Resize images online

Resizing without distorting your image

Resizing means changing the number of pixels in an image. The one rule that avoids a stretched, squashed result is to keep the aspect ratio: the relationship between width and height. If you type only a width, or only a height, this tool calculates the other value for each image so the proportions stay exactly as they were.

What happens when you set both width and height

A 3:2 photo does not fit a square without a trade-off, so you choose how to handle it:

• Fit inside shrinks the image until it fits within the box you gave. It never distorts, but one side may end up smaller than requested.
• Fill and crop makes the image exactly the size you asked for by trimming the edges that do not fit. This is what you want for a square profile picture or a thumbnail.
• Stretch forces the exact size by distorting the image. It is rarely what you want, but it exists for cases like a fixed-size placeholder.

Making an image bigger

Reducing an image discards pixels, so it looks fine. Enlarging one has to invent pixels, so the result is softer, and no setting can bring back detail that was never captured. If you only ever want to shrink, tick "Don't enlarge smaller images" and a mixed batch will leave the small ones alone.

Sizes people ask for

1920 × 1080 is Full HD and a good maximum for images shown on a page. 1280 × 720 suits blog images and video thumbnails. 1080 × 1080 is the standard square for social posts. 512 × 512 and 256 × 256 are typical for app icons and avatars. For each platform's exact recommended dimensions, check the platform's current guidelines, since they change often.

Resizing also makes files smaller

A 4,000-pixel photo scaled to 1,600 pixels usually weighs less than a third as much. If your goal is a specific file size rather than a specific pixel size, the size and the quality both matter, and it is worth reading how compression works before you pick a setting.