The Complete Guide To Social Media Aspect Ratios
The Basics
Having the proper aspect ratio is essential in today's world of social media and with all the different sites it can get pretty complicated. To sum it up, an aspect ratio is just the size of the video or image. So a 1:1 aspect ratio for example is a square with the heights and width being the same, it could also be 400px by 400px, or 3500px by 3500px and it would still come out as a 1:1. Another example is a portrait image would have an aspect of 2:3 so the length of the image is 1.5x longer than the width. The challenge is that there are just so many different dimensions and specs to consider which can make it confusing at times. So here is our quick guide to social media aspect ratios.
Facebook as we already know is one of the largest platforms out there and content is consumed at higher rates each year which makes it a great place to share videos and photos. They are also the world's largest social media platform with 2.5 billion monthly active users. But what aspect ratio do you use for best quality?
Landscape Video Dimensions - 1920 x 1080 (16:9)
Stories Dimensions - 1080 x 1920 (9:16)
Landscape Image Dimensions - 1200 x 630 (1.9:1)
Square Image/Video Dimensions - 1080 x 1080 (1:1)
Minimum width is 600 pixels for Landscape and Portrait.
Instagram is one of the most popular social networks with more than 600 million accounts worldwide which makes it one of the best places to share content of any kind. The most popular aspect ratio you will find is a 1:1 (as show in the IG image) and 4:5 on your Instagram feed. But keep in mind that how it looks on mobile is more important than how it looks on desktop.
Landscape Dimensions - 1080 x 608 (1.91:1)
Stories Dimensions - 1080 x 1920 (9:16)
Portrait Dimensions - 1080 x 1350 (4:5)
Square Dimensions - 1080 x 1080 (1:1)
IGTV Dimensions -1920x 1080 (16:9)
The profile dimensions for LinkedIn are quite similar to Facebook which makes it easy to post content on both platforms. But besides the content, Linkedin is one of the best places to connect with people across the world and share work related content. Linkedin is relatively new with little over 20 million accounts worldwide. But dimensions for posting on the platform are quite simple.
Landscape Video Dimensions - 1920 x 1080 (16:9)
Square Video Dimensions - 1080 x 1080 (1:1)
Maximum Image Dimensions - 1104 x 736 (3:2)
Twitter started in March of 2006 and has 330 million accounts worldwide.. When posting on Twitter it is best to follow the mobile guidelines because using the desktop dimensions can result in cropping. Always make sure you have the right aspect ratio for the best quality in your post. The most common aspect ration you will find on Twitter is a 2:1, that will ensure your content won’t get cropped.
Landscape Video Dimensions - 1280 x 720 (16:9)
Square Video Dimensions - 1024 x 1024 (1:1)
Maximum Image Dimensions - 1024 x 512 (2:1)
Minimum Image Dimensions - 440 x 220 (2:1)
Youtube
Youtube is by far Google's most popular service, pulling in 1.8 billion users every month. This platform as you already know is all video content, which makes it different than most social media platforms. As far as requirements on YouTube go there are not that many, making it an amazing place to share content.
Max Dimensions - 3840 x 2160 (16:9)
Standard Dimensions - 1920 x 1080 (16:9)
Minimum Dimensions - 426 x 240 (16:9)
Minimum HD Dimensions - 1280 x 720 (16:9)
Pinterest just like Instagram is mostly images. With just over 322 million accounts worldwide it is a very popular place on social media. The most common thing people find themselves doing is looking for ideas on the platform which makes it another amazing place to share ideas and content of any kind. The two most important aspect ratios are 1:1 and 2:3 since they all sit vertical.
Square Video Dimensions - 600 x 600 (1:1)
Portrait Video Dimensions - 600 x 900 (2:3)
Image Dimensions - 800 x 1200 (2:3)
TikTok/Snapchat
Similar to stories on Instagram and Facebook these two platforms are vertical only. Snapchat was released in July of 2011 and has more than 218 million accounts making it another huge social platform. TikTok ,formerly known as musical.ly, was released in September of 2016 and exploded with nearly 800 million accounts worldwide passing all the other platforms beside YouTube and Facebook. As far as dimensions go these two sites are quite simple with only one aspect ratio of 9:16.
480 x 720 (16:9 SD)
540 x 960 (16:9 qHD)
720 x 1280 (16:9 HD)
1080 x 1920 (16:9 HD)
1440 x 2560 (16:9 QHD)
1800 x 3200 (16:9 QHD+)
2160 x 3840 (16:9 4K)
PRO-TIP
Social media is continuously changing and adapting, so stay current with each platform you are managing to get the most out of your content. Every year we see new updates and trends emerging making us shift our strategies to keep up. Even if you have a huge following on your social or you're just getting started, having these tips to create your own social media strategy can help put you ahead of your competitors and grow your audience in a way that adds value to them and your industry.