Running Facebook ads with the wrong image size is one of the fastest ways to waste your budget. Blurry creatives, cropped headlines, cut-off product shots, and text hidden behind CTA buttons all reduce click-through rate and increase cost-per-click — before your audience even reads your copy.
Facebook uses different image specs for every ad placement: feed, Stories, Reels, carousel, right column, Marketplace, and Audience Network. Each one has a different aspect ratio, minimum resolution, and set of UI overlays. This guide covers every spec you need, the most common creative mistakes, and how to check your images before launching a campaign.
Facebook supports multiple ad placements, and each one has different image requirements. Using the wrong size results in automatic cropping, blurry rendering, or rejected creatives.
Placement
Size (px)
Aspect Ratio
Min Width
Notes
Feed (Single Image)
1200×628
1.91:1
600px
Most common placement; supports JPG and PNG
Feed (Square)
1080×1080
1:1
600px
Higher engagement on mobile; no side cropping
Story
1080×1920
9:16
500px
Fullscreen vertical; UI overlays top and bottom
Reels
1080×1920
9:16
500px
Same as Story; grid thumbnail crops to ~3:4
Carousel (Per Card)
1080×1080
1:1
600px
All cards must be the same aspect ratio
Right Column
1200×628
1.91:1
600px
Desktop only; renders very small
Marketplace
1200×628
1.91:1
600px
Appears alongside organic listings
Audience Network
1200×628
1.91:1
398px
External placements; quality varies by publisher
Instant Article
1200×628
1.91:1
600px
In-app article placement
Search Results
1200×628
1.91:1
600px
Appears in Facebook search feed
Use the Facebook image size checker to verify your dimensions match the placement before uploading to Ads Manager.
How Facebook Crops Ad Images
When your ad image doesn't match the target aspect ratio, Facebook auto-crops from the center. But cropping isn't the only way content gets hidden — Facebook also layers UI elements on top of your image that you can't remove.
What gets overlaid on ad images
CTA button — "Learn More," "Shop Now," "Sign Up," and other call-to-action buttons appear at the bottom of feed ads, covering the lower 10-15% of the image.
Headline and description — ad copy appears below the image in feed placements, but on some mobile layouts it overlaps the bottom edge.
"Sponsored" label — appears at the top of the ad, near the advertiser name. Avoid placing small text in this area.
Story/Reels UI — swipe-up CTA, profile info, and reaction buttons cover the top 15% and bottom 15-20% of vertical ad creatives.
The safe zone for feed ads is roughly the center 80% of the image. For Story and Reels ads, keep key content in the middle 60-70% of the vertical space. Use the safe zone visualizer to check what stays visible, and the ad image preview tool to see the full layout with overlays.
Cropping by placement
Feed ads — center-crop to 1.91:1. Tall images lose top and bottom. Wide images are generally safe.
Carousel ads — center-crop to 1:1 per card. Non-square images lose edges unpredictably.
Story/Reels ads — no crop if uploaded at 9:16, but UI overlays hide edges.
Right column — image renders very small (~254×133). Fine detail and small text become unreadable.
Pre-crop your images to the correct ratio with the Facebook image crop tool before uploading to Ads Manager.
Text Overlay Best Practices for Facebook Ads
Facebook officially removed the 20% text rule in 2021, but the algorithm still matters. Ad images with heavy text coverage consistently see reduced delivery, higher CPM, and lower reach. The algorithm deprioritizes text-heavy creatives even if they're technically allowed.
Keep text under 20% of image area — this is no longer a hard limit, but it's still the threshold where delivery starts to drop. Check yours with the text overlay checker.
Use bold, heavy fonts — thin fonts become unreadable at small display sizes, especially in right column and Audience Network placements.
High contrast between text and background — white text on dark overlay or dark text on light area. Never place text directly on a busy photograph without a contrast layer.
3-5 words maximum — your ad copy handles the details. The image text should be a short hook, not a paragraph.
Keep text away from edges — CTA buttons, "Sponsored" labels, and crop zones all eat into edge areas. Center your text in the safe zone.
Pro Tip: Put the message in the image, the details in the copy
The best-performing Facebook ads use the image for one bold visual hook (a face, product, or short phrase) and let the headline and description carry the specifics. Heavy text in the image competes with Facebook's own UI text and makes the ad harder to parse at a glance.
How to Avoid Blurry Facebook Ads
Facebook compresses every image you upload. If your source file is already small, low-quality, or compressed, the additional compression makes it look noticeably blurry — especially on high-density mobile screens.
Always upload at the maximum recommended size — 1200×628 for feed ads, 1080×1920 for Stories/Reels, 1080×1080 for carousel. Larger source files survive compression better.
Use JPG at 90%+ quality for photos — don't pre-compress your images before uploading. Let Facebook handle the compression from a high-quality source.
Use PNG for graphics with text and sharp edges — logos, text overlays, and illustrations render sharper as PNG because there are no JPG compression artifacts around edges.
Avoid upscaling small images — stretching a 400px-wide image to 1200px doesn't add detail; it just makes the blur larger. Start with a high-resolution source.
Check before launching — use the thumbnail analyzer to check resolution, quality, and sharpness before spending budget on a blurry creative.
Image Type
Recommended Format
Why
Product photo
JPG (90%+ quality)
Best file-size-to-quality ratio for photographs
Text overlay / graphic
PNG
Sharp edges, no compression artifacts around text
Logo on solid background
PNG
Clean edges, supports transparency
Screenshot or UI
PNG
Preserves fine detail and text legibility
Lifestyle / editorial photo
JPG (90%+ quality)
Smaller file size, compression artifacts less visible
Facebook Ad Creative Best Practices
Getting the size right is step one. Making the creative actually perform is step two. These principles consistently produce higher CTR and lower CPC across Facebook ad placements.
One clear focal point — the viewer should immediately know what to look at. A single face, product, or bold text element. Cluttered creatives with multiple competing elements underperform.
Faces outperform objects — ads with faces consistently get higher engagement. If your product involves people, show people using it.
Bright, saturated colors stand out — the Facebook feed is dense. Muted, low-contrast images blend into the background. Bold colors stop the scroll.
Design for mobile first — over 98% of Facebook users browse on mobile. If your ad doesn't work at small sizes on a phone screen, it doesn't work.
Create placement-specific versions — don't use one image for every placement. A 1.91:1 feed image will be cropped badly in Stories. A 9:16 Story image won't work as a carousel card. Build separate creatives for each format.
Test at thumbnail scale — your ad will often appear as a small thumbnail in the feed. If it's not compelling at 100×52 pixels, reconsider the design.
The 3-second rule
Users scroll past ads in under 3 seconds. Your creative needs to communicate one clear message in that window: what it is, why it matters, and what to do next. If the viewer has to study the image to understand it, you've already lost them.
Tools to Check Your Facebook Ad Images
Check your ad creatives before launching a campaign. A 30-second preview can prevent wasted spend on a broken image.
The standard feed ad size is 1200×628 (1.91:1). Story and Reels ads use 1080×1920 (9:16). Carousel ads use 1080×1080 (1:1). Always upload at the maximum recommended resolution. Check yours with the image size checker.
Does Facebook still have a 20% text rule for ads?▼
Facebook officially removed the 20% text rule in 2021. However, the ad delivery algorithm still deprioritizes images with heavy text coverage. Keeping text under 20% is still the best practice for maximum reach. Check yours with the text overlay checker.
Why does my Facebook ad look blurry?▼
Facebook compresses all uploaded images. If your source is already small or compressed, the extra compression causes visible blur. Always upload at the maximum recommended resolution and use JPG at 90%+ quality. Use the thumbnail analyzer to check quality before launching.
What file format is best for Facebook ads?▼
Use JPG for photographs and real-world images. Use PNG for graphics, text overlays, logos, or anything with sharp edges. Both formats are accepted up to 30MB.
How do I prevent my Facebook ad image from being cropped?▼
Upload at the exact aspect ratio for your placement: 1.91:1 for feed, 9:16 for Stories/Reels, 1:1 for carousel. Pre-crop with the image crop tool and check the safe zone visualizer to keep content away from overlays.