Reference · 8 platforms · Updated August 2026
Profile picture size for every platform
400 × 400 pixels is the safe answer for most platforms, and 800 × 800 is the better one, because every platform downscales cleanly and none of them upscale. Upload a square image and let the platform apply its own circular mask. The rule that actually catches people is the file cap, which ranges from 1 MB on GitHub to 8 MB on LinkedIn.
Every platform, in one table
Recommended is the size to export. Minimum is the smallest the platform accepts, not a size you should aim for. Every figure is read from the platform's own help centre, linked in the last column.
| Platform | Recommended | Minimum | Crop | Banner | Max file | Formats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 400 × 400 | 268 × 268 | circle | 1584 × 396 | 8 MB | JPG, PNG | |
| X (Twitter) | 400 × 400 | 200 × 200 | circle | 1500 × 500 | 2 MB | JPG, PNG, GIF |
| 320 × 320 | 110 × 110 | circle | None | 8 MB | JPG, PNG | |
| 320 × 320 | 180 × 180 | circle | 851 × 315 | 4 MB | JPG, PNG | |
| GitHub | 460 × 460 | 460 × 460 | circle | None | 1 MB | JPG, PNG, GIF |
| YouTube | 800 × 800 | 98 × 98 | circle | 2560 × 1440 | 4 MB | JPG, PNG |
| TikTok | 200 × 200 | 20 × 20 | circle | None | 8 MB | JPG, PNG |
| 165 × 165 | 160 × 160 | circle | None | 20 MB | JPG, PNG |
Platform guides
Each one has the resizer preset to that platform, a live mockup of how the photo will actually appear on the site, and the quirks specific to it.
- LinkedIn400 × 400Profile photo is cropped to a circle. 400×400 is the sweet spot; 800×800 if you want retina sharpness.
- X (Twitter)400 × 400Profile photo is a circle on a 1500×500 header. 400×400 is the upload, 2 MB max.
- Instagram320 × 320Displayed at 320×320 inside a circle. Upload at 320 or higher; Instagram downscales but never upscales.
- Facebook320 × 320Profile photo is a circle, cover is 851×315 (820×312 minimum). 4 MB max for the profile photo.
- GitHub460 × 460Avatar displays as a circle. 460×460 is the safe upload size with a 1 MB file cap.
- YouTube800 × 800Channel icon displays as a circle at up to 800×800. The channel banner is 2560×1440 with a safe area.
- TikTok200 × 200Small displayed crop (about 200×200) inside a circle. Upload at 400×400 for crispness on retina screens.
- Pinterest165 × 165Displays at 165×165 in a circle. Upload at 600×600 so the photo stays sharp at larger sizes on pin pages.
Why 400 is the number, and why 800 is better
Platforms settled on roughly 400 pixels because that is about the largest a profile photo is ever displayed: the header of your own profile page on a desktop screen. Everywhere else it is smaller. In a feed it might be 48 pixels. In a comment thread, 32. So 400 is not a quality target, it is a ceiling on what the platform will ever need.
The reason to upload 800 anyway is that displays lie about their pixels. A retina screen packs two physical pixels into every CSS pixel, so a photo displayed at 400 CSS pixels is being asked for 800 real ones. Give the platform 400 and it stretches. Give it 800 and it has what it needs. Downscaling is lossless in the ways that matter; upscaling never is.
The file cap is the rule that actually bites
Dimensions are easy. Nobody accidentally uploads a 200 pixel photo. What people do accidentally is export a 4 MB PNG and hand it to GitHub, which caps avatars at 1 MB and rejects it outright with an error that does not say why.
The instinct when that happens is to shrink the image, which is exactly backwards, because dimensions are what buy you sharpness. Compress instead: a 800 × 800 JPEG at quality 85 is typically under 200 KB and visually identical to the same image at quality 100. Our image compressor takes a target file size and binary-searches the quality to hit it.
Crop tighter than feels comfortable
The single most common mistake is framing a profile picture like a portrait: head, shoulders, a bit of torso, some background. That composition works at 400 pixels and disappears at 40. In a feed, your face becomes a few dozen pixels wide and nobody can tell you apart from anyone else.
Crop so your head and the top of your shoulders fill the frame, leave a small margin above your hair, and put your eyes about a third of the way down. Then look at it small before you commit, which is the check almost nobody does. Our resizer renders a live mockup at the actual display size of each platform for exactly this reason.
Profile picture sizes: frequently asked questions
What size should a profile picture be?
400 × 400 pixels covers most platforms and is what LinkedIn and X both use. Upload at 800 × 800 instead if you want it to stay sharp on a retina screen, since every platform downscales cleanly but none of them upscale. The one common exception is YouTube, which wants 800 × 800 as its baseline channel icon.
Should I upload a square photo or a circle?
Always upload a square. Every platform that displays a circle, which is most of them, stores your square upload and applies the circular mask at display time. If you crop a circle yourself you either get a transparent-cornered PNG the platform fills with white, or you lose the corners permanently.
Why does my profile picture look blurry after uploading?
Almost always because the source was smaller than the display size and the platform upscaled it, or because it was recompressed. Upload at double the recommended size, use PNG if the image has flat colour or text, and stay under the file cap so the platform does not compress it a second time to fit.
What is the file size limit for profile pictures?
It varies a lot and it is the rule people trip over. GitHub caps avatars at 1 MB, which is the tightest of the major platforms. X allows 2 MB. LinkedIn allows 8 MB. If your export is over the cap, compress it rather than shrinking the dimensions, since dimensions are what determine sharpness.
How much of my face should fill the frame?
More than feels natural. Profile pictures are displayed small, often under 50 pixels in a comment thread, so a full head-and-shoulders shot reduces your face to a smudge. Crop so your head and the top of your shoulders fill the frame, with a little space above your hair and your eyes roughly a third of the way down.
Can I use the same photo everywhere?
Yes, and you should. Recognition across platforms is the whole point of a profile picture. Export the same source photo at each platform's size rather than reusing one file, so nothing gets upscaled, and keep the crop consistent so you look like the same person at a glance.
When the crop is not the problem
Right size, old photo.
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