Social Media Image Sizes: Complete Guide for 2026 (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)

Posting the wrong image size on social media in 2026 is like showing up to a high-stakes board meeting in pajamas—it works, but it immediately signals a lack of professionalism. With social algorithms increasingly prioritizing High-Definition (HD) and Vertical-First content, even a minor cropping error can lead to a 50% drop in reach and engagement.

This comprehensive master guide covers every major social media platform's image requirements for 2026. We’ve verified these dimensions across the latest updates from Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube to ensure your content looks pixel-perfect on every screen.

1. Instagram: The Visual Gold Standard

Instagram remains the most unforgiving platform for image quality. In 2026, the platform utilizes advanced AI to downscale "bloated" files, which can lead to blurriness if you don't upload the exact recommended dimensions.

Expert Breakdown: Instagram Feed & Stories

Post Type	Recommended Size	Aspect Ratio
Portrait (Best Performance)	1080 x 1350 px	4:5
Square Post	1080 x 1080 px	1:1
Stories / Reels	1080 x 1920 px	9:16
Profile Picture	320 x 320 px	1:1 Circular

Pro Strategy: Always use SnapResizer's 4:5 Portrait Preset for your main feed posts. This fills more of the user's screen as they scroll, increasing the likelihood of a stop and an interaction.

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2. TikTok: Vertical or Bust

TikTok is entirely 9:16. While you can upload landscape videos, they are automatically placed within a vertical frame with blurred bars, which looks amateur. For 2026, TikTok has increased the maximum file size for "HD Uploads" to 1GB, making optimization even more critical.

• In-Feed Video: 1080 x 1920 pixels.
• Profile Photo: 200 x 200 pixels (but upload 400x400 for better clarity on 4K screens).
• Story Ads: 1080 x 1920 pixels with a 150px "safe zone" at the top and bottom to avoid UI overlap.

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3. YouTube: The Billion-Dollar Display

YouTube is unique because your branding must work on everything from a 5-inch smartphone to a 75-inch smart TV. This requires extremely high-resolution assets.

Asset	Ideal Dimensions	Key Metric
Channel Banner	2560 x 1440 px	16:9 Central Safe Area
Video Thumbnail	1280 x 720 px	Keep under 2MB
YouTube Shorts	1080 x 1920 px	9:16 Vertical

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4. LinkedIn: The Professional Aesthetic

LinkedIn has the most complex image ecosystem. For B2B brands and career professionals, an unoptimized cover photo or profile picture can hurt your credibility.

Personal Profile Cover: 1584 x 396 pixels. Note that your profile picture will overlap the left side of this banner on desktop, so keep your design balanced toward the right center.

Company Page Header: 1128 x 191 pixels. This is a much "skinnier" ratio than the personal banner—be careful with text placement.

Shared Link Images: 1200 x 627 pixels. This is the 1.91:1 ratio that Google and LinkedIn use for scraping link previews.

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Technical Mastery: Pre-Flight Checklist

Before you upload any image to social media in 2026, you must pass it through a "Pre-Flight" optimization to ensure the platform's compression doesn't ruin your art.

1. Correct Color Space: Always export in sRGB. Uploading images in CMYK or ProPhoto RGB will cause colors to look dull or "neon" once processed by Instagram or Facebook.
2. Bit Depth: Stick to 8-bit for general posts. While our AVIF tool supports 10-bit HDR, most social platforms will downconvert it anyway, often introducing banding in the process.
3. Stripping Metadata: Use SnapResizer's Privacy Tool to remove location tags and camera serial numbers before sharing personal photos.

Conclusion: Consistency is the Key to Growth

The brands that win on social media in 2026 are the ones that respect the medium. By using the correct aspect ratios and optimizing for high-resolution displays, you are telling your audience that you care about quality.

Don't let manual resizing slow you down. Bookmarks SnapResizer's Smart Cropper and Format Converter to automate your social media workflow. Upload with confidence, knowing your content is perfectly sized for success.