Pinterest Image Sizes & Dimensions — Complete Guide

If your pins are getting cropped weirdly, your board covers look pixelated, or your profile image won't stay sharp on different screens, the fix is almost always a dimensions problem — not a quality problem. Pinterest has specific size recommendations for each context (feed pins, idea pins, board covers, profile photos) and understanding the ratios Pinterest actually uses, versus the ones it shows you, is the difference between a pin that gets impressions and one that gets buried. This guide is a straight reference: sizes, aspect ratios, file size caps, and the common sizing mistakes to avoid.

Standard pin: 1000×1500 (2:3)

The most important size to get right. Pinterest's feed renders pins at a 2:3 aspect ratio — taller and the bottom gets cut off in the feed preview.

• Ideal dimensions: 1000×1500 pixels (or any multiple: 1200×1800, 2000×3000).
• Aspect ratio: exactly 2:3. Don't go to 2.1:3 or 2:3.2 — pin-crop is strict.
• File format: JPEG or PNG. PNG is better for text-heavy pins with hard edges; JPEG for photographs.
• File size: up to 20 MB for standard pins.

What happens with wrong ratios:

• Taller than 2:3 (say 1000×1800): the bottom gets cropped in the feed. Users have to click into the pin to see the whole thing, which kills your impression-to-click ratio.
• Shorter than 2:3 (square, or 4:5): allowed and displayed correctly, but takes less vertical space in the feed — fewer opportunities for users to stop on it while scrolling.
• Horizontal (16:9): badly cropped in the feed. Only use when the focal point is centered.

Idea pins: 1080×1920 (9:16)

Pinterest's newer vertical, multi-frame format — similar to Instagram Stories or TikTok posts.

• Dimensions per frame: 1080×1920 (9:16).
• Up to 20 frames per idea pin.
• Video frames: up to 60 seconds per frame, MP4 preferred.
• Image frames: JPEG or PNG.

Text overlays placed in the outer 10% of the frame often get covered by Pinterest's UI elements (profile, CTAs). Keep the focal area centered with margins of roughly 100px on all sides.

Board covers: display small, upload large

Board covers show at roughly 222×150 pixels on desktop and even smaller on mobile, but Pinterest crops them from whatever square-ish image you select. Upload at least 800×800 to keep them sharp at retina resolution.

Boards default to showing the most recent pin as the cover, but you can set a specific cover in board settings — pick one with a clean focal point in the center, since the crop is aggressive.

Profile image: 165×165 display, 600×600 upload

Your profile image displays at a small 165×165 circle but Pinterest stores a larger version. Upload a 600×600 square minimum. Center your face or logo — Pinterest crops heavily to fit the circle.

Story pins vs. idea pins (terminology note)

Pinterest renamed "story pins" to "idea pins" a few years back, and the sizing is identical (1080×1920). If you see an older guide referencing "story pins," it's the same format.

File sizes and formats

• Supported formats: JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, BMP, TIFF.
• Maximum file size: 32 MB for all uploads.
• Recommended: JPEG at 85–90% quality for photos (smaller files, imperceptible quality loss), PNG for graphics with solid colors or text.
• Animated pins: delivered as MP4 by Pinterest regardless of upload format. See the GIF guide for details on how Pinterest handles animated content.

When downloading pins for reference

If you're using PinGrab to save pins in their original quality for design reference or moodboards, dimensions vary a lot — some creators upload at 1000×1500, others at 2000×3000 or even 4000×6000. The image download guide covers how PinGrab picks the largest variant available.

Quick reference table

Related reading

To save images from Pinterest in their original upload resolution, see the image download guide. For a creative project using these sizes, the moodboard guide walks through layout templates in the free PinGrab Vision Board Maker.