Checked against the source
X (Twitter) profile picture size
Short answer
Use 400 × 400 pixels, the size X recommends in its help center for a profile photo. The header recommendation on the same page is 1500 × 500 px.
Key takeaways
- X recommends 400 × 400 px for the profile photo and 1500 × 500 px for the header.
- If the photo is shown in a circle, the corners are cut: 21.5% of a square, with the largest inside square 283 px of 400 (computed).
- Our six test pictures at 400 × 400 were between the sizes in the table below.
- Across our six test pictures the 400 × 400 result was 45.3 KB to 60.0 KB as a JPG at quality 0.92.
The size
| What | Value |
|---|---|
| Width | 400 px |
| Height | 400 px |
| Aspect ratio | 1:1 |
What the platform publishes
| What | Published value |
|---|---|
| Profile photo | 400 × 400 px recommended |
| Header | 1500 × 500 px recommended |
Source: X Help: How to customize your profile (checked 2026-10-05)
Resize it now
Scales and center-crops any image to exactly 400 x 400 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.
If the photo is shown as a circle (computed)
| Quantity | Value for 400 × 400 |
|---|---|
| Share kept by a circle | 78.5% |
| Share cut at the corners | 21.5% |
| Side of the largest square inside the circle | 283 px |
X's help page gives the recommended size; the mask shape is not stated there, so keep faces and logos in the middle.
What a 400 × 400 frame does to common photo shapes
The frame is 1:1. A photo of another shape is scaled until it covers the frame and the excess is cut from the center, which is what the resizer on this page does. This is computed from the shapes.
| Photo shape | Share of the photo kept | What is cut |
|---|---|---|
| 16:9 (1920 × 1080) | 56% | The sides |
| 3:2 (3000 × 2000) | 67% | The sides |
| 4:3 (4000 × 3000) | 75% | The sides |
| 1:1 (2000 × 2000) | 100% | Nothing |
| 4:5 (1080 × 1350) | 80% | The top and bottom |
| 9:16 (1080 × 1920) | 56% | The top and bottom |
Computed.
Measured: six pictures through the resizer
The resizer on this page was run in headless Chromium on six test pictures (public domain NASA scans, a PNG graphic and two small pictures made from them): each is scaled to cover 400 × 400, drawn on a white background and saved as a JPG at quality 0.92. SSIM compares each result with a Lanczos crop of the same picture made by ffmpeg (1.0 would be identical); it is blank when the frame has an odd side, which ffmpeg's check cannot compare. Other browsers use their own encoders, so sizes can differ.
| Picture | Pixels | Scale | Result | Time | SSIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photo, nearly square | 3840 × 3877 | 0.10× | 52.7 KB | 12 ms | 0.95 |
| Portrait | 2122 × 2644 | 0.19× | 45.8 KB | 26 ms | 0.87 |
| Wide document scan | 3827 × 1588 | 0.25× | 56.3 KB | 17 ms | 0.93 |
| Square PNG graphic | 5380 × 5432 | 0.07× | 60.0 KB | 5 ms | 0.91 |
| Small portrait (1060 px) | 1060 × 1320 | 0.38× | 45.3 KB | 8 ms | 0.87 |
| Small landscape (640 px) | 640 × 480 | 0.83× | 51.0 KB | 3 ms | 0.93 |
Every test picture is larger than the frame and is reduced.
Detail decides the file size (measured)
The same frame holds 0.16 megapixels whatever the picture, but the JPG size follows the detail in it. Bits per pixel is the file size in bits divided by the number of pixels in the frame.
| Picture | Result | Bits per pixel |
|---|---|---|
| Photo, nearly square | 52.7 KB | 2.64 |
| Portrait | 45.8 KB | 2.29 |
| Wide document scan | 56.3 KB | 2.82 |
| Square PNG graphic | 60.0 KB | 3.00 |
| Small portrait (1060 px) | 45.3 KB | 2.27 |
| Small landscape (640 px) | 51.0 KB | 2.55 |
Smooth areas and flat color compress to a fraction of what fine detail needs; a photograph full of texture is the expensive case. If a size limit matters, check your own picture, not an average.
Using the X (Twitter) profile picture size
- Start from a file at least 400 × 400 pixels so nothing is enlarged.
- Keep faces, logos and text away from the edges; every crop above cuts the edges.
- Check the platform's own page before you rely on a figure; sizes change.
- The resizer above does the crop and the JPG in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Frequently asked questions
What size is an X profile picture?
400 × 400 px is recommended by X.
How much of a 16:9 photo is kept in 400 × 400?
56% of its area (computed).
What is the aspect ratio of 400 × 400?
1:1, 0.16 megapixels.
How big will the file be?
Our six test pictures came out between 45.3 KB and 60.0 KB as JPGs at quality 0.92; detailed photographs are the large end.
Is my picture uploaded?
No. The resizer runs in your browser.
Other X (Twitter) sizes
Sources
- X Help: How to customize your profile (checked 2026-10-05)
- Wikimedia Commons: Buzz salutes the U.S. Flag (NASA, public domain), one of the test pictures (checked 2026-10-10)
- MDN: HTMLCanvasElement.toBlob() (JPEG quality) (checked 2026-10-10)
