Social Media Banner Sizes

Updated June 2026

The exact cover photo and header image dimensions for every major platform - plus safe zone tips so nothing important gets cropped

Banners, cover photos, header images - different platforms use different names, but they all refer to the same thing: the wide image at the top of your profile or page. It's the first thing people see when they visit your account, and it's one of the few places where you have full creative control over what shows up.

The problem is that every platform has different banner dimensions, different aspect ratios, and different crops for desktop versus mobile. An image that looks perfect on LinkedIn will look distorted on Twitter/X. A Facebook cover photo sized right for desktop will get the edges cut off on a phone. And YouTube's channel art has one of the most complex sizing situations of any platform - the same image displays three completely different crops depending on whether someone's watching on a phone, a computer, or a TV.

This guide covers the correct banner dimensions for every major platform, explains what gets cropped where, and tells you exactly where to put important content so nothing important disappears. If you want to understand the underlying proportional relationships behind these dimensions, our social media aspect ratios guide covers how ratios like 3:1 and 4:1 translate into pixel dimensions across platforms.

Quick Reference: Banner Sizes by Platform

Here are the recommended dimensions for every major social media banner. Use these as your starting point - then read the platform-specific sections below for safe zones and mobile cropping details.

Facebook Cover Photo Size

Facebook recommends uploading your cover photo at 820 x 312 pixels. But here's where most people get tripped up: your cover photo doesn't display the same way on desktop and mobile.

• Desktop: Displays at 820 x 312 pixels
• Mobile: Crops to a 640 x 360 pixel center portion

The mobile crop is wider and taller than the desktop version, which means the sides of your cover photo get cut off on phones. If you have a logo in the corner or text near the edges, mobile visitors won't see it. Design your cover photo so the most important content sits in the center third of the image.

See our full Facebook image size guide for profile picture specs, post dimensions, and ad sizes.

Twitter/X Header Photo Size

Your X header photo (the banner at the top of your profile) should be 1500 x 500 pixels with a 3:1 aspect ratio. The maximum file size is 5 MB on mobile and up to 10 MB on the desktop web app.

The tricky part with X headers is the profile picture position. Your circular profile photo overlaps the bottom-left corner of the header on both desktop and mobile. And on mobile, the top and bottom edges get cropped more aggressively than on desktop because the viewport is narrower.

Full specs, post sizes, and ad dimensions: Twitter/X image size guide.

LinkedIn Banner Size

LinkedIn has two different banner types depending on whether you're working with a personal profile or a company page, and they have completely different dimensions.

Personal Profile Banner

Your personal profile background image should be 1584 x 396 pixels with a 4:1 aspect ratio and a maximum file size of 8 MB. This is the image behind your profile photo on your personal LinkedIn profile.

LinkedIn's safe zone for personal banners is roughly 1350 x 220 pixels centered in the middle. Your profile photo overlaps the bottom-left portion on desktop, and mobile devices crop more of the top and bottom. Keep taglines, logos, and any text inside that center rectangle.

LinkedIn Company Page Cover Photo

LinkedIn company pages use a much wider, narrower banner. The recommended upload size is 4200 x 700 pixels with a 6:1 aspect ratio (max 3 MB). LinkedIn scales this down for display - on desktop it appears roughly 1128 x 191 pixels. Because this is such a narrow strip, simple designs work best: a tagline, brand colors, or a single product image.

Full LinkedIn specs: LinkedIn image size guide.

YouTube Channel Banner Size

YouTube channel banners (channel art) are the most complex to design correctly because the same image displays at dramatically different sizes on different devices. The recommended upload size is 2560 x 1440 pixels, but what actually shows varies enormously:

• TV display: Full 2560 x 1440 px
• Desktop: 2560 x 423 px (a thin strip from the center)
• Mobile: 1546 x 423 px (the narrowest crop)

The only area guaranteed to show on every device is a 1235 x 338 pixel safe zone centered in the middle of the full 2560 x 1440 canvas. Put your channel name, logo, and upload schedule inside that rectangle. Anything outside it might appear on TVs and large monitors but will be cropped on phones.

Full YouTube specs including thumbnails and Shorts: YouTube image size guide.

Twitch Banner Sizes

Twitch has two distinct banner types that serve very different purposes.

Twitch Profile Banner

The profile banner is the large image at the top of your channel page that visitors see when they browse to your profile. Use 1200 x 480 pixels (5:2 ratio). Twitch lets you upload a larger image and reposition it, but designing to 1200 x 480 keeps things straightforward. Your profile picture overlaps the bottom-left area, so place branding elements toward the center or right.

Twitch Offline Banner

The offline banner shows inside the video player when you're not live. Use 1920 x 1080 pixels (16:9 ratio). This is arguably the most important visual on your channel - when potential new followers discover you while you're offline, this is all they see. Use it for your stream schedule, social handles, or a polished branded graphic that tells people what your channel is about.

Full Twitch specs: Twitch image size guide.

Reddit Banner Sizes

Reddit also separates personal profile banners from community (subreddit) banners, and they use different dimensions.

Reddit Profile Banner

For personal Reddit profiles, the banner should be 1200 x 400 pixels (3:1 ratio, max 5 MB). On mobile, the visible area is narrower and the user avatar overlaps differently, so keep your important content centered. Any Redditor can upload a profile banner - it doesn't require Premium.

Reddit Community Banner

Subreddit banners scale dynamically based on monitor resolution and zoom level, which makes them uniquely complex. The recommended desktop banner size is 1920 x 384 pixels (5:1 ratio). Reddit also supports smaller options - 1920 x 256 px and 1920 x 128 px - if you want a thinner banner. For mobile, upload a separate banner at 1600 x 480 pixels through the mobile moderation settings.

The safe zone for community banners is approximately the center 1088 x 128 pixels. Keep your subreddit name or logo within that area to prevent truncation on narrower screens.

Full Reddit specs: Reddit image size guide.

Discord Server Banner Size

Discord server banners appear at the top of your server's channel list. They're available starting at Boost Level 2 for static banners, and Boost Level 3 for animated GIF banners.

The recommended size is 1920 x 1080 pixels (16:9 ratio), with a minimum of 960 x 540 pixels. The top portion of the banner is partially obscured by Discord's dark UI shadow, and the server name sits over the image, so avoid putting important content near the very top. The bottom of the banner fades into Discord's dark background. The sweet spot is roughly the center band of the image.

Subtle gradients, abstract patterns, and simple branded backgrounds work better than busy photographs here - the UI elements sit on top of the image and can make complex visuals hard to read.

Full Discord specs including Nitro profile banners: Discord image size guide.

Mastodon Profile Header Size

Mastodon profile headers use 1500 x 500 pixels (3:1 ratio) with a maximum file size of 2 MB - the same dimensions as a Twitter/X header, which makes cross-posting easy. If you're maintaining presence on both platforms, a single design sized to 1500 x 500 px will work on both. Mastodon supports JPEG, PNG, GIF, and WebP formats.

Full Mastodon specs: Mastodon image size guide.

Tips for Creating Effective Banners

Getting the dimensions right is just the first step. Here's what separates a banner that looks professional from one that looks like it was thrown together:

Always design for the safe zone, not the full canvas

Every platform has areas that get cropped, obscured by UI elements, or covered by your profile picture. The full canvas dimensions tell you what to upload - but the safe zone tells you where to put content that actually matters. Always identify the safe zone before you start designing. For most platforms, that means the center 60-70% of the width and center 50-60% of the height.

Keep text minimal and large

Banners get viewed at many different sizes depending on screen resolution. Text that looks perfectly readable on your 27-inch monitor might be illegible on someone's phone. Use large text, limit yourself to one or two lines, and make sure there's enough contrast between your text and the background. Small decorative text in banner corners rarely survives compression and scaling.

Use PNG for graphics, JPEG for photos

If your banner has text, a logo, or sharp graphic elements, use PNG. The lossless compression preserves crisp edges that JPEG would blur. For photographic banners with lots of color gradients and no text, JPEG at 85-90% quality gives smaller files without visible quality loss. Don't compress images before uploading - let the platform do its own compression on a clean source file. Learn more about compressing images for social media.

Consistent branding across platforms

Different banners, different sizes, but the same color palette, fonts, and visual style. Someone who follows you on multiple platforms should instantly recognize your brand even if the layouts look different. This doesn't mean using identical images - it means using the same design language adapted to each platform's specific dimensions.

Frequently Asked Questions

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