Every size that matters,in one place.
The wrong dimensions get your creative cropped, blurred, or rejected, and platforms change the specs constantly. This is the cheat sheet that doesn't make you dig: pick a platform and get the recommended pixel dimensions, aspect ratios, and the gotchas for every placement that counts. Built clean and current so you can size it right the first time.
Feed — portrait
1080 × 1350
4:5 · Image / Video
Takes the most feed real estate. Default for feed.
Feed — square
1080 × 1080
1:1 · Image / Video
Reels
1080 × 1920
9:16 · Video
Keep text/CTAs out of the bottom ~250px (UI overlap).
Stories
1080 × 1920
9:16 · Image / Video
Profile photo
320 × 320
1:1 · Image
Your move
Right sized creative is the floor. Creative that converts is the ceiling.
5 Instagram placements, sized right.
Perfect dimensions won't save a weak idea, and a great one barely needs them. I build the concepts, scripts, and creative that actually stop the scroll and sell, sized right for every placement. If your ads look fine but don't perform, book the call and I'll show you, free, what I'd change.
Plain English
Right size, or wasted creative.
Every platform renders images and video at specific dimensions and aspect ratios, and getting them wrong is a quiet, constant tax on your marketing. Upload a square image where a platform wants a vertical and it gets cropped, often straight through your headline or your face. Use too few pixels and it looks soft on a retina screen. Ignore the safe zones and the platform's own UI buttons cover your call to action. None of it is hard to avoid; you just need the current numbers.
The aspect ratio matters even more than the exact pixel count, because it decides what gets cropped. Vertical 9:16 owns Stories, Reels, TikTok, and Shorts; 4:5 takes the most real estate in a feed; 1:1 square is the safe all rounder; 16:9 is the standard for landscape video; and 1.91:1 is the link preview ratio that doubles as your Open Graph share image. Designing to the right ratio means your creative fills the frame instead of fighting it.
This cheat sheet keeps the numbers that matter for each major platform, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, X, Pinterest, Google Display, plus email and web, in one fast lookup, with the recommended size, ratio, format, and the practical notes (safe zones, file caps, where the UI overlaps) that the official help docs bury. Pick a platform, grab the spec, and ship the creative right the first time.
The formula
Aspect ratio = width : height · design to the ratio, export at the recommended pixels
A 1080 × 1920 image is a 9:16 ratio, the full screen vertical used for Stories, Reels, TikTok, and Shorts. A 1200 × 630 image is 1.91:1, the link preview and Open Graph ratio. Match the ratio to the placement first, then export at the recommended pixel size so it stays crisp on every screen.
The sizes you'll reach for most
The handful of dimensions that cover the majority of real work. Use the lookup above for every placement; keep these few in your head:
| Use | Size | Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Vertical (Stories / Reels / TikTok) | 1080 × 1920 | 9:16 |
| Feed portrait | 1080 × 1350 | 4:5 |
| Square | 1080 × 1080 | 1:1 |
| Landscape video | 1920 × 1080 | 16:9 |
| Link / OG preview | 1200 × 630 | 1.91:1 |
Source: Platform creative specs (Meta, Google, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest) · 2025
Your creative looks wrong. Why?
Image is cropped through key content.
Wrong aspect ratio for the placement. The platform crops to fit its frame, design to the exact ratio and keep important elements away from the edges.
Looks soft or pixelated.
Too few pixels for the display. Export at the recommended dimensions (or 2×) so it stays sharp on high resolution screens.
Text or CTA hidden behind buttons.
You drew into the UI safe zone. On Stories and Reels, keep text and CTAs clear of the top and bottom ~15% where the platform's controls sit.
Upload rejected or auto compressed.
You blew the file size or format limit. Check the placement's cap, compress, and use the platform's preferred format (usually MP4 for video, PNG/JPG for image).
Share preview looks broken.
Missing or mis sized Open Graph image. Add a 1200 × 630 (1.91:1) OG image so links preview cleanly on social and chat apps.
How to never size wrong again
01Design vertical first
9:16 and 4:5 dominate mobile feeds and stories. Start tall and crop down to square or landscape, going the other way leaves you with awkward letterboxing.
02Respect the safe zones
Keep text and logos out of the top and bottom edges on full screen formats, where the platform's UI overlaps. Centre the message.
03Export at 2× for sharpness
Designing at the recommended pixels, or double, keeps creative crisp on retina and high DPI screens. Soft creative reads as low effort.
04Build a master, then resize
Create one high res master per campaign, then export the ratios each platform needs. Don't redesign from scratch for every placement.
05Always ship an Open Graph image
A 1200 × 630 OG image makes every shared link preview look intentional across Facebook, LinkedIn, Slack, and iMessage. It's free brand polish.
06Re check specs each quarter
Platforms change dimensions and safe zones regularly. Glance at the current numbers before a big campaign rather than trusting last year's template.
The vocabulary
- Aspect ratio
- The proportional relationship of width to height (e.g. 9:16). Determines how a platform crops your creative.
- Safe zone
- The area of a full screen creative kept clear of the platform's UI so text and CTAs aren't covered.
- 9:16
- Full screen vertical, the ratio for Stories, Reels, TikTok, and Shorts.
- 1.91:1
- The link preview / Open Graph ratio (e.g. 1200 × 630), used for shared link cards across platforms.
- Open Graph image
- The image shown when a page link is shared. A 1200 × 630 OG image keeps previews clean everywhere.
Image size questions, straight answers
For the feed, 1080 × 1350 (a 4:5 portrait) takes the most space and performs best; 1080 × 1080 square is the safe all rounder. For Stories and Reels, use 1080 × 1920 (9:16, full screen). Keep important text and your call to action away from the top and bottom edges on Stories and Reels, where Instagram's interface overlaps.
Keep going
A calculator tells you what. A call tells you what to do about it.
Send me the account behind these numbers. I'll tell you straight where the money's leaking and what I'd fix first — free, and you keep it whether you hire me or not.