Checked against the source
Discord server icon size
Short answer
Upload 512 x 512 px. Discord's developer documentation states that image sizes can be any power of two between 16 and 4096, which makes 512 the largest square that suits an avatar with retina headroom. The two Discord pages we read on 2026-10-07, the developer CDN reference and the Server Banners support article, give that rule and a banner size but no icon size.
Key takeaways
- Discord states image sizes can be any power of two between 16 and 4096, in its Developer Portal reference checked 2026-10-07.
- The Guild Icon endpoint accepts PNG, JPEG, WebP and GIF, so an animated icon is supported.
- Discord's support article covers server banners, not icons. It gives no icon size, and no publisher we read claims one is official.
- 512 is the largest power of two that suits an avatar. Discord's documentation sets no ceiling below 4096, but neither Discord page says how large the app displays an icon.
- The icon is displayed as a circle, which removes 21.5% of the area (computed: 1 − pi/4).
The size
| What | Value |
|---|---|
| Width | 512 px |
| Height | 512 px |
| Aspect ratio | 1:1 |
To scale
What the circle removes
| Quantity | Value | Working |
|---|---|---|
| 512 px | the side (diameter = side, because the circle is inscribed) | |
| 205,887 px2 | 78.5% of the square (pi x (512 / 2)^2 = 205887) | |
| 56,257 px2 | 21.5% of the square (512^2 - 205,887 = 56,257) | |
| 106 px | from each edge ((512 / 2) x (sqrt(2) - 1) = 106) | |
| 362 px | largest square inside the circle (512 / sqrt(2) = 362) |
Computed at the 512 x 512 px server icon this page recommends.
Device pixels at each display size
| Display size | Device pixels at 1x | at 2x | at 3x | Against this upload |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In the server rail, 48 px | 48 px | 96 px (48 x 2) | 144 px (48 x 3) | 512 px covers it |
The header view is larger, and 512 px covers that too.
What this frame costs to upload
| Format | File size | Against PNG |
|---|---|---|
| PNG, lossless | 309,663 bytes (302 kB) | the reference |
| JPEG, `-q:v 5` | 42,483 bytes (41 kB) | 14% of the PNG |
| WebP, `-q:v 75` | 16,862 bytes (16 kB) | 5% of the PNG |
ffmpeg 6.1.1. Upper bounds: a flat logo or a soft portrait compresses much further. The full method is in the evidence file.
Resize it now
Scales and center-crops any image to exactly 512 x 512 px, in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, there is no file size cap and no daily limit.
Batch is unlimited and free - every image is processed on your device, so there is no queue and no daily cap.
The documented rule, and where it comes from
Discord's developer documentation is the authoritative source here, and it is about the CDN rather than the app. Under Image Formats it states that image sizes can be any power of two between 16 and 4096, and it lists the formats each endpoint accepts.
For the Guild Icon endpoint the supported formats are PNG, JPEG, WebP and GIF. The same page notes that animated images uploaded as WebP or AVIF do not convert cleanly to GIF, which is why it says animated images should be uploaded and requested as WebP.
It is worth being clear about what this settles. The documented rule is about what the CDN will serve, and it makes 512 a defensible upload rather than an arbitrary one. It does not say how large Discord displays a server icon, and the Server Banners support article we read on 2026-10-07 covers banners rather than icons.
| What | Published value |
|---|---|
| Allowed image size | any power of two between 16 and 4096 |
| Guild Icon formats | PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF |
| Guild Banner formats | PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF |
| Guild Splash formats | PNG, JPEG, WebP |
| Animated images | upload and request as WebP for maximum compatibility |
Why 512 out of nine allowed sizes
The allowed sizes are 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048 and 4096. Discord stores one image and serves it at the size a client asks for, so the useful question is which requests the app actually makes.
Woodpunch's Discord server icon guidelines, read 2026-10-07, put the server rail icon at 32 px and note that the icon appears at 128 px in the server's own header view. Those are observations from a design agency, not Discord documentation, and they are labeled as such here. On those two figures, 128 x 128 px covers the rail on a 2x screen and 512 covers the header view on a 4x screen.
Above 512 there is nothing further to see. Linearity, Modus and the other publishers who cover Discord all give upload recommendations in the 128 to 512 range; nobody argues for 2048.
| What | Reported value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Server icon | 512 x 512 px | Moda, 558-word page |
| Server icon | 512 x 512 px recommended | Linearity size guide |
| Rail display size | 32 px | Woodpunch, design-agency observation |
| Header display size | 128 px | Woodpunch, design-agency observation |
| Animated icon | GIF or WebP, square canvas | Linearity |
Sources read 2026-10-07.
Animated icons
Discord's documentation supports animated guild icons and is specific about the format: upload as WebP or GIF, and request as WebP, because animated WebP does not convert cleanly to GIF.
A 512 x 512 px animated WebP is the practical choice. Keep the animation short and slow, because the rail icon is small and a fast animation reads as noise rather than motion while costing battery on every client that renders it in a list.
What the circle takes, and what to put inside it
The server rail shows the icon as a circle. A circle inscribed in a square of side s keeps 78.54% of the area and removes 21.46%, with the corners clipped at 0.2071 × s from each edge.
At 128 x 128 px the entire usable area is a 90 px square, which is why a detailed server logo does not survive at rail size however high the upload resolution. If the mark reads at 32 px, it reads; if it needs 128 px to be legible, it will look like a smudge in the rail.
- One shape or one letter, or a short two-character mark. Discord servers are usually recognized by a single glyph.
- Centered, with room on all four sides. A wide wordmark inside a circle reads as a line with gaps.
- High contrast against both the dark and light themes a client may use.
- No fine detail and no small text. At 32 px there is no room for either.
- 512 x 512 px unless the file genuinely cannot be made bigger; 128 x 128 px is a reasonable minimal choice.
Frequently asked questions
What size should a Discord server icon be?
512 x 512 px. Discord states image sizes can be any power of two between 16 and 4096, and 512 is the largest of those that suits an avatar. Moda and Linearity both report 512 x 512 px, and neither figure is Discord's own.
Does Discord resize my server icon?
Discord's documentation describes a size parameter on the CDN, and states that allowed sizes are powers of two from 16 to 4096. The two pages we read on 2026-10-07 do not say how large the app displays an icon, so the exact requests a client makes are not available to quote.
What formats does Discord accept for a server icon?
PNG, JPEG, WebP and GIF, per Discord's developer CDN reference checked 2026-10-07. Discord also states that animated images should be uploaded and requested as WebP for compatibility, because animated WebP does not convert cleanly to GIF.
Can a Discord server icon be animated?
Yes. The Guild Icon endpoint supports GIF and WebP and Discord documents the animated case explicitly. Upload a 512 x 512 px animated WebP and request it as WebP.
Why is my Discord server icon blurry?
Usually the upload is below the size the server header asks for. A design-agency guideline we read puts the rail icon at 32 px and the header view at 128 px, so a 128 px upload is interpolated for the header. Those display sizes are third-party observations, not Discord documentation. Upload 512 x 512 px.
Is 128 x 128 px enough for a Discord icon?
For a single glyph, yes: it covers a 32 px rail icon on a 2x screen. It cannot serve the larger request the server header makes, so anything with fine detail will look soft outside the rail. 512 x 512 px costs almost nothing in file size.
Other Discord sizes
Sources
- Discord Developer Portal: Reference, Image Formats (checked 2026-10-07)
- Woodpunch: Discord server icon guidelines (checked 2026-10-07)
- Linearity: Discord size guide (checked 2026-10-07)
- Moda: Discord server icon size (checked 2026-10-07)