Canva's own size guide lists 1,080 x 1,080 px for a square Instagram post, 1,080 x 1,350 px for a portrait post and 1,080 x 1,920 px for Stories, 1,200 x 630 px for a Facebook post and 1,280 x 720 px for a YouTube thumbnail. Pick the matching design type in Canva and it sets the size for you.
Getting the size wrong is the most common reason a nice Canva design looks off once it's posted. Text gets cropped, faces get chopped and the whole thing looks blurry. The fix is simple: start at the right size. These are the dimensions Canva lists in its own size guides, grouped by platform, so you can bookmark this page and stop guessing.
Instagram sizes
| Design | Size in pixels |
|---|---|
| Square post | 1,080 x 1,080 |
| Portrait post | 1,080 x 1,350 |
| Horizontal post | 1,080 x 566 |
| Story | 1,080 x 1,920 |
| Profile photo | Upload 160 x 160 (minimum 110 x 110) |
Portrait is the size I'd use for most feed posts, because it takes up more of the screen as people scroll. Remember Instagram crops profile photos into a circle, so keep your logo or face in the middle.
Facebook sizes
| Design | Size in pixels |
|---|---|
| Image post | 1,200 x 630 |
| Cover photo | 1,125 x 633 |
| Profile picture | 400 x 400 |
| Event image | 1,920 x 1,005 |
| Single image ad | 1,200 x 628 |
| Carousel ad | 1,080 x 1,080 |
If you run ads, my guide to Facebook ad image dimensions goes deeper on what works in the feed.
YouTube sizes
| Design | Size in pixels |
|---|---|
| Thumbnail | 1,280 x 720 |
| Channel banner | 2,560 x 1,440 |
| Banner area visible on desktop | 2,560 x 423 |
| Profile picture | 800 x 800 |
| 4K video | 3,840 x 2,160 |
The banner is the one people get wrong. Canva's guide shows the full banner is 2,560 x 1,440 px, but desktop only displays a 2,560 x 423 px strip across the middle. Keep your name and key text inside that strip or it'll be cut off on most screens.
LinkedIn, Pinterest and X sizes
| Platform | Design | Size in pixels |
|---|---|---|
| Profile photo | 400 x 400 | |
| Cover photo | 1,584 x 396 | |
| Pin (portrait) | 735 x 1,102 | |
| Profile photo | 165 x 165 | |
| X (Twitter) | Header photo | 1,500 x 500 |
| X (Twitter) | Post image | 1,024 x 512 |
| X (Twitter) | Profile photo | 400 x 400 |
How to set a custom size in Canva
- On the Canva homepage, select Create a design.
- Choose Custom size.
- Type the width and height and choose the unit, such as pixels.
- Select Create new design.
For most social posts you don't need to: search for the design type, such as Instagram post or YouTube thumbnail, and Canva opens it at the right size automatically.
The catch: the platform crops what you design
Designing at the right size is only half the job. Every platform overlays its own buttons, captions and profile picture on top of your design, especially on Stories, Reels and banners. Text in the top and bottom of a Story can sit underneath the app's own interface. Profile photos are cropped into circles. YouTube banners show different slices on desktop, mobile and TV.
So build a safe zone into your habits: keep words and logos away from the edges and in the middle of the frame, and preview the design on your phone before you post. Sizes also change from time to time, so if a platform announces a new format, check its own help pages too.
Resizing a design you've already made
If you've made a square post and now want a Story version, you don't have to start again. Canva's resize tool can copy a design into new sizes in one go. Check every version afterwards though, because elements rarely land in exactly the right place when the shape changes. My guide to finding Instagram Story templates is handy if you'd rather start from a ready-made vertical layout.
Which sizes a small business needs most
You don't need every size on this page. Most small businesses I work with use the same handful again and again: a portrait Instagram post, a vertical Story that doubles as a Reel cover, a Facebook post, a LinkedIn cover photo and a YouTube thumbnail if they make videos. Set up one template for each in Canva, with your logo, fonts and colours already in place, and save them in a folder called something obvious like Templates. Then every new post starts from the right size and the right look, and you never have to look up dimensions again.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
If you post the same content across platforms, design the vertical version first. It's the hardest shape to fit text into, so if it works there, the square and horizontal versions are usually easy to adapt.
Pixels, inches and print sizes
Social media sizes are always in pixels. For print, such as flyers, posters and business cards, choose a print design type or set your custom size in inches or millimetres, and download as PDF Print. Never design a poster at a social media size and hope to stretch it, because it'll print blurry.
My verdict
Start every design at the right size, use Canva's built-in design types wherever you can, and keep your text away from the edges. For quick reference: 1,080 x 1,350 for Instagram feed posts, 1,080 x 1,920 for Stories, 1,200 x 630 for Facebook and 1,280 x 720 for YouTube thumbnails. Once your sizes are sorted, my done-for-you social media images give you a head start on the designs themselves.
Frequently asked questions
What size is an Instagram post in Canva?
Canva's size guide lists 1,080 x 1,080 px for square posts and 1,080 x 1,350 px for portrait posts.
What size is an Instagram Story in Canva?
1,080 x 1,920 px.
What size is a YouTube thumbnail in Canva?
1,280 x 720 px.
What size is a Facebook post in Canva?
Canva's Facebook guide lists 1,200 x 630 px for an image post.
How do I make a custom size in Canva?
Select Create a design, choose Custom size, enter the width, height and unit, then create the design.
