Free X tool
X (Twitter) Image Resizer
The X timeline crops every image to 16:9 until someone taps it, so 1600 x 900 is the only size where what people see is what you posted.
Last updated: 2026-08-03
X recommends 1600 x 900 and, more importantly, crops the timeline preview to 16:9 whether or not your image is that shape. Post a tall screenshot and the feed shows a horizontal band from the middle of it. Post a wide panorama and it gets cut at the sides. Only a tap opens the full picture, and most people never tap.
That makes the crop decision the whole job on this network. Deciding which 16:9 slice of your image the timeline shows is more consequential here than on any other platform, which is why the focus grid matters: pick the top of the frame and a headline stays visible, pick the center and it may not.
Files are capped at 5 MB for a post image, with animated GIFs on their own budget of 15 MB from the web and 5 MB from the mobile apps. Up to four images go in a single post. Everything here runs in your browser, and nothing is uploaded.
Your image never leaves your browser. The crop and the export both run on your device, and nothing is uploaded to us. HEIC photos straight from an iPhone only decode in Safari, so export a JPEG copy first if yours will not open.
X (Twitter) sizes to export
Each one is cropped to fill the frame, centered on the focus point you pick.
Focus point
What every crop stays centered on when the shapes do not match.
Focus: Center
Export format
0.85 is the safe default. Push to 0.95 for images with text, drop toward 0.7 only when you are fighting a tight file size cap.
Re-encoding through canvas also drops the EXIF block, so the file you download carries no GPS coordinates, camera model or timestamp.
X (Twitter) image sizes
Every X (Twitter) surface that takes a still image, with the size to export at and the ceiling the file has to stay under.
| Surface | Export at | Aspect ratio | Max file size | File types |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Post image | 1600 x 900 | 16:9 | 5 MB | JPG, PNG, WEBP |
Sizes verified 2026-07-31. The file size ceilings are the ones the networks publish, and a scheduling tool sitting in front of them can be tighter still.
JPEG or PNG, and what the quality slider does
The resolution decides whether your image fits the frame. The format and the quality setting decide whether it fits the file size cap, and those are two different problems.
JPEG
Photographs, screenshots of video, anything with gradients
Lossy, and that is the point: a 1080 pixel wide photo lands between 100 KB and 500 KB at quality 0.85, which clears every file size cap on this page with room to spare. The artifacts it introduces hide well in detail and texture.
PNG
Logos, charts, diagrams, screenshots of text, flat color
Lossless, so text stays crisp and flat areas stay flat. The cost is size: the same image can be five to ten times larger than the JPEG, which is what pushes a thumbnail past 2 MB or a Facebook image past 4 MB.
The quality slider only applies to JPEG, and it runs from 0.6 to 1.0. At 0.85, the default here, the difference from the original is invisible at normal viewing size on almost any photograph. Above 0.95 the file grows quickly for very little gain. Below about 0.75 you start to see blocking in skies and other large flat areas, which is the first thing that gives away an over-compressed image.
One thing worth knowing either way: every network re-compresses what you upload. Exporting at maximum quality does not protect the detail, it just means the image is compressed twice. A clean file at the recommended size and a sensible quality survives that better than an enormous one.
X (Twitter) image tips
- Export at 1600 x 900. The timeline crops to 16:9 regardless, so matching it means you choose the crop instead of X choosing it.
- Put the important part of the image in the middle band if you are unsure. When a non-16:9 image is auto-cropped, the center is what survives.
- Screenshots of text need care. A phone screenshot is roughly 9:19.5, and the timeline will show a thin horizontal slice of it, so crop to the quote you actually want read.
- Keep files under 5 MB. A 1600 x 900 JPEG at quality 0.85 lands well under 1 MB, so this cap only bites with large PNG exports.
- Four images in one post are laid out in a grid and each gets its own crop. Export them at the same ratio or the grid looks uneven.
- Images cost nothing against the 280 character limit, so a screenshot is often the cheapest way to add detail that will not fit in the text.
Frequently asked questions
What size should an image be on X?
1600 x 900 pixels at 16:9, under a 5 MB cap. X accepts anything from 1:3 to 3:1, but the timeline preview is cropped to 16:9 until a reader taps the image, so anything else is shown as a slice of itself.
Is my image uploaded to your servers?
No. The file is decoded and redrawn with canvas in this tab, and the resized copy goes to your downloads folder. Nothing is transmitted anywhere, and there is no account or email step.
Why can this tool not read my iPhone photo?
It is a HEIC file, which browsers other than Safari cannot decode. Export a JPEG copy from Photos, or set Settings, Camera, Formats to Most Compatible. X accepts JPG, PNG and WEBP, so HEIC would be rejected there as well.
Does resizing remove GPS and EXIF data?
Yes. The exported file is encoded from a canvas, so the EXIF block does not survive: no location, no camera model, no timestamp. X strips metadata on upload too, but the resized copy on your machine is already clean.
Will resizing hurt image quality on X?
Not much if you export at 1600 x 900 with JPEG quality 0.85 or higher. X re-compresses uploads, so handing it a clean, correctly sized file gives a better result than uploading a huge original and letting the platform downscale it.
Why does X crop my image in the timeline?
Because the timeline preview is a fixed 16:9 frame. Anything taller or wider is cropped to fit it, with the center favored, and the full image only appears when someone taps. Exporting at 1600 x 900 removes the surprise entirely.
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