Marketers know that images are an essential part of ad design and campaigns. And Facebook ad image size is no exception.

According to eMarketer forecasts, brands and companies will spend $32.6 billion on Facebook ads by 2020.

That means lots of time goes into browsing through the latest Facebook ad guidelines, then finding the right images to include and last (but not least) testing ads to find the combination of pictures and text that will get the most attention.

But why does Facebook ad image size matter?

Why should you care and invest time figuring out the right dimensions to use for the different kinds of ads you run on Facebook?

Just because it can make the difference between a top campaign and a flop one…

What would you choose?

Let’s get more specific, Facebook ad image size matters for a few reasons:

Understanding Facebook ad image size means you avoid images that appear distorted because they’re stretched, pixelated or blurry.

Depending on the marketing objective for your ad, the image size and placement you use will either help your ad stand out or blend in with everything else your audience sees.

The right size and placement help your ad target the right audience — across multiple platforms.

Facebook offers a myriad of ad options, and Facebook ad guidelines change frequently.

When it comes to Facebook ad image size, it’s essential to stay up to date.

But navigatingFacebook ads options can be confusing, especially if you’re brand new to Facebook ads.

This guide is the 2019 edition of all things related to Facebook ad image size specs and requirements — as they pertain to ad objectives.

What Are Ad Objectives?

Objectives are meant to help you create ads that target your specific audience. Before you even start creating an ad, the first step is to decide what you want the outcome of the advert to be.

Do you want to grow your audience through leads? Promote a new product? Or increase video views? Whatever your goal is, each ad you run requires a different approach to get the outcome you’re after. That’s why establishing your objectives early on helps you set up effective Facebook ad campaigns every time.

At a higher level, the objectives you set for your ads should also match your business goals. To help you figure out what objectives to use, Facebook has divided objectives into three categories:

Awareness – these objectives are meant to trigger interest in your business and what you offer.

– these objectives are meant to trigger interest in your business and what you offer. Consideration – these objectives are meant to get people to seriously consider buying something from you.

– these objectives are meant to get people to seriously consider buying something from you. Conversion – these objectives are meant to get people who are interested in you to buy something.

Messenger ads will serve three purposes. They help you:

Widen the reach of your ad campaigns

Start conversations in Messenger with potential customers

Re-target current customers

Each of the above marketing objectives has its own set of corresponding CTAs.

For example, some of the Facebook CTAs for Reach include Apply Now, Book Now, Contact Us and Download.

Depending on the objectives you choose, you can use different platforms to maximize the impact of your ad campaign.

Different platforms require ads to be different sizes to maximize their effectiveness. So what works on one platform won’t work on another.

Available platforms include:

Facebook

Instagram

Audience Network

Messenger

Not all platforms support every objective.

For example, Brand Awareness is available on Facebook and Instagram because these are the best places to get people who haven’t heard about you interested in your product. Something like Messenger is more personal and best suited for consideration and conversion objectives.

How To Choose Your Objective

To choose an objective, look at where you are in your growth cycle.

If you’re a new company, then your objective is to make your target audience aware of your products and/or services. Reach and Brand Awareness are a good fit because they:

Help more people find you and learn more about what you offer.

Help you drive traffic to your site or specific pages on your site.

Keep in mind that you can choose more than one objective.

You’ll likely run a variety of ads with different goals for each. Facebook lets you create and run as many campaigns as you need.

How to Choose the Ad Formats Right for Your Objectives

Once you’ve decided on your ad objective, two factors determine Facebook ad size: ad format and ad placement.

Let’s look at Facebook ad format first.

Ad format refers to how you’re going to share the ad with your audience. Facebook keeps evolving, and as a result, a wider range of formats and capabilities are available for you to choose from. Now more than ever before, your ads can stand out compared to those of your competitors.

When you first start using Facebook ads, it’s normal to feel like you’ve wasted time trying to figure out why your images aren’t rendering correctly. You might even feel like the quality of the finished ad isn’t quite what you want it to be. Often, your frustration can be linked to using the wrong image size or even the wrong ad shape.

And now that Facebook allows advertisers to create image link ads with an aspect ratio up to 1:1 (square), it might even get more frustrating.

Check what we discovered last month after running a $1,200 experiment to discover what works best: Square Image or Landscape?

The trick is to understand that image specs change depending on the objective — so even a unified marketing campaign will need different images across platforms and formats.

Facebook updates its ad size specs on a regular basis so, to get you started, we’ve included an overview of the most recent specs. Remember, you can use Facebook News Feed, Instagram, Audience Network and Messenger to share your ads.

Here’s a Facebook ad image size roundup to help inform your campaigns this year:

Facebook Ad Image Size: Single Images

Let’s say you have a new product and want to build some hype around it. One way to do that is to use a clean, clear image in your ad:

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A single image ad is one of the simplest ads available because it’s easy to set up — it doesn’t take a lot of time to make. Once you pick an objective you just choose your audience and then upload your content, image and links.

This kind of ad is a perfect introduction to Facebook ads because it helps you reach lots of customers and build interest quickly. You don’t need a big budget and you don’t need lots of time trying to figure out how to create the ad.

Keep in mind that when pursuing a Page Likes objective, uploaded images will be cropped to a 8:3 aspect ratio.

When aiming for the most exposure and distribution, Facebook suggests using images with a bare minimum of overlaid text or no text at all.

Consider using panoramic images or photos in the 360 format, which provide users with a more engagement-friendly interactive experience.

Single image ads are available for the following objectives:

Design Specs:

Supported file types: jpg and png

jpg and png Image ratio: 16:9 to 9:16 (cropped to 1.91:1 if you include a link)

16:9 to 9:16 (cropped to 1.91:1 if you include a link) Amount of text allowed on image: no more than 20%

Recommended Facebook ad image size:

1,200 x 628 pixels

Facebook and Instagram Stories size:

1,080 x 1,920 pixels

Additional information:

Image ratio: 1.91:1

1.91:1 Ad headline: 25 characters

25 characters Description text: 125 characters

125 characters Link description: 30 characters

Facebook Ad Image Size: Single Video

If your marketing objective is to get traffic to your site, then Facebook video ads are one way to grab the attention of potential site visitors.

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Facebook research reveals some compelling stats on video:

71% of people increased their online video viewing in the past year

Mobile-optimized Facebook videos lift brand awareness by 67%

Facebook video posts have an average engagement rate of 6.01%

30% of mobile shoppers say video is the best medium for discovering new products

Facebook users watch video ads five times longer when viewing intentionally

Bottom line: Facebook video ads can be powerful tools to reach your target audience.

Depending on where you decide to share your video ad — Facebook, Instagram and Audience Network — Facebook makes it easy to create different types of videos.

For example, you can create short GIFs to longer, more in-depth videos for sharing on Audience Network.

Video ads are available for the following objectives:

Design specs:

Video Ratio: 16:9 to 9:16

16:9 to 9:16 Upload videos without letterboxing — the black bars at the top and bottom or sides of a video)

Video requirements:

Video File Size: 4GB Max

Max Length: Minimum of 1 second and a maximum of 240 minutes

Additional information:

Ad headline: 25 characters

25 characters Description text: 125 characters

125 characters Link description: 30 characters

Facebook Ad Image Size: Carousel

If you want to upload more than one image to your ad and give audiences a better idea of what you offer, use carousel ads.

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With carousel ads you can upload between two and ten images for the ad to scroll through. An added bonus is you can make each image link to a different page on your website. For example, if your objective is to get “product catalog sales,” you can link each image to a different product on your product page.

Carousel ads are an engaging ad format because you can use a combination of images and videos.

Every ad tells a story but let’s say yours is complex because your product has a lot of features. With the image and video combo, you can break the story down into bite-sized bits that are easy for your audience to digest.

Consider using panoramic images or photos in the 360 format, which provide users with a more engagement-friendly interactive storytelling experience.

A couple of other things you need to know about carousel ads:

If you pursue a Page Likes objective, uploaded images will be cropped to a 8:3 aspect ratio.

When aiming for the most exposure and distribution, Facebook suggests using images with a bare minimum of overlaid text or no text at all.

Carousel ads are available for the following objectives:

Design specs:

Supported image file types: jpg and png

jpg and png Suggested video file types: MP4 and MOV

Image requirements:

Max image file size: 30MB

30MB Recommended image size: 1,080 x 1,080 pixels

1,080 x 1,080 pixels Recommended image ratio: 1:1

1:1 Amount of text allowed on image: no more than 20%

Video requirements:

Max video file size: 4GB

4GB Length: Maximum of 240 minutes

Maximum of 240 minutes Aspect Ratio: Vertical (4:5)

Additional information:

Ad headline: 40 characters

40 characters Description text: 125 characters

125 characters Link description: 20 characters

Facebook Ad Image Size: Collection

Use this ad format if you have a product line and want to showcase your products without overwhelming your audience.

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With the collection format, you can use a combination of images and video to make the ads more versatile and engaging.

Start with a short video highlighting your product’s main selling features. Maybe add some music and special graphics to make the video stand out. Then, under the video, add four or six high-quality images of your most popular products.

This approach gets people to stop and watch the video. Because you’ve also included product information in the ad, people are more likely to click over to your site to keep searching or to buy something.

When potential customers click on the ad, they’re taken to a full-screen version of the ad.

This feature is meant to boost engagement and get people interested in and excited about your product.

Collection ads are available for the following objectives:

Design specs – use canvas templates based on your marketing objectives:

Get new customers

Sell products: grid layout

Sell products: lifestyle layout

Showcase your business

Facebook ad image size requirements:

Minimum recommended image size: 400 x 150 pixels

Unlike the other formats, there aren’t any CTA buttons for this format.

The goal of this ad format is to get the audience to click on the images and access full-screen Facebook Canvas ads.

Facebook Ad Image Size: Canvas

Between checking and sending messages, logging onto apps or even playing games, people spend about 4 hours a day on their phones. This is why Facebook is making it easier for marketers to reach mobile audiences. The canvas ad feature is only available on mobile devices, and for good reason.

Canvas is a full-screen experience meant to kick your advertising efforts up a notch.

Instead of scrolling through a news feed and just looking at an ad, when people click on the ad they’re taken to a new screen to watch a short clip highlighting your product features and benefits. This approach is more interactive for audiences because it’s a unique experience.

The ad doesn’t have to be just video either. Add a gamification element by getting people to swipe to reveal more information or interact with the ad. You can even add 360 panoramic views to the ad so that when people tilt their phones, they get a better look into the world you’ve created with your ad.

Canvas ads are available for the following objectives:

Image requirements:

Recommended image size: 1,200 x 628 pixels

Amount of text allowed on image: no more than 20%

no more than 20% Image ratio: 1.91:1

Canvas requirements:

Aspect Ratio: Tolerance : 3%

Video requirements:

Recommended length: up to 15 seconds

up to 15 seconds Aspect Ratio: Vertical (4:5)

Vertical (4:5) File size: Up to 4 GB max

Additional information:

Ad copy text: 90 characters

90 characters Ad headline: 45 characters

45 characters Audiences access canvas ads by clicking on an ad (either an image, video or carousel) in a mobile news feed.

Facebook Ad Image Size: Instant Articles

Facebook Instant Article ads are fast-loading, interactive pieces of content promoted across the platform’s app.

Instant Articles are a mobile publishing format that let advertisers distribute article-style ads to Facebook’s app that load and display up to 10 times faster than on the standard mobile web.

But Instant Articles come with more benefits that just raw speed. This ad format also allows brands to more opportunities to interact with potential customers with features reminiscent of Facebook’s Canvas ad format.

Those added features let Facebook users:

Expand ad content to view it in full-screen mode

Change orientation by tilting and rotating their mobile devices to see peripherals of the image

Watch auto-play video

Instant Article ads are available for the following objectives:

Design Specs:

Supported file types: jpg and png

jpg and png Image ratio: 16:9 to 9:16 (cropped to 1.91:1 if you include a link)

16:9 to 9:16 (cropped to 1.91:1 if you include a link) Amount of text allowed on image: no more than 20%

Recommended Facebook ad image size:

1,200 x 628 pixels

Minimum width & height: 600 pixels

Video Guidelines:

Supported file types: .MP4 and .MOV

.MP4 and .MOV Length: Maximum of 240 minutes

Maximum of 240 minutes Aspect Ratio: Between 9:16 to 16:9

Between 9:16 to 16:9 File size: Up to 4 GB max

Up to 4 GB max Amount of text allowed on thumbnail: no more than 20%

Additional information:

Image ratio: 1.91:1

1.91:1 Ad headline: 25 characters

25 characters Description text: 125 characters

125 characters Link description: 30 characters

Facebook Ad Image Size: Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace functions as a merchant hub on the platform where people buy and sell items in their local communities.



Marketplace ads, which are available in both image and video formats, are the ideal way to potential customers to your website who are searching and actively shopping for a specific product in a certain location.

With Marketplace, Facebook has centralized the shopping experience as a one-stop interactive destination with everything from home improvement services to vehicles sold by individuals, retailers and other businesses who have been vetted to give buyers sense that they can shop with confidence.

This placement can be used with several campaign objectives, including reach, traffic, conversions, catalog sales or video views, though ads are optimized for clicks by default, which guarantees that Facebook will deliver your ads to people in a similar demographic. And as a bonus,your campaign will automatically be paused as soon as you mark your item as sold.

Marketplace ads are available for the following objectives:

Design Specs:

Supported file types: jpg and png

jpg and png Image ratio: 16:9 to 9:16 (cropped to 1.91:1 if you include a link)

16:9 to 9:16 (cropped to 1.91:1 if you include a link) Amount of text allowed on image: no more than 20%

Recommended Facebook ad image size:

1,200 x 628 pixels

Minimal width & height: 600 pixels

Video Guidelines:

Supported file types: .MP4 and .MOV

.MP4 and .MOV Length: Maximum of 240 minutes

Maximum of 240 minutes Aspect Ratio: Between 9:16 to 16:9

Between 9:16 to 16:9 File size: Up to 4 GB max

Up to 4 GB max Amount of text allowed on thumbnail: no more than 20%

Additional information:

Image ratio: 1.91:1

1.91:1 Ad headline: 25 characters

25 characters Description text: 125 characters

125 characters Link description: 30 characters

Facebook Ad Image Size: Audience Network

The Facebook Network delivers your ads off Facebook in third-party apps, videos and mobile sites, extending your reach while taking advantage of Facebook’s powerful targeting capabilities.

Facebook Audience Network ads appear natively, on banners and in full-screen interstitial ads. Whether you choose pre- or mid-roll placements, your ads will appear on trusted publishers’ platforms.

The Audience Network now offers advertisers and marketers a better understanding of and much more control over where their ads can potentially appear before they start setting up campaigns.

Facebook shares a list of publishers that monetize their sites and apps via the Audience Network, so brands can decide whether or not they want their ads to appear in any of those locations. Brands can also use Facebook’s Business Manager to update their “block lists” and lists of potentially brand-sensitive content categories where they do not want their ads to run — the feature also works for Instant Articles and in-stream videos.

Audience Network image ads are available for the following objectives:

Design Specs:

Supported file types: jpg and png

jpg and png Image ratio: 16:9 to 9:16 (cropped to 1.91:1 if you include a link)

16:9 to 9:16 (cropped to 1.91:1 if you include a link) Amount of text allowed on image: no more than 20%

Recommended Facebook ad image size:

1,200 x 628 pixels

Video Guidelines:

Supported video formats: .MP4 and .MOV

.MP4 and .MOV Recommended length: Between 10 seconds and 121 seconds

Between 10 seconds and 121 seconds Aspect Ratio: Between 9:16 to 16:9

Between 9:16 to 16:9 File size: Up to 4 GB max

Up to 4 GB max Amount of text allowed on image: no more than 20%

Additional information:

Image ratio: 1.91:1

1.91:1 Ad headline: 25 characters

25 characters Description text: 125 characters

125 characters Link description: 30 characters

Facebook Ad Image Size: Messenger

According to Nielsen study done for Facebook, 65% of U.S. consumers prefer messaging a company over calling customer service, while 53% are more likely to shop with businesses they can message directly.

So, exactly what are Facebook Messenger ads? Well, they come in three main categories: Messenger Destination, Sponsored Messages Placement and Messenger Home Placement ads.

Destination ads show up in users’ news feeds and link to a new Messenger conversation with a company or brand. With call-to-action buttons that open inside a Facebook message, allowing you to engage would-be customers in conversation instead of directing them to a landing page or website – meaning they’re ideal for warming up cold prospects without scaring them off with a hard sell.

Sponsored ads display as private messages to users and can only be used to target individuals who have messaged your brand before. A great tool for retargeting users you’ve already interacted with using strategic customized messages directly to a user’s inbox, they are a good way to keep users on the platform, while reducing their bounce risk.

Home ads serve the purpose of generating one-on-one conversations, which makes them feel like more than just another name on your customer list. After making initial contact, you can tailor your approach to providing each contact with personalized customer service.

Messenger ads are available for the following objectives:

Design Specs:

Supported file types: jpg and png

jpg and png Image ratio: 16:9 to 9:16 (cropped to 1.91:1 if you include a link)

16:9 to 9:16 (cropped to 1.91:1 if you include a link) Amount of text allowed on image: no more than 20%

Recommended Facebook ad image size:

1,200 x 628 pixels

Additional information:

Image ratio: 1.91:1

1.91:1 Minimum width: 254px (width) x 133px (height)

254px (width) x 133px (height) Ad headline: 25 characters

25 characters Description text: 125 characters

125 characters Link description: 30 characters

Facebook Ad Image Size: Slideshow

Slideshow ads are a lightweight hybrid videos and image ads used to tell product stories on desktop and mobile devices at every connection speed.

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If your objective is “conversions” but you’re working with a tight budget, a slideshow ad might be the answer. You don’t need a massive video production budget to make this work.

All you have to do is upload product images in a sequence that makes your message clear.

Slideshow ads also boost your audience’s experience. If some of your audience is in an area where video downloads are slow, a slideshow is a good alternative because they download quickly.

Facebook makes using slideshows easy for you because you can use images you already have of your product, or you can take an existing video and let Facebook capture a handful of images you can incorporate into your slideshow.

Slideshows have certain benefits over video ads. They offer:

The power of video without the hassles. Slideshow ads play just like video ads, allowing you to create compelling content to engage your audience in a quick, easy and affordable way.

Slideshow ads play just like video ads, allowing you to create compelling content to engage your audience in a quick, easy and affordable way. Playability at any Internet speed. Slideshow ads load much faster than standard video ads, which means they can easily be viewed by users who don’t have a reliably high-speed connection.

A couple of tips for slideshow ad success:

Use exiting imagery. Instead of snapping new photos or creating brand new images, use visual content from your Facebook page or website. This will save a lot of time and ensure you have consistent messaging between your ads and click-through destination.

Instead of snapping new photos or creating brand new images, use visual content from your Facebook page or website. This will save a lot of time and ensure you have consistent messaging between your ads and click-through destination. Create a storyboard first. Since Slideshows function just like videos, it’s a good idea to a storyboard set up before creating your ad. Give some serious thought to the images you plan to use and make sure they tell your brand story.

To create your slideshow:

Choose an objective that supports videos and choose your audience. In the video section of the new ad, click on “Slideshow” and upload three to seven pictures. Decide what you want the ad to look like by selecting an aspect ratio. Your ad will be square or rectangular depending on the ratio you choose. Set the image duration. This can be anywhere from one to five seconds. Finally, set the image transition and add music.

Slideshow ads are available for the following objectives:

Design Specs:

Number of images: between 3 and 10

between 3 and 10 Supported file types: jpg and png

jpg and png Image ratio: 16:9, 1:1, or 2:3 (automatically crops to 1:1 if images are different sizes)

16:9, 1:1, or 2:3 (automatically crops to 1:1 if images are different sizes) Amount of text allowed on image: no more than 20%

Recommended Facebook ad image size:

1,280 x 720 pixels

Video Guidelines:

Supported file types: .MP4 and .MOV

.MP4 and .MOV Recommended length: Maximum 15 seconds (duration changes depending on the number of images used)

Maximum 15 seconds (duration changes depending on the number of images used) Aspect Ratio: Between 9:16 to 16:9

Between 9:16 to 16:9 File size: Up to 4 GB max

Up to 4 GB max Amount of text allowed on thumbnail: no more than 20%

Audio guidelines:

File types: WAV, MP3, M4A, FLAC and OGG formats

Additional information:

Ad headline: 25 characters

25 characters Description text: 90 characters

90 characters Link description: 30 characters

Ad Placement: Optimize Your Ads

Now you know how to choose an objective and an ad format to maximize the success of your ads.

The final piece of the puzzle is figuring out how to optimize the placement of your Facebook ads to boost conversions.

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Choosing the right placement ensures that you’ve chosen the ad size so that your ads will appear on multiple platforms and stand out. Placement is important because your audience doesn’t hang out in one place. You want them to see your ad in multiple places so you have to make sure that the ad experience is the same across the board.

If your audience has the same experience with your ads regardless of where they see them, you’re more likely to meet the goals you set for your ads.

Ads can be placed in any of the following places:

Facebook News Feed

Facebook Right Column

Facebook Instant Articles

Instagram Feed

Instagram Stories

Audience Network

Sponsored Message

Messenger Home

Where you place your ad determines the type of ad format you can use.

Here’s a rundown of where you can place your ads depending on the ad format you choose:

Single image placement:

Single video placement:

Carousel placement:

Collection placement:

Canvas placement:

Getting Started

There are lots of combinations of objectives, ad formats and ad placements you can use.

Here are three tips from the experts you should follow:

Before you start your ad, do a little research to find out what combination will result in the most engagement.

Make a list and narrow it down to four or five options. Then run multiple ads using those combinations to get maximum reach.

Ads are all about learning so make adjustments to the format and placement as you learn more about your audience and their habits.

And there you have it: everything you need to know to figure out the purpose of your ad, what the ad should look like and Facebook ad image size specs.

Creating effective Facebook ads is about more than just throwing together a glossy picture and hoping something good happens. You have to be strategic with your objective to make sure it’s in line with the bigger picture of what you want your ad to accomplish.

You spend time and effort in creating crafty content for your Facebook ads. Spend just as much time understanding ad size so that your ads stand out and get your audience to take action.