Guide
X (Twitter) Image Sizes for 2026
Image size guides for X disagree with each other, mostly because they mix X's official numbers with their own preferences. Here they are kept apart.
Twit'n'Go · · 3-minute read
Short answer
X recommends 400×400 pixels (max 2 MB) for profile photos and 1500×500 for headers; post photos can be up to 5 MB each, up to four per post, in JPEG, PNG or GIF, and 1600×900 (16:9), 1080×1080 and 1080×1350 are reliable post sizes.
Key takeaways
- Official: profile photo 400×400 px, max 2 MB; header 1500×500 px.
- Official: up to 4 photos per post, each up to 5 MB; GIFs up to 5 MB on mobile and 15 MB on the web.
- Official: JPEG, PNG and GIF are accepted; image descriptions can be 1,000 characters.
- Common practice: 1600×900 (16:9) for landscape posts; 1080×1080 or 1080×1350 for square and portrait.
Jump to a section
What does X officially say?
X's Help Center gives a short list of hard numbers, and everything else in most size guides is advice. As of November 2026:
| What | X's official figure |
|---|---|
| Photos per post | 1 to 4 (an animated GIF can't share a post with other images) |
| Photo file size | Up to 5 MB |
| Animated GIF file size | Up to 5 MB on mobile, 15 MB on the web |
| Formats | GIF, JPEG and PNG |
| Profile photo | 400 × 400 px recommended, 2 MB maximum |
| Header | 1500 × 500 px recommended |
| Image description (alt text) | Up to 1,000 characters |
What sizes display well in posts?
For a single image, 16:9 landscape at 1600 × 900 is the most dependable choice. It fills the preview without cropping on most screens. These sizes are common practice rather than X rules:
| Shape | Pixels | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| 16:9 landscape | 1600 × 900 (or 1200 × 675) | Screenshots, slides, most photos |
| 1:1 square | 1080 × 1080 | Product shots, quote cards |
| 4:5 portrait | 1080 × 1350 | Phone photos, posters; takes more space in the feed |
| 1.91:1 | 1200 × 628 | Link preview images set on your own website |
With two to four images, X arranges them in a grid and crops each one. Keep subjects central and use the same shape for all of them, or the crops get unpredictable.
How should I design a header?
Make it 1500 × 500 and keep anything important in the middle. On profiles, your profile photo sits over the lower left of the header, and different apps and screen widths show slightly different slices of it. Logos and text near the edges or in that corner are the first to be hidden. The image sizer draws both zones on your image.
And the profile photo?
400 × 400, under 2 MB, with the subject centred. X shows it as a circle, so corners are cut off. Faces and logos should sit well inside the circle and still read at small sizes, since that's how most people will see it: next to your posts in a busy timeline.
Don't forget the description
Each image can carry up to 1,000 characters of alt text. It's what screen reader users hear and what everyone sees if the image fails to load. The alt text guide shows how to write one quickly.
FAQ
What's the best size for a single image in a post?
1600×900 (16:9) is the safest for landscape images because it fills the preview on both phones and desktop. Square (1080×1080) and 4:5 portrait (1080×1350) also work and take up more of the feed on phones.
Does X support WebP?
X's Help Center lists GIF, JPEG and PNG for posts and profile images. If you have a WebP, the Twit'n'Go image sizer can save it as JPEG or PNG.
Why is my image blurry after upload?
X recompresses images. Start from a sharp image at least as large as the target size, avoid enlarging small images, and use PNG for text-heavy graphics.
Do these sizes change?
X has adjusted how it crops and displays images several times. The official numbers here were checked against X's Help Center in November 2026; if something looks off, check there first.