Resize photos for Instagram and Facebook

Meta publishes exact sizes for only some of these formats. The table says which. Where Meta gives no figure, the size is the one the big social media size guides use, and the tool labels it as common practice rather than something Meta states. We checked Meta’s pages on 6 and 7 October 2026.

These pages change. The Instagram Help Center page (help.instagram.com/1631821640426723) and the Ads Guide figures were checked on 6 October 2026 for DMFast’s size guides (see the guides linked below), and we read the Instagram page and the Facebook Page picture and cover page (facebook.com/help/125379114252045) again in a browser on 7 October 2026. The IG User Media reference, last updated 28 September 2026, we opened again on 7 October 2026 and it still lists JPEG, 8 MB, 320 to 1,440 px wide, 4:5 to 1.91:1 for API images, and 9:16 as the recommended Story shape.

Both give a file of exactly the size you picked. They differ in what happens when your photo has a different shape from the frame.

• Fill the frame scales the photo until it covers the frame, then crops what overflows. It suits covers, link previews and ads, where an edge-to-edge image looks right. Use the sliders to keep the face or product inside.
• Fit the whole photo keeps every pixel and fills the leftover space with a background. It suits feed posts and Stories where you don’t want anything cut off.
• If the photo already has the frame’s shape, both give the same result and the tool says so.

Cover photos and profile pictures are cropped by the platform as well. A Facebook Page cover is shown differently on computers and phones, and profile pictures are cut to a circle, so keep the important part in the middle. The preview shows the file itself, not those platform crops.

• JPEG is the default and the safest for both platforms. Meta’s publishing API takes JPEG only, of 8 MB at most. For a Facebook cover, Meta says an sRGB JPG under 100 KB loads fastest, so lower the quality slider and check the file size shown under each result.
• PNG keeps every pixel exactly and makes much larger files. Meta suggests PNG for covers and profile pictures that contain a logo or text.
• WebP is offered only where your browser can save it. Safari can’t, so it is hidden there. It is not a format to count on for uploads to Instagram or Facebook.
• Photos above 16 megapixels are scaled down first, the most a phone browser can safely hold. Custom sizes can’t be bigger than 16 megapixels either.
• Photos smaller than the size you ask for are enlarged, and the tool says so, because they can look soft.

Tip: Resizing happens in halving steps rather than one big jump, which keeps fine detail from shimmering. Resize once from your original, not from a copy that has already been resized.