X image sizes: what to use and why

These are widely used recommendations, not official minimums. X changes how it displays images from time to time, so check X's help center for current specs before a big campaign.

Landscape 16:9 is the safest choice for a single image: it displays without cropping in most layouts on desktop and mobile. Square 1:1 also displays well and takes up more vertical space on a phone, which makes it harder to scroll past.

Tall portrait images are where cropping bites. Depending on the app and screen, X may show a cropped preview and reveal the rest only when someone taps. If you use a tall image, make sure the center of the frame tells the story on its own.

• Keep the subject and any text in the center of the frame.
• Leave a margin around text so it isn't cut at the edges.
• Make text large enough to read on a phone without tapping.
• Check the post on mobile before publishing. That's where most people will see it.

A post can carry up to four images. With more than one, X arranges them in a grid and crops each to fit its tile. The full image shows only when someone taps it.

• Two images sit side by side in tall, narrow tiles. Keep subjects centered horizontally.
• Three images show one large tile and two smaller ones. Put the most important image first.
• Four images form a 2×2 grid of near-square tiles. Square source images lose the least.

If every image needs to be seen in full, combine them into one image, or post a thread with one image per tweet.

Profile photo

Upload a square image; 400×400 is the common recommendation. X shows it as a circle, so the corners are cut off. Keep faces and logos centered with some padding, and check it at small sizes: it appears tiny next to every reply you post.

Header

1500×500 (3:1) is the widely used header size. Two areas get covered or cut: the profile photo overlaps the lower left on most layouts, and the top and bottom edges can be cropped on some screens. Keep text and key details in the middle band, away from the lower left.

When a post contains a link, X can show a card built from the page's preview image (its Open Graph or Twitter Card image). A wide image around 1200×628 is the common recommendation. In recent versions of X the card shows mostly the image with the domain overlaid, so the image has to carry the message on its own.

If a page has no preview image, the card may fall back to a small version or nothing at all. Set one on every page you plan to share.

Not every post needs an image. Images earn their space when they carry information the text can't: a chart, a screenshot, a before and after, a diagram, a photo of the real thing. A generic stock photo next to a text tweet adds little and can make the post look like an ad.

• Add one when it shows proof, explains a process, or makes the point faster than words.
• Skip it when the tweet is a sharp one-liner, a question or an opinion. The text is the point.
• Use a thread when you have several images that each need explaining. One image per tweet, each with its own line.

• Think small. Most people see your image on a phone, at a fraction of its size. Big type, high contrast, one idea per image.
• Test light and dark mode. A transparent PNG with dark text disappears on a dark background. Use a solid background.
• Crop screenshots tight. Zoom in on the part that matters and blur anything private.
• Avoid dense charts. If a chart needs a legend to read, simplify it or highlight the one line that matters.
• Stay consistent. Using the same colors, fonts or illustration style across posts helps followers recognize you before they read your name.

To fit an existing image to an X size without design software, use the free image resizer. It runs in your browser, nothing uploaded.

If you need the image itself, Extudio's image generator (paid plans) makes images in landscape, square and portrait sizes, in eight styles, with your brand details added to every prompt. You can attach them straight to a tweet in Compose, and check the result in the tweet preview at desktop, tablet and mobile widths.

Before you post an image

• The ratio fits the slot: 16:9 or 1:1 for posts, 3:1 for the header.
• The subject and any text sit in the center.
• Text is readable on a phone.
• You've checked it in a mobile preview.
• You've added alt text in X's composer, so screen reader users get it too.