How to crop an image
- Drop a photo on the box, click it, paste with Ctrl+V, or click Try a sample photo. A box covering 80 percent of the picture appears at once.
- Drag inside the box to move it and drag a handle to resize it. Drag on the picture to draw a new box.
- Pick an Aspect ratio such as 1:1 to lock the shape, or type exact numbers into X, Y, Width and Height.
- Choose an Output format, optionally set an Output width, and click Download cropped image.
How the crop works
The box is stored in the picture's real pixels, never in screen pixels, so what you see is what you get on any screen size. When you download, your browser copies exactly that rectangle with drawImage and saves it as a new file. Pixels inside the box are unchanged unless you set an Output width.
Choosing a ratio re-fits the current box around its center: if the box is wider than the ratio the width shrinks, otherwise the height does. While a ratio is locked, resizing from a corner keeps the opposite corner fixed.
Worked example
Click Try a sample photo, a 1,200 x 800 px JPEG. The box starts at 80 percent of the picture, and the line above reads Crop 960 x 640 px at X 120, Y 80 · ratio 3:2. Click 1:1 and it becomes Crop 640 x 640 px at X 280, Y 80 · ratio 1:1, the largest square inside the old box around its center. With Output format on JPEG and Quality 92, Download cropped image saves sample-photo-cropped.jpg and reports Downloaded 640 x 640 px, 61.1 KB, JPG. Exact sizes vary slightly by browser.
Limits and edge cases
- The box cannot leave the picture. Typing a Width bigger than the space to the right of X is limited and the field says so.
- JPEG cannot store transparency, so see-through areas turn white. Use PNG or WebP to keep them.
- Phone photos are cropped as they appear, with rotation applied. Cropped files carry no EXIF data, so GPS location is removed.
- An animated GIF crops its first frame only. Very large pictures depend on your device's memory.
- To change the size without cutting anything, use the image resizer. To shrink the file afterward, use the image compressor.
Image cropper FAQ
How do I crop a picture to a square?
Click 1:1 under Aspect ratio. The crop box becomes a square that you can drag and resize, and every corner keeps it square. Then click Download cropped image.
How do I crop an image to an exact size in pixels?
Type the numbers into X, Y, Width and Height under Crop size to place the box exactly. To also change the final size, enter an Output width and the height follows.
Does cropping reduce image quality?
Cropping only removes pixels outside the box, so the pixels you keep are unchanged. Saving as PNG keeps them exactly, while JPEG and WebP apply a little compression based on the Quality setting.
What aspect ratio should I crop to for Instagram or YouTube?
Instagram feed photos keep their quality between 1.91:1 and 4:5, so 1:1 and 4:5 are safe choices. YouTube recommends 16:9 for thumbnails, at 1280 by 720 pixels.
Can I crop an image on my phone?
Yes. Touch and drag inside the box to move it, drag a corner or edge handle to resize it, or draw a new box on the picture. The number fields work on a phone as well.
Sources: Instagram Help Center, image resolution; YouTube Help, custom thumbnails; MDN, drawImage.