2025 Social Media Image Ratios: What You Really Need to Know
2025 Social Media Image Ratios: What You Really Need to Know
If you’re still cropping your Instagram posts to a square or wondering why your Facebook event cover feels off on mobile, this one’s for you.
Social media platforms have changed. Again. But instead of giving you a laundry list of dimensions, we’re breaking it down to the ratios that actually matter for 2025 content creation. Let’s keep it clear, strategic, and fuss-free. Because blurry or badly cropped content? Not on our watch.
Instagram Feed: 4:5 or Bust
In 2025, Instagram’s post grid now displays portrait images at a 4:5 ratio by default. This means if you upload anything wider—like a square (1:1) or landscape (16:9)—it will appear smaller in the feed. Not ideal when you’re trying to grab attention.
Our recommendation:
Always design your Instagram feed posts at a 4:5 ratio (1080 x 1350px). This fills more of the screen, boosts engagement, and keeps your grid looking clean and consistent.
Pro tip: If you’re repurposing content from stories or other platforms, double-check the crop. Make sure nothing important, like faces or text, gets chopped outside the 4:5 zone.
Instagram Reels: 9:16 with a 4:5 Focal Zone
Reels are still all about vertical, full-screen video (9:16 ratio), but here’s where creators often get tripped up—the cover image.
Whether you’re pulling a frame from your reel or uploading a custom-designed cover (which we recommend for consistent branding), you need to think like a feed post.
Why? Because the cover image is what shows up in your grid, and your grid is 4:5.
Here’s the trick:
- Design your Reel cover at 1080 x 1920px (9:16)
- But keep your main subject or text within the central 4:5 area
That way, it looks good in both the grid and the Reels feed. No awkward cropping. No missing faces. Just clean, professional content that delivers.
Facebook Events: Mind the Centre Crop
Facebook event banners still follow the 16:9 ratio (1920 x 1005px recommended), but the platform crops it differently on desktop and mobile.
On mobile, Facebook centres the crop. This means if your text is too close to the sides, it might get cut off on phones—which, let’s be real, is how most people are viewing your event.
Keep all important info—text, faces, logos—close to the middle third of the image.
Strategic visuals lead to better attendance. A little formatting effort goes a long way.
Facebook Feed Posts: It’s a Bit of a Free-for-All (But We’ve Got Thoughts)
Facebook image ratios? Let’s just say it's a hotly debated topic.
Technically, Facebook accepts a wide range of ratios, which is why you’ll see everything from wide landscape photos to tall graphics in the wild. But if you’re aiming for consistency across platforms and want your content to look good everywhere, here’s what we stick to:
Our go-to rule of thumb:
We typically use the same aspect ratios as Instagram—especially 4:5 for single image posts. It’s portrait-oriented, eye-catching, and plays well across devices.
That said, you can absolutely get away with more landscape content on Facebook. Horizontal images (16:9 or 1200 x 630px) still work well—especially when sharing links, wide banners, or photo albums.
Here’s how we break it down:
Consistency is key. If you’re creating content for both Facebook and Instagram, designing at 4:5 keeps things easy and ensures a unified brand feel.
Why Ratios Still Matter in 2025
Platforms change constantly. But sticking to the right ratios isn’t just about aesthetics. It’s about performance. When your content is cropped properly:
Your message is clear
Your visuals look professional
Your engagement increases
Your brand looks consistent and trustworthy
At the end of the day, our job as marketers isn’t just to post. It’s to connect strategically. And that starts with visuals that actually work.
Need help creating content that’s not only the right size but also the right message? That’s what we do.