Facebook Image Sizes and Quality for 2026

By Salsaal Abdullah · Last updated: October 25, 2026

Facebook is crowded, and nobody is waiting around for your post. If the photo looks blurry, the headline is chopped off, or the thumbnail shows the least interesting corner of your image, people keep scrolling. You rarely get a second look.

The encouraging part is that these problems usually trace back to a few size and quality slips, and you can fix every one of them before you publish. Below you'll find the dimensions that work on Facebook right now, how to keep pictures sharp after the platform compresses them, and how to write the text around an image so the right people find it.

Think phone first

Most people read Facebook on their phones, so design for a tall, narrow screen and check the desktop view afterward. It's an easy trap: a wide, short image looks great on your monitor and then shrinks to something tiny in someone's hand.

Feed images

Portrait, 1080 x 1350 pixels (4:5). Takes up the most room in a mobile feed and doesn't get cropped. I'd make this the default for photos, announcements and graphics.

Example of a Facebook portrait feed post at 4:5, 1080 x 1350 pixels: a woman in a light dress standing by a lake at sunset — 4:51080 × 1350 pxPortrait feed post: the most space on a phone

Square, 1080 x 1080 pixels (1:1). A safe pick that behaves well on both phone and desktop. Handy when you honestly don't know where most of your audience reads.

Example of a Facebook square feed post at 1:1, 1080 x 1080 pixels: a woman by a lake at sunset, seen from behind — 1:11080 × 1080 pxSquare feed post: works on phone and desktop

Landscape, 1200 x 630 pixels. This is the classic size for images attached to a shared link. It has less presence on a phone, so use it when the content really needs a wide frame.

Example of a Facebook landscape link image at 1.91:1, 1200 x 630 pixels: a woman and a small white dog sitting on a wall by the sea — 1.91:11200 × 630 pxLandscape link image: the classic shared-link size

If you're sharing a page from your own website, the preview image comes from the Open Graph tag on that page. Set it to 1200 x 630, then run the link through Facebook's Sharing Debugger. Skip that step and Facebook chooses an image for you, which is often the wrong one.

Profile and cover photos

These are the first thing a visitor sees when they land on your page, so they're worth a bit more care than a quick upload.

For your profile picture, upload a square image of at least 320 x 320 pixels. Facebook displays it as a circle, so keep faces and logos away from the corners.

1:1320 × 320 px or moreProfile picture: shown as a circle, so the corners are cut off

The page cover photo is around 820 x 312 pixels on desktop and appears taller on mobile. Since the two crops differ, put text and faces in the middle and preview both. An event cover works well at around 1920 x 1005 pixels, with the key details kept away from the edges, and a group cover sits around 1640 x 856 pixels.

Example of a Facebook page cover photo at 820 x 312 pixels: a sunset sky with clouds over a dark tree line — 2.63:1820 × 312 pxPage cover photo on desktop: keep text and faces in the middle

Here's a small trick: upload at about twice the display size. The extra resolution keeps things crisp on high-density phone screens.

Stories and Reels

Both use 1080 x 1920 pixels (9:16). Keep anything important away from the top and bottom, because buttons and captions sit over your content there. Film vertically from the beginning. Cropping a horizontal video afterward costs you sharpness, and viewers notice.

Example of a Facebook Story or Reel frame at 9:16, 1080 x 1920 pixels: a woman standing by a lake at sunset, with the top and bottom areas marked to keep clear — 9:161080 × 1920 pxStories and Reels: the shaded top and bottom are where buttons and captions sit

The Reels that tend to work open with a clear hook in the first couple of seconds, use big captions that are easy to read, and end cleanly instead of trailing off.

Keeping quality high after compression

Facebook shrinks every file you upload. You can't stop that, but you can limit the damage.

The biggest win is resizing before you upload. Export at the size you need instead of sending a huge original and letting Facebook downsize it in its own rough way. Use JPG for photos, and switch to PNG for logos and screenshots where sharp text and flat color matter. Stay in sRGB, since other color profiles can come out dull or oddly tinted.

Be careful with file size too. Very heavy files get squeezed harder, and that softens the detail you worked to get. And don't keep re-saving the same JPG. Each save loses a little more, so edit from the original and export once.

Thin letters and tiny captions are the first things to turn fuzzy, so go for chunky, high-contrast type. If you post from mobile data, open the app's media settings and choose to upload at the best quality available. For video, export an MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio. Steady, well-lit footage compresses far better than something dark and shaky.

What makes people pause

The right size only gets you in the door. What holds attention is simpler than most people expect.

Start with one clear subject. An image with five competing details gives the eye nowhere to rest. Real faces and real moments usually draw more interest than polished stock photos, because genuine expressions are hard to fake.

Keep text on the image short, a few words at most, and put the rest in the post itself. Facebook may also show posts with heavy text overlays to fewer people, so let the picture do the talking. Consistent colors and layouts help people recognize your page at a glance, and strong contrast matters more than you'd think. Check that your text stands out on a small screen in daylight, not just on your desk monitor.

Writing the text around the picture

Both Facebook search and Google read the words on your page and in your posts. Picture how a real person would type their question. People researching this topic often search for things like "Facebook image size", "Facebook cover photo dimensions" or "how to post high quality photos on Facebook". If your content truly answers those, work the wording in where it fits naturally, then move on.

A few habits that help:

Put your main point in the first line of the post, before the "See more" cut-off.
Write the way you talk. Short sentences, concrete details, one idea per post.
Add alt text to your images. It helps people using screen readers and gives the platform a plain description of what's shown.
Use hashtags sparingly. They matter far less on Facebook than elsewhere.
Ask a question your audience can genuinely answer. Real conversation in the comments is a stronger signal than any trick.
On your website, give each shareable page a descriptive title and a good preview image, so your links look inviting when someone pastes them in.

Before you hit publish

Take a quick look through this list:

Is the image sized for where it will appear: 1080 x 1350 or 1080 x 1080 for the feed, 1200 x 630 for links, 1080 x 1920 for Stories and Reels?
Is it a JPG or PNG in sRGB, exported once from the original?
Is the text big enough to read on a phone?
Does the first line of your post make someone want to read on?
Did you add alt text and preview the post on mobile?

Facebook updates its layouts and specifications from time to time. Upload a test post and check Meta's own help pages before launching anything important.

About the author

Salsaal Abdullah writes about the media used on websites, social media platforms and in magazines. Over the past two years, Salsaal has published blog posts about digital tools, with a focus on practical how-to guides for formatting and processing images for social media posts.

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