Facebook size guide: Facebook cover photo sizes and more

Facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites in the world. In 2022, Facebook reported 2.95 billion monthly active users. That’s over one quarter of the world’s population!

In recent years, Facebook's role as a social network has increased in scope.

It started as purely a social outlet but has quickly grown to be a source for networking, organizing group events, and even selling new and used items.

Here’s our ultimate size cheat sheet for creating Facebook graphics - from the perfect cover photo display to an impactful Facebook Ads custom background image.

Facebook Ads enable robust and easy-to-use advertising for small to large businesses. And their Marketplace feature is a perfect way to start selling your goods on a small scale. If you have a business or provide a service, having a Facebook page is expected at this point.

If you’re new to posting pictures on Facebook, you’re going to have some questions. That’s where we come in!

Facebook Ads enable robust and easy-to-use advertising for small to large businesses. And their Marketplace feature is a perfect way to start selling your goods on a small scale. If you have a business or provide a service, having a Facebook page is expected at this point.

If you’re new to posting pictures on Facebook, you’re going to have some questions. That’s where we come in!

Image courtesy of Solen Feyissa on Unsplash

We know it can seem daunting, mainly because Facebook constantly updates its layout and requirements. But if you’re uploading images to your Facebook Page, it’s crucial to ensure you’re uploading them in the correct format and size.

In this guide, we’ll cover the recommended sizes for each of the different image types on Facebook, including profile photo size, cover (or header) photo, event cover photo, video files, story, and post image sizes.

We’ll also talk about the minimum image sizes and maximum file sizes that Facebook allows and some best practices to consider when designing each of them. And we’ll get into the nitty-gritty of the recommended pixels for mobile and desktop devices.

Facebook profile picture size

The image you select for your profile picture will be seen everywhere - next to any comments you leave, in the popup when someone hovers over your page name, and when someone visits your page. Your Facebook profile picture will display as follows:

• Desktop: 170 pixels wide x 170 pixels tall
• Mobile (smartphones): 128 pixels wide x 128 pixels tall
• Mobile (feature phones): 36 pixels wide x 36 pixels tall

You can upload a larger picture than this as long you keep in mind that your image will be cropped to a 1:1 aspect ratio, which is a square image. But there’s no reason to upload an overly large photo unless you’re worried that your image might lose some details at a small size.

We recommend selecting an eye-catching image distinct enough that a viewer can identify you or your brand from the profile picture.

Ideally, this image should be a portrait of you (if you're the main focus of the Page) or your brand’s logo. Remember, this will be the image your friends, customers, and followers recognize you by, so it’s crucial to find a picture representing you or your brand.

Note: Facebook has changed the location where your profile image is displayed for Business pages. Business profile images now appear on the left side of a user’s screen. This helps people differentiate personal accounts from business accounts.

Make sure to consider how your profile photo will fit with your cover photo design. Because Facebook overlays these two images, you can get creative with this feature. You should try and match your profile picture with your cover photo's color scheme and follow through with your post images to create a uniform look.

Here’s a great example of the creative combination of the profile picture and cover photo:

It’s important to consider how the picture will look on different devices, so note the required pixels on desktop and mobile. Mobile has a vertical orientation. Always consider how things will look to a mobile user or iPad user compared to a desktop user.

The easiest way to create a Facebook Profile Picture is to use Linearity's image template, automatically creating an artboard with the correct size. This will help you avoid any major sizing faux pas.

Facebook cover photo size

Your cover photo, also known as the Facebook Banner Image, appears at the top of your page.

• Desktop: 820 pixels wide x 312 pixels tall
• Mobile: 640 pixels wide x 360 pixels tall
• The minimum size allowed by Facebook is 400 pixels wide x 150 pixels tall
• The ideal file size is less than 100 KB

The most crucial thing to keep in mind when creating your Facebook Cover Photo is that you should make sure your most important content is centered in the image.

If you have content on the sides or the top and bottom edges of your cover photo, there's a risk that it might be cut off on mobile devices. Again, you should ensure that the most critical information is at the center of your banner Image.

To avoid compression of your image, upload a JPG or PNG file (if you have text or a logo in your cover image, PNG works best).

One thing you can do to help your profile grab your audience’s attention is to incorporate video content by using a video for your header image. This simple effort will make your page stand out.

There’s a lot of competition on social media networks, so utilizing savvy marketing strategies can boost your brand. And using a cover video with a product feature is far more impactful than a generic image.

You’ll also want to be aware of balancing the color theme and color palette with the branding elements and other images on your profile. For example, if a logo is used as the profile image, use white space and other design elements to naturally incorporate the logo and header.

And, as always, be mindful of the display sizes and use a high-quality image for your header image.

Facebook event cover photo size

The recommended size for your Facebook event banner is:

• 1200 pixels wide x 628 pixels tall at roughly 2:1 aspect ratio

Be sure to consider this when planning out your content. (Don’t worry, we’ve got a ready-made template for this one, too!)

Facebook event cover photos are not displayed the same size as a standard Page’s cover photo. A normal cover photo is smaller, and event cover photos display at a higher resolution.

The cut-off isn’t that significant; just don’t put your info on the edge of your image’s sides, and you should be fine. It cuts off more from the sides of your image than from the top or bottom, so be aware of that as well.

With an eye-catching, correctly sized image, you’ll be able to capture the attention of a larger portion of your audience. Our pre-made template will give you the perfect event banner size so you can focus your time and energy on designing stunning images for your events.

Facebook post size

There is a little bit of wiggle room here, but our Linearity Curve template and recommended size for this image is 1200 pixels wide x 630 pixels tall.

• The minimum requirements are 600 pixels wide x 315 pixels tall

The best course of action for this type of image post is to upload an image that is either a square or in a 3:2 aspect ratio. If your image isn’t in one of those configurations, there's a good chance that Facebook might crop it down to a thumbnail of those dimensions.

Just keep in mind that Facebook might cut off some of your information if your image is not in the correct size or dimension. Consider this by starting with an image of the right size or using our Linearity Curve project preset templates.

Two classic photography tips are to use the golden ratio and the rule of thirds to make your images more appealing. The golden ratio helps you create visually appealing compositions using the Fibonacci sequence mathematical equation.

The rule of thirds creates a balanced and eye-catching design by dividing the image into 9 rectangles that you can use to center your photo, as shown in the image below.

Image Courtesy of White Wall

And let’s not forget about posting videos on Facebook! The optimal Facebook video size is 1280 pixels wide x 720 pixels tall (standard 720p video).

Uploading video content is a fantastic way to engage with your audience. You must make sure your video is long enough to inform your audience but short enough to keep their attention.

Facebook story size

Facebook Stories are a fairly recent Facebook feature that can add an extra boost to your profile. The Story feature is great for quick, engaging content. You can use filters, add text, and draw designs on the screen to give your Story post some added personalization. Facebook Stories are designed to take up the full phone screen on mobile in portrait mode.

• The ideal size for Facebook Stories is 1080 pixels wide x 1920 pixels tall (HD 1080p)

Because these Stories are short and only viewable for a short period of time, you’ll need to take extra care that they're catchy and visually appealing because you have a limited time to make an impression on the viewer.

Here's an example of how Facebook Stories are displayed at the top of a mobile home screen.

You’ll want to use a 9:16 ratio for Story graphics, and make sure not to pick an image with a width smaller than 500 pixels.

You’ll also want to keep in mind that the Story feature looks different on mobile than on desktop.

Facebook ads size

Facebook Ads are a popular choice for companies and influencers with an engaged audience on Facebook and Instagram. To run Facebook Ads, you need a Facebook Business account. Here's our Facebook Ads image size guide:

• Facebook Image Ads: at least 1080 pixels wide x 1080 pixels tall displayed at about 2:1 aspect ratio (there's no limit to the resolution you can upload)
• Facebook Video Ads should be at least 1080 pixels wide x 1080 pixels tall at 1:1 aspect ratio (there's no limit to the resolution)
• Facebook Story Ads are recommended to be 1080 pixels wide x 1920 pixels tall (HD 1080p) at 9:16 aspect ratio
• Facebook Messenger Image Ads are recommended to be sized to 1080 pixels wide x 1080 pixels tall at 9:16 aspect ratio (upload the highest resolution at this aspect ratio)

Ads are displayed at 4:5 aspect ratio on mobile. Here's a glimpse at how Facebook Ads appear on a user's screen.

Image Source: Facebook

With Facebook for Business, you can manage your ads and track how they perform with little knowledge of digital ads.

The key to a great Facebook Ad is to create a visually appealing graphic to draw your audience away from Facebook and to your website to make a purchase or view your content.

With so many ways to display your Ads (videos, posts, stories, and images in Messenger), you’ll need some help ensuring your Ads are sized correctly for each option. And naturally, we’ve got templates for that!

Read on to learn how to create a new template document in Linearity Curve.

Creating a new template document

Use the Linearity Curve's Document Picker to create a new document with the preset template you want.

To do so, open the Curve app and look at the top right corner of the gallery, where you’ll find a button with a “Plus” sign on it. Tap that button to bring up the Document Picker.

At the top of the Document Picker, you’ll see a fixed bar, which you can use to set the name of your new document, invert the document’s width and height, or access the Search Bar to find a specific document template quickly.

If you’d like to browse through the document template options on your own, you can scroll down to ‘progress’ in the options or choose one of the template categories to jump to the section you need.

When you find the option you need, tap on it, and a new document with those dimensions will be created for you. Simple and easy!

For even more detailed information on document presets and creating new documents, check out our Learning Hub.

Facebook graphics with Linearity Curve

Whether you’re using our guide for your personal profile or your business page, you should be set for success after reading this guide!

Making sure your Facebook visuals are sharp will greatly impact how your content looks on your friends’ and connections’ news feeds. And the better your page looks, the better engagement it will have!

If there’s a preset option you'd like to use but don’t see in the current options, use our support page to suggest that we add it. We’re always trying to improve our product according to our users’ needs.

Now that you know the recommended sizes for profile pictures, header photos, event cover photos, videos, and posts, get to posting! And if you use our templates to create an image, let us know! We’re always excited to see our templates in action.

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