How to Optimize Photos for Facebook: Best Resolution, Format, Size

Want to learn how to optimize photos for Facebook?

Are you tired of fuzzy text or choppy gradients in your Facebook images?

The solutions are here:

• Best resolution for Facebook photos.
• Best photo format for Facebook.
• Facebook photo size limit.
• PNG or JPG for Facebook.
• And more!

Let’s learn how to get clear photos and sharp text on Facebook images.

Why Does Facebook Ruin Image Quality?

It’s all about Facebook image compression.

Facebook hosts an incredible number of photos. While users uploaded over 350 million new photos every day in 2013, in 10 years that number has grown sixfold to 2.1 billion daily photos in 2023. source

That’s a lot of bandwidth!

There’s simply no option – Facebook will compress images.

Here’s how to keep yours from looking like crud.

Best Resolution for Facebook Post Photos

Your first step is to make sure you’re using the best resolution for Facebook photos.

Uploading an image that’s 2048 pixels on the longest side will give you the best resolution on Facebook. The other side can range from 2048 (a square) on down.

If you upload a larger image, Facebook will reduce it so the longest side is 2048 px.

For best quality, reduce larger photos to 2048 pixels first, then upload from a computer. I’ve found that uploading from a mobile device results in more compression applied and worse image quality.

However, in 2023 Facebook asserts that even from a phone or tablet:

Your photos will be optimized for the best visual quality when you upload them to Facebook, including HD quality. source

Note that Photos you’ve uploaded will appear in the Photo Viewer, or lightbox, at the maximum resolution possible, depending on the size you uploaded them and the viewer’s display device.

Now, I never take anything Facebook says about images at face value, so let’s dig a little deeper.

Facebook maximum photo size

The maximum Facebook photo size for upload and download is 2048 px square. If you upload a larger image, Facebook will reduce it so the longest side is 2048 px.

There doesn’t appear to be a size limit for Facebook photos. Facebook will simply reduce oversized photos.

I haven’t run into any file size restrictions. I uploaded a profile picture as a 2048px square, 3.1 MB file, and it worked fine.

What if I don’t upload Facebook recommended image size?

Say you use another highly recommended image size of 1200 pixels wide.

Facebook once said, and some blogs still assert, that FB will resize your image from 1200 pixels down to 960 to fit their standard settings, adding to your compression woes.

However, this is actually NOT TRUE!

Any image uploaded at less than 2048 pixels on the longest size will NOT be reduced in size.

So don’t drive yourself crazy resizing images. Reduce large ones to 2048 max and you’re good to go.

Facebook high resolution photo warning

Remember that photos can be downloaded at the full size you’ve uploaded, up to 2048 px.

Consider NOT uploading your professional images at high resolution, unless you have a specific reason to do so (for example, you want fans to download printable images of an event).

• High rez images might be downloaded and reused.
• Most Facebook use is on mobile, so 2048 isn’t needed.

I also suggest you watermark your images so they’re clearly yours.

Best Facebook File Formats: PNG or JPG?

Facebook accepts uploads of .jpg, .gif, and .png file types.

The best format for Facebook photos is JPG, as it’s generally used for images with blended tones, like photos.

GIF and PNG are better for images of flat tones, like logos, text, and graphics.

Facebook recommends: Save your image as a JPEG with an sRGB color profile.

Apply the least compression, or maximum file size.

Facebook will apply another round of compression to your photos, so saving them as large files assures best results. Facebook’s compression will be more than adequate to assure fast-loading photos on the web.

In Photoshop, choose 12 – Maximum Quality.

Check Baseline Optimized.

Below is a brilliant tutorial on how to avoid ugly artifacts when saving JPG files for Facebook.

How to Get Sharp Text on Facebook Images

But what about those tough images with text or logos – should you save them as JPGs?

It used to be that Facebook compressed ALL images you upload to JPGs. Now there’s a workaround for those fuzzy text graphics, like quote pictures or tips graphics. 

Save them as PNG files!

It appears that Facebook maintains the PNG format when you upload one. PNG images I’ve uploaded look virtually the same on Facebook as on my computer monitor, with the same, or even larger, file size.

If you use advanced photo editing software like Photoshop, you know there are different kinds of PNG files.

PNG8 is perfect for flat expanses of color with text, like the image shown below. PNG8 only supports a maximum of 256 colors, so it’s not suitable for photos, or graphics with gradient tones or glow effects.

PNG24: If you have a photo with text or a logo that’s coming out fuzzy or with artifacts, try saving it as a PNG24. This format can have up to 16 million colors.

Use PNG24 only as needed, as the file sizes can be large, causing slower load times on slow internet connections.

Color note: Red tones are notorious for looking horrible on Facebook. Bright red, magenta, or red-purple are not good choices for Facebook images.

GIF: There’s no reason to save as a GIF file for Facebook, but if you have one you want to use, Facebook will accept GIFs. PNG is a better choice when saving new images, as PNGs have better color and compression than GIFs.

Unfortunately, you can’t upload animated GIFs from your computer or device to Facebook.

Should I sharpen photos for Facebook?

I’m not a photographer, I only play one on Instagram 🙂 So I’ll leave this for you to test and decide.

Below is a great tutorial about sharpening photos for Facebook, from a pro photographer.

How to Optimize Facebook Cover Photos

There are at least 3 aspects to optimizing Cover Photos:

• Correct size and shape for specific use (Page, profile, group or event).
• Different cropping of Cover Photos on desktop vs. mobile.
• File type and size.

Cover Photos are unique among Facebook images in that they won’t be compressed further IF your uploaded file size is 100kb or less.

If you want to put Facebook to the test on that, use the minimum required pixel size and compress it yourself to 100kb or less. The image quality may be better if you do the compression, rather than Facebook.

However, it is not true that a larger file size will be compressed by Facebook to less than 100kb. I uploaded a hi-rez PNG and it’s 1.1MB on Facebook – slightly larger even than the original file I uploaded.

Take a look at the Facebook file formats section above, as it also applies to Cover Photos!

As far as sizes, cover images larger than 2048 pixels on the longest side will be reduced to that dimension. No need to go larger than 2048 anyway.

Use just the right cover image size to look perfect on both desktop and mobile! Don’t miss these constantly updated cover photo templates for:

Facebook Page Cover Photo size

Facebook Group Cover Photo size

Facebook Event Cover Photo size

Facebook Personal Profile Cover Photo size

How to Optimize Facebook Link Previews

Facebook link thumbnails, or preview images, are pulled from the web page they link to. So it’s likely you’re starting with an image you’ve compressed to load quickly on your site.

You do, however, want to ensure your image is of the proper size to get a large preview image.

If your blog post image isn’t big enough, then it will render as 154 x 154 or 90 x 90 px.

Facebook says:

Use images that are at least 1200 x 630 pixels for the best display on high resolution devices. At the minimum, you should use images that are 600 x 315 pixels to display link page posts with larger images. If your image is smaller than 600 x 315 px, it will still display in the link page post, but the size will be much smaller.

You can find all the details on the article below.

How to Optimize Facebook Profile Pictures

Your profile picture will appear on Facebook at 160 pixels square, but the minimum size for uploading is 180 pixels square.

I suggest you crop your photo to a square, then size it down to 360 pixels square (double the minimum size) and save at the highest file size JPG.

Want more tips on profile pictures?

The Best Facebook Photos

We’ve covered the top Facebook photo types here:

• Facebook wall posts
• Facebook Cover Photos
• Facebook link previews
• Facebook profile pictures

And I’ve linked to in-depth info for many!

There are so many more kinds of Facebook photos! Need more? Learn allll the Facebook sizes!

Review the info above, and in the linked articles.

Still have questions? Ask in a comment.

Pin it so you can come back for more tips to create the best photos for Facebook!