Portrait images on X: 1080×1350 and how they crop

The best Twitter portrait image size is 1080×1350 pixels, a 4:5 frame. On X's phone apps, a single image in a standard shape like this appears in full in the timeline, so a portrait post fills far more of the screen than a wide 1600×900 one. Cropping still happens when you post two to four images at once, because X fits them into a grid. Design every portrait with its words and subject near the centre, and it reads whether it is shown whole or cropped.

X image sizes, portrait and otherwise

The link card is the odd one out. You don't attach it to the post: X builds it from the linked page's own image, so it is set on your website, as explained in Open Graph image size. If you attach a portrait image to a post that also contains a link, X shows your image and drops the card. For every platform's sizes in one place, see social media image sizes.

On a phone, both images are shown at the width of the column, so height is the only difference that matters. The landscape post is still the better choice for wide photographs, charts and screenshots; Twitter image size covers it. For posters, announcements and anything built around a headline, portrait wins.

How X crops portrait images in the timeline

There are three situations to design for, and only one of them is fully predictable.

• One image, phone app: standard shapes, 4:5 included, are shown uncropped. This is the case most of your audience sees.
• One image, web: the timeline column is narrow and limits how tall an image can appear, so a portrait image is shown smaller relative to the screen. Very tall images can be cropped.
• Two to four images: X arranges them in a grid of tiles and crops each to fit. Two images sit side by side as tall slices; four make a two by two grid. Tapping opens the full images.
• Very tall images: anything much taller than 4:5, such as a full 9:16 story, is likely to be cropped in the timeline, with the full image only visible when opened.

Where to put text on a portrait image

Because a portrait image may be cropped into a grid tile, the safe rule is the same one that works on Instagram: keep words and logos inside the middle of the frame, with generous margins at the sides. A practical safe area on 1080×1350 is the central 900×1100, about 90 pixels in from each side and 125 from the top and bottom.

1. 1

   Start at 1080×1350

   Add guides about 90 pixels in from each side and 125 from the top and bottom.

2. 2

   Centre the headline

   Set it on the vertical centre line, a little above the middle. Centred text survives the grid crop; text tucked into a corner does not.

3. 3

   Keep the detail short

   One supporting line under the headline. The post's own text carries the rest, and it is what people reply to.

4. 4

   Use PNG for graphics

   X recompresses images. Type and gradients survive PNG better; photographs are fine as high quality JPEG.

5. 5

   Check the grid if you post several

   Before posting a set, imagine each image cut to a tall slice from its centre. If a headline would break, move it inward.

Portrait images in threads and multi image posts

Threads are where portrait images pay off most: one image per post, each shown in full on phones, each a single idea. A thread of five portrait cards with a consistent background reads like a small deck. Twitter thread graphics has layouts for that.

The other benefit of 1080×1350 is reuse. It is the same size as an Instagram post, a Threads post and a LinkedIn or Facebook portrait post, so one design can go to all of them unchanged. Gradiently has every one of those sizes built in, and keeps type readable on the background by deepening or lifting the colours near the letters, so a card you make for X looks right everywhere you post it. If your account needs a consistent look across the header and posts, Twitter branding covers the rest.