What Size Should Shopify Ad Images Be? The Sizes That Actually Matter
There are dozens of published ad dimensions and you need about four of them. The rest are variants the platforms will crop to anyway.
The four that cover almost everything
| Ratio | Pixels | Where it runs |
|---|---|---|
| 1:1 square | 1080 × 1080 | Facebook and Instagram feed, the safe default |
| 4:5 portrait | 1080 × 1350 | Instagram and Facebook feed, takes more vertical screen |
| 9:16 vertical | 1080 × 1920 | Stories, Reels, TikTok |
| 16:9 landscape | 1920 × 1080 | YouTube, some display placements |
If you make only one, make the square. It is accepted in every feed placement on Meta, it does not get cropped badly anywhere, and it is the format most tools output by default — ours included.
If you make two, add 9:16, because that is where the cheap attention currently is and a square ad placed into a vertical slot leaves obvious empty bars.
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Use the tool free →Why the exact pixel count matters less than you think
Platforms resize whatever you give them. What actually matters is:
The aspect ratio, because that is what gets cropped. A 1:1 image placed into a 9:16 slot is either letterboxed or centre-cropped, and centre-cropping is what removes your headline.
The resolution floor. Meta's practical minimum is 1080px on the shorter side. Below that, compression artefacts show, and the platform may flag the ad as low quality. 1080 × 1080 is the floor and the sensible default in one number.
File size and format. Keep under about 30MB, use JPG or PNG. Nothing exotic.
The mistake that actually costs money: text position
Every platform crops. The reliable way to survive it is to keep anything that must be read inside the middle 80% of the frame, and never put your headline or call to action within about 10% of any edge.
This matters most for a square creative that might be shown in a vertical placement. The top and bottom of your square are the first things to go.
A related one: Meta no longer enforces the old "20% text" rule as a hard rejection, but heavy text overlay still measurably suppresses delivery. If your creative is mostly words on a background, it is competing against video for the same slot and will lose on cost.
What "1080 × 1080" does not tell you
A correctly sized image can still be unusable:
- A product photo cropped square badly. A tall bottle centre-cropped to a square can lose its cap and its base. Crop deliberately rather than letting a tool do it.
- Text too small to read on a phone. Almost all of this is seen at about 5cm wide. If the body copy is not legible at that size, it is decoration.
- Low contrast between text and photo. A white headline over a light product photo reads fine on your monitor and disappears on a phone in daylight. Put text on a solid panel or a scrim.
What we output, for reference
We generate finished creatives at 1080 × 1080 by default, with the photo and a text panel composited so the copy sits on a solid background rather than over the product. Video ads are generated at 9:16, 1:1 or 16:9, whichever you pick.
The reason for the panel rather than text over the photo is the contrast problem above — it is the failure that is invisible on a desktop preview and obvious on a phone.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best image size for Facebook ads?
1080 × 1080 for the feed. It is accepted everywhere, and it is the safest single choice if you are only making one creative.
Should I use square or vertical for Instagram?
Vertical, 4:5, takes more screen in the feed and generally performs better there. For Stories and Reels you need 9:16. Square is still the safe default if you are making one asset for both.
Does image size affect ad cost?
Not directly, but delivery does. A creative that gets cropped badly or reads poorly on a phone earns less engagement, and the auction prices you accordingly. So it affects what you pay, one step removed.
Can I use my Shopify product photo directly?
Yes, and it is usually the right starting point — it is already lit and on a clean background. The thing to check is the crop, because product photos are often shot in a ratio that does not match any ad placement.
Do I need different images for each platform?
No. Start with one square creative, add 9:16 if you are running Stories, Reels or TikTok. Two assets cover most small-store advertising. We wrote up the character limits for each platform separately, since the copy side has more per-platform variation than the image side does.