Instagram profile picture size
Instagram publishes no size for profile pictures. It keeps your picture as a square of 320 × 320 px and shows it as a circle: about 110 px across on your profile in the app, a little larger on a computer, and much smaller next to comments and in messages.
| What | |
|---|---|
| Shape | Square, 1:1. Instagram shows it as a circle |
| Size to upload | 1080 × 1080 px |
| Size Instagram keeps | 320 × 320 px |
| Shown at | About 110 px in the app, larger on a computer |
| Format | JPG or PNG |
Why upload 1080 px when Instagram keeps 320 px
Instagram scales every picture down to its own size. Starting from a larger, sharp square gives it more to work with than a small file that has already been compressed once. That is why most size guides advise 1080 × 1080 px, and why the tool starts there. Choose 320 px if you want the file to match exactly what Instagram keeps.
Leave room for the story ring
While your story is live, Instagram draws a coloured ring around your picture with a thin white gap inside it, and the photo becomes a little smaller. Switch on the story ring in the tool to see it: if the ring touches your hair or chin, zoom out a little.
What the circle cuts off
The circle keeps the middle of the square and hides its four corners, about a fifth of the picture. Keep your face in the middle, leave some room above your hair, and let your shoulders run out at the bottom. Text and logos near the edge are cut off.
When the photo itself is the problem
A resizer cannot fix a photo that is too small, too dark or cut off at the forehead. If you have no better picture, a professional headshot made from a few selfies gives you one that fits the circle from the start.