Which is better to upload to Instagram — JPG or PNG?

For photographs, high-quality JPG: the platform will re-compress the picture into JPEG anyway, so there's no point uploading an already-bulky PNG. Upload PNG only for graphics with text, screenshots and images with sharp edges or transparency — that's where JPEG leaves visible artifacts around letters.

Can I upload WebP or AVIF to social media?

Better not. Platforms convert every upload into their own internal formats, so the savings from WebP or AVIF are lost, and some platforms simply won't accept them on upload. For uploads it's safer to send the familiar JPG or PNG and keep modern formats for your own website.

Why do my photos look blurry on social media?

Usually for one of two reasons: you uploaded an image smaller than the recommended size (the platform stretched it) or one you pre-compressed too hard (the platform re-compressed something already damaged). The fix is to upload at exactly the recommended resolution and at maximum quality, so the platform's re-compression has a good source to work from.

What size should I use for a post, a story and a thumbnail?

Universal targets: a square post is 1080×1080, a vertical post is 1080×1350, stories and vertical video (Reels, TikTok) are 1080×1920 (a 9:16 ratio), and a YouTube video thumbnail is 1280×720 (16:9). These sizes cover most needs and require no stretching.

What if my phone photo in HEIC won't upload?

HEIC is the native format of iPhone photos, and not every platform or device accepts it. The simplest fix is to convert HEIC to JPG before uploading: JPG is accepted absolutely everywhere, and the photo's quality is preserved.

Best Format for Social Media: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube

You posted the perfect photo, and in the feed it turned into mush with artifacts crawling around the text. Sound familiar? The problem is almost never your camera — it's that social platforms ruthlessly re-compress everything you upload. Let's break down exactly how that works and what format and size to hand the platform so your picture reaches followers crisp.

The golden rule: the platform recompresses everything

Remember one thing and half your quality problems disappear: every platform re-compresses each uploaded image. Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube — they all run your file through their own algorithms to save server space and bandwidth for millions of users. You don't control that process; all you can do is hand the algorithm a good source.

That dictates the whole strategy. There's no point manually shrinking a photo before upload "so it loads faster" — the platform will compress it again anyway, and you end up with double the quality loss. The opposite is true: your job is to deliver the cleanest possible image at the right size, so the re-compression has the best material to work with.

In short

Don't try to outsmart the platform in advance. Upload a high-quality JPG or PNG at exactly the right size and let the platform do the final compression. That way the loss happens once and stays minimal.

JPG or PNG: what to upload

This is the main fork in the road, and the answer depends on what's in the image.

JPG — for photographs. Photos, portraits, landscapes, any frame with smooth color transitions. JPEG was built for exactly this content: it compresses complex photographic images beautifully, and the platform converts them to JPEG anyway. Upload at maximum quality — let the file be heavy, that's fine.

PNG — for graphics with sharp edges. Screenshots, images with text, captioned memes, logos, infographics. Here JPEG performs poorly: dirty "halos" (compression artifacts) appear around crisp lines and letters. PNG stores those edges losslessly and keeps text readable.

What's in the image	Upload format	Why
Photo, portrait, landscape	JPG (max quality)	Smooth transitions; the platform makes JPEG anyway
Screenshot, text, meme	PNG	Sharp edges and letters without artifacts
Logo, infographic	PNG	Crisp lines, transparency if needed
Animation, GIF	GIF / video	Moving content is processed separately by the platform

If your screenshot or poster is already saved as JPG and has grown artifacts around the text, you can't undo it — the loss is permanent. Going forward, save such graphics straight to PNG.

A close-up of a smartphone screen with social media app icons — Feed, story, thumbnail — each slot has its own format and aspect ratio. Photo: Pexels

Why you shouldn't upload WebP or AVIF

A reasonable question: if WebP and AVIF are lighter and more modern, why not upload them to social media too? The paradox is that for uploading they don't help — they get in the way.

First, the platform re-encodes the file into its own internal format anyway, so all your WebP/AVIF savings are wiped out at the very first step. Second, some platforms and apps are still finicky about these formats on upload: the file might be rejected or lose its transparency. What works perfectly on your own website turns into needless risk on someone else's platform.

Rule of thumb

WebP and AVIF are for your website, where you control delivery. For social uploads, stick with proven JPG and PNG. Boring, yes — but predictable and free of surprises.

Sizes for Instagram, TikTok and YouTube

Format is only half the job. The other half is the right resolution. Upload an image smaller than needed and the platform stretches it and adds mush; upload odd proportions and it crops out the important part. Here are the working targets for 2026:

Platform / slot	Size, px	Ratio
Instagram — square post	1080×1080	1:1
Instagram — vertical post	1080×1350	4:5
Story / Reels / TikTok	1080×1920	9:16
YouTube — video thumbnail	1280×720	16:9
Profile avatar	320×320 and up	1:1

The logic is simple: vertical 9:16 covers all short-form video (Reels, Shorts, TikTok) and stories. Square 1:1 and vertical 4:5 are feed posts (the vertical one fills more of the screen and usually earns a bit more attention). Horizontal 16:9 is for YouTube video thumbnails. Prepare the image to fit the right slot and the platform won't have to stretch anything.

1080base post width, px

9:16story, Reels, TikTok

16:9YouTube thumbnail

iPhone photos: the HEIC trap

A special headache for iPhone owners. By default, iPhones shoot in HEIC — it saves space in the phone's memory, but it's Apple's "in-house" format. Most platforms convert it on the fly when you upload through their app, but sending it through a browser, a messenger, or on a non-Apple device can hit a "format not supported" wall.

The fix is trivial: convert HEIC to JPG before uploading. JPG is accepted absolutely everywhere, and the photo's quality is preserved. If you want to understand the format in depth, we have a separate breakdown of what HEIC is and why it behaves this way.

Phone photo won't upload? Turn it into JPG

FormatZ converts HEIC to universal JPG in a couple of seconds, right in your browser — no install, no quality loss. Ready to upload to any social network.

Convert HEIC to JPG

The perfect-upload checklist

Let's roll it all into a short pre-publish routine:

Identify the slot

Post, story or thumbnail — that decides the size and aspect ratio.

Match the size

Resize to the recommended resolution (e.g. 1080×1350 for a post).

Pick the format

Photo → JPG at max quality. Text/screenshot → PNG.

Drop HEIC

Convert iPhone shots to JPG first so they're sure to upload.

The full set of converters is on the all formats page — prep any file for publishing in seconds.

The platform will recompress your image anyway. Your job is to give it a clean source at the right size — not to outsmart the algorithm in advance.