Cheat sheet
Social media image sizes in 2026: the only cheat sheet you need
June 9, 2026 · 6 min read
The single biggest design mistake is using the wrong dimensions — your slide gets cropped, your text gets cut off, and the post looks amateur in the feed. Here are the sizes that matter in 2026, and the one number to remember for each platform. When in doubt, design vertical: portrait takes up more screen, and more screen means more attention.
- Carousel & feed post: 1080 × 1350 px (4:5 portrait) — the default you should use. Maximum feed real-estate without cropping.
- Square post: 1080 × 1080 px (1:1) — fine, but you give up vertical space.
- Story & Reel: 1080 × 1920 px (9:16).
Designing a carousel? Start from the Instagram carousel maker — it outputs every slide at 1080 × 1350.
TikTok
- Photo carousel & video: 1080 × 1920 px (9:16 full-screen).
- Keep important text in the middle ~80% — the top and bottom edges sit under the UI (caption, buttons).
The TikTok carousel maker designs for photo mode and keeps text inside the safe zone.
- Document (PDF) carousel: design pages at 1080 × 1350 px (4:5). LinkedIn carousels are uploaded as a PDF, one slide per page — portrait reads best on mobile.
- Single feed image: 1200 × 1200 px (square) or 1200 × 627 px for a link card.
The LinkedIn carousel generator exports a ready-to-upload PDF at the right size.
X (Twitter)
- Single image: 1600 × 900 px (16:9) displays full-width inline without a click-to-expand.
- Portrait images up to 1080 × 1350 px also work and take more height in the timeline.
For text-first posts, the X post generator writes the post and can add an optional image.
The one-number cheat sheet
- Instagram → 1080 × 1350
- TikTok → 1080 × 1920
- LinkedIn carousel → 1080 × 1350 (PDF)
- X → 1600 × 900
Pixel-perfect sizing is exactly the kind of thing you shouldn't do by hand. See also: how to make an Instagram carousel.
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