Key takeaways
- Cropping removes the edges of a picture; it does not blur or soften the pixels that remain.
- Pick the aspect ratio first (1:1, 4:5, 16:9), then position the frame on what matters.
- To hit an exact size such as 1080 × 1350, crop to the ratio and then resize.
- Saving as PNG avoids any extra JPEG compression after the crop.
On this page
Crop in four steps
- Open Crop image and choose a photo (JPG, PNG, WebP or GIF).
- Pick a ratio such as 1:1 or 16:9, or type exact pixel values.
- Drag the frame onto the part you want to keep. Keyboard arrows nudge it one pixel at a time.
- Download the cropped image. The photo never leaves your device.
Which ratio for which place
| Where | Ratio | Common size (pixels) |
|---|---|---|
| Profile photos, square posts | 1:1 | 1080 × 1080 |
| Instagram portrait post | 4:5 | 1080 × 1350 |
| YouTube thumbnail, presentations, TV | 16:9 | 1280 × 720 or 1920 × 1080 |
| Link previews (Facebook, LinkedIn, X) | 1.91:1 | 1200 × 630 |
| Stories, Reels, TikTok | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 |
| Standard photo prints | 3:2 or 4:3 | Depends on print size |
Platforms change their recommendations from time to time; our social media image size guide keeps a fuller list.
Does cropping lose quality?
Cropping discards pixels outside the frame and keeps the rest exactly as they were. What can lose a little quality is saving again as JPEG, because JPEG compresses every time it is written. If you plan to edit further, download as PNG. If the result looks soft, the cause is usually that you kept a small area and then enlarged it: a 600-pixel-wide crop stretched to 1,920 pixels has to invent the missing detail.
Crop, resize, or both?
- Crop changes the shape and framing by cutting edges off.
- Resize changes the pixel count of the whole picture and keeps everything in it. Use Resize image.
- Both: to get a phone photo of 4032 × 3024 to exactly 1080 × 1350, crop it to 4:5 first (keeping the full height gives 2419 × 3024), then resize to 1080 × 1350.
Composition tips
- Leave a little space in the direction a person is looking or moving.
- Place eyes about a third of the way down the frame for portraits.
- Check that profile photos still work as a circle: many apps cut off the corners.
- Straighten the horizon before cropping; Rotate image turns pictures by 90° or by a degree or two, and flips them.
Make the file smaller afterwards
A cropped photo can still be several megabytes. Compress images usually cuts that by half or more with no visible change, which helps for email, forms with upload limits and fast web pages.
Fact-checked against the sources above. We test every tool we mention. Editorial policy.
