Resize image for TikTok Cover (1080×1920)
TikTok video covers — the still image people see on your profile grid and in their For You feed — use the same 9:16 frame as the videos themselves: 1080×1920 pixels.
A TikTok video cover uses the same 1080×1920 (9:16) frame as the video itself. The complication is that TikTok displays covers in two shapes: full 9:16 in the For You feed, and a roughly 1:1 centre crop on your profile grid — so a cover designed only for the feed loses its top and bottom on the profile. The workable approach is to treat the central square as the real canvas and the rest as extension: any title or face must sit inside roughly the middle 1080×1080 of the frame. Add to that the interface overlay — the caption, username and action rail occupy the bottom fifth and the right edge — and the dependable region narrows further, to about the central 70 percent. Covers are selected from a video frame or uploaded as an image, and TikTok re-encodes either way.
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Why does my TikTok cover look different on my profile?
The cover is a still frame at video resolution, so 1080×1920 is both the video specification and the cover specification. Where it gets displayed differs. In the For You feed and on a video page the cover fills the 9:16 frame. On your profile the video grid uses cells much closer to square, and TikTok takes a centre crop from the 9:16 cover to fill them — removing roughly the top 420 and bottom 420 pixels. That leaves a central 1080×1080 region present in both views. TikTok also composites its own interface over the feed view: the caption, username and audio attribution run along the bottom left, the action rail of like, comment, share and profile icons runs up the right side, and on some layouts a shop or promotion banner sits above the caption. None of that chrome appears on the profile grid, which is why designing for the intersection rather than for either view alone is the only approach that holds.
Interface overlay and text placement
The right-hand action rail occupies roughly the outer 200 pixels of width for most of the frame's height, and the caption block can run to three lines and consume the lower 400 pixels. Combined with the profile grid crop, the region that is both visible on the profile and unobstructed in the feed is approximately the central 880×880 — noticeably smaller than the full canvas. Text placed outside it will be covered by the action rail, hidden under the caption, or cropped away on the profile. A further practical limit is that TikTok lets you pick a cover frame from the video or upload a still, but the editor's cover picker crops to its own preview shape, so what you select is not always what is stored. Checking the profile grid after posting is the only way to confirm.
Making a cover set that reads as a grid
Because the profile grid crops to roughly square, a channel's covers are effectively a grid of square thumbnails, and treating them as a set pays off. Put the title text inside the central square, at a size that survives being rendered around 120 pixels wide in the grid — which means large. Keep a consistent position for that text across all your covers so the profile reads as an organised body of work rather than a jumble. Avoid placing anything meaningful in the outer 200 pixels on the right, since the action rail sits there in the feed. If a video is part of a numbered series, putting the number in the same corner of every cover makes the sequence obvious at a glance in the grid. As with the other vertical formats, export sRGB — TikTok's re-encode shifts saturated colours from wider gamuts.
TikTok Cover tip: keep faces and text in the central square
On your profile grid, TikTok centre-crops covers to a 1:1 square — roughly the top 420 and bottom 420 pixels of a 1080×1920 cover are hidden. Keep text and faces inside the central 1080×1080 so they show in both the feed and the grid.
TikTok Cover size FAQ
Is the cover a different size from the video?
- No. Both use 1080×1920. The cover is simply a still image at video resolution.
Why does my cover look cropped on my profile?
- The profile grid uses near-square cells and centre-crops the 9:16 cover, removing roughly 420 pixels from the top and bottom.
Where exactly is safe for text?
- The central 880×880 or so. That avoids the right-hand action rail, the caption block at the bottom, and the profile grid crop.
Should covers include text?
- Yes. A short, large title tells viewers what the video is and makes the profile grid scannable. Keep it inside the central square.
Does this size work for Instagram Reels covers?
- Yes, Reels covers use the same 1080×1920 frame, though Instagram's profile grid crops to 3:4 rather than 1:1.
Why did TikTok pick a different frame than I chose?
- The in-app cover picker crops to its own preview shape and does not always store exactly what you selected. Check the profile grid after posting.
Why do my colours look different after upload?
- TikTok re-encodes and assumes sRGB. Export in sRGB rather than Display P3 to avoid saturated tones shifting.
Does my file get uploaded to resize it?
- No. Resizing happens on a canvas in your browser and the result is saved locally.
Where a TikTok cover is visible
| Surface | Shape shown | What is lost |
|---|---|---|
| For You feed | Full 9:16 | Covered by UI, not cropped |
| Profile grid | ~1:1 centre crop | Top and bottom ~420 px each |
| Action rail zone | Right ~200 px | Obstructed in feed only |
| Caption zone | Lower ~400 px | Obstructed in feed only |
The region safe in both views is roughly the central 880×880 pixels.
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References: TikTok Creator Portal video specifications; cover and profile grid crop behaviour verified against the TikTok iOS client.