Infographic sizes for print, web and social

The right size depends on where the infographic will be seen. Print is about physical size and pixels per inch. The web is about pixel width and file weight. Social platforms are about aspect ratio, because feeds crop anything that doesn't fit. If one piece has to work in all three places, plan for that from the first sketch.

Print: inches times 300

For print, the formula is simple: multiply the printed size in inches by 300 to get the pixels you need. 300 pixels per inch (ppi) is the usual target for sharp images held at reading distance.

A few print details that cause most of the reprints:

• Bleed. If color or images run to the edge, extend them past the trim line. A common bleed is 0.125 inch (about 3 mm) per side. Ask your printer.
• Safe margin. Keep text at least 0.25 inch inside the trim, since cutting is never perfectly exact.
• Color mode. Commercial printers usually want CMYK files and may convert RGB for you, sometimes with dull results. Bright screen colors, especially saturated blues and greens, often can't be printed exactly. Ask for a proof if color matters.
• Format. A PDF with fonts embedded and charts kept as vectors prints sharp at any size. Raster images inside it still need 300 ppi.

Large posters seen from across a room can get away with 150 ppi. Small text and thin chart lines need the full 300.

Web: width, density and weight

On screen, the ppi value saved in the file does nothing. A 1,200-pixel image displays the same whether its metadata says 72 or 300. What matters:

• Width. Find the width of the content column where the image will appear. Export at about twice that, so it looks sharp on high-density screens. For a 700-pixel column, 1,400 pixels is a good target.
• Height. Tall vertical infographics are common, but on a phone a 6,000-pixel image turns into endless scrolling of tiny text. If yours is that long, split it into sections or publish the content as a web page with separate graphics.
• Format. PNG keeps flat colors and text crisp. JPEG is better for photos. WebP and AVIF give smaller files for both and are supported by current browsers. SVG keeps charts sharp at every size and lets text stay real text.
• File weight. Compress before you upload. A 4 MB infographic on a slow connection loses readers before it finishes loading.

Publishing the key text as HTML around the image helps both search engines and screen reader users. See the accessibility guide.

Social: aspect ratio first

Social platforms show images in feeds that crop or shrink anything outside their preferred shapes. The exact recommended sizes change every few years, so check each platform's help pages before exporting. The shapes themselves are fairly stable:

• Square (1:1) shows reasonably well almost everywhere.
• Portrait 4:5, often 1,080 × 1,350 pixels, takes more vertical room in many mobile feeds. Instagram began showing profile grids in 3:4 in 2025, so a 4:5 image can be cropped at the edges there.
• Tall 2:3, such as 1,000 × 1,500 pixels, is Pinterest's long-standing recommendation.
• Wide 16:9, such as 1,200 × 675 pixels, suits link previews and some timelines but wastes space on phones.

Feeds show images small. Plan on one message, one chart and type large enough to read at about a third of the export size. A long infographic can be split into a carousel of portrait slides, one section per slide, with the headline repeated in small type on each.

Keep important content away from the edges. Profile photos, buttons and captions overlap the corners and bottom of images in many apps.

One piece, three places

If an infographic will be printed, posted on a blog and shared on social media, design it as modules rather than one fixed canvas:

1. Plan the content as a stack of self-contained sections, each with its own heading and chart.
2. Build the print or long web version as the full stack.
3. Lift single sections into square or portrait social images, adding the headline and source line to each.
4. Keep every chart as a vector, so it can be resized without redrawing.

This takes a little more planning and saves most of the rework. It also forces each section to make sense on its own, which improves the long version too.

A checklist before export

• Is the canvas the right pixel size for the largest use?
• Is there bleed and a safe margin for print?
• Can you read the smallest text at the size people will see it?
• Is the source line still on the image after cropping?
• Is the file small enough for the web?
• Is there alt text and an HTML version of the key content?

The print sizes cheat sheet in the gallery is drawn to scale if you want the paper sizes on one page.

Questions