How to Resize an Image for Instagram, YouTube & LinkedIn
Every platform crops and compresses differently. Upload the right dimensions and your image stays sharp; upload the wrong ones and it gets squashed or blurred. Here are the sizes that matter.
The dimensions that matter
| Platform & placement | Recommended size | Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram square post | 1080 × 1080 | 1:1 |
| Instagram portrait | 1080 × 1350 | 4:5 |
| Instagram story / Reel | 1080 × 1920 | 9:16 |
| YouTube thumbnail | 1280 × 720 | 16:9 |
| LinkedIn shared image | 1200 × 627 | 1.91:1 |
| LinkedIn cover | 1584 × 396 | 4:1 |
The tool above includes ready-made presets for the most common of these — Square 1:1, YouTube 16:9, and Instagram 1080×1080 — so you don't have to type dimensions by hand.
Resize without losing quality
The golden rule is to resize down, never up. Shrinking a large image keeps it crisp; enlarging a small one invents pixels and looks soft. Always start from the highest-resolution original you have.
If the target ratio differs from your image, you'll either crop or letterbox. For social posts, cropping to fill usually looks best — just keep the important subject near the centre so it survives the crop.
Compress after resizing
Once you've hit the right dimensions, export at around 80% quality. Most platforms re-compress your upload anyway, so handing them a clean, correctly-sized 80% file gives the best final result and avoids double-compression artifacts from an already-degraded image.