when a social asset needs one more step before it is ready: background cleanup, a clearer subject, or a final resize that matches the destination better. The point is not to make every social image more complex. The point is to remove the unnecessary work that slows down the real workflow.