What the cropper does
It cuts the edges off a photo so only the part you want is left. You drag a box over the photo, pick a shape if you need one, and download the result.
Nothing else changes. The pixels inside the box stay exactly as they were, so a crop never makes a photo blurry. You can also turn the photo a quarter at a time or flip it, which fixes a sideways phone photo or a mirrored selfie.
How to crop a photo
- Add your photo. Choose one, drag it onto the page, or paste it with Ctrl+V or Cmd+V.
- Pick a shape. Free lets you draw any box. The others keep the box to that shape while you resize it.
- Place the box. Drag it to move it. Pull a corner or an edge to resize it. Tap outside the box to start a new one there.
- Download. You get a PNG at the size shown under the button.
Which shape to pick
Every app has a favourite shape. Crop to it yourself and the app has nothing left to cut off.
- 1:1, square. Profile pictures and square posts. 1080 × 1080 px is a safe size.
- 4:5, tall portrait. The tallest photo Instagram shows in the feed. 1080 × 1350 px.
- 9:16, full screen. Stories, Reels, TikTok and phone wallpapers. 1080 × 1920 px.
- 16:9, widescreen. YouTube thumbnails, slides and laptop wallpapers. 1280 × 720 px or larger.
- 2:3 and 3:2. The shape of a 4 × 6 inch print, upright or sideways. Also what most cameras shoot.
- 21:9, extra wide. Website banners and header images.
Tips for a better crop
- Use the grid. Put eyes or the main subject on one of the lines, not dead centre. It usually looks more natural.
- Leave some room. A little space around a face or a product lets it breathe. Cropping right to the edge feels cramped.
- Watch the edges. Do not cut through a hand, a chin or the top of a head. Crop above the joint or leave it all in.
- Crop loose, not tight. Every pixel you cut is gone. Keep the original if you might want a wider version later.
- Check the size. The number under the button is the size you will get. For print, aim for about 300 pixels per inch.
- Turn before you crop. A sideways photo is easier to frame once it is the right way up.
Cropping and quality
Cropping throws pixels away but never changes the ones you keep. A 4000 × 3000 px photo cropped to 1000 × 750 px is still perfectly sharp on a phone. It just will not print as big.
For screens, almost any crop is fine. Phone and laptop screens need far fewer pixels than a modern camera takes.
For print, keep more. A 6 × 4 inch print looks crisp at about 1800 × 1200 px. Check the size before you download.
After you crop
Want the subject without its background? Run it through the background remover. Need it round for a profile picture? The circle cropper does that. For an exact file size in pixels without cutting anything off, use the image resizer instead.