Free Image Cropper
Drag a box, snap it to a preset ratio, or crop to a circle. Exact pixel values are shown as you drag, and nothing is uploaded.
Ratio
A circle crop needs transparency in the corners, so the output is forced to PNG.
How to Use It
- Drop an image in. It stays in your browser.
- Pick a ratio, or leave it on Free to drag any shape you like.
- Drag on the picture to draw a box, drag inside the box to move it, or drag a white corner to resize.
- Fine tune the exact numbers in the X, Y, Width and Height fields if you need precision.
- Press Crop and download.
The thirds grid inside the box is there for composition. Placing your subject on one of the vertical lines usually reads better than dead centre.
Which Ratio to Pick
| Ratio | Use it for | Typical pixels |
|---|---|---|
| 1:1 | Avatars, product grids, Instagram squares | 1080 x 1080 |
| 4:5 | Instagram and Threads portrait posts | 1080 x 1350 |
| 16:9 | YouTube thumbnails, blog headers, slides | 1280 x 720 |
| 9:16 | Stories, Reels, Shorts, TikTok | 1080 x 1920 |
| 3:2 | Camera native ratio, 4x6 inch prints | 1800 x 1200 |
| 2:3 | Pinterest pins, portrait prints | 1000 x 1500 |
| 1.91:1 | Link previews and Open Graph images | 1200 x 630 |
The social media size reference lists the exact pixels every platform expects, including the safe zones that stop text getting covered.
Crop or Resize? They Are Not the Same Thing
Cropping throws pixels away and changes the composition. Resizing keeps the whole picture and changes how many pixels describe it. Getting these the wrong way round is the most common reason an image ends up stretched or blurry.
- Wrong shape for the platform? Crop first, then resize to the exact pixel target.
- Right shape but too big a file? Do not crop. Use the image resizer or the compressor.
- Too small for print? Cropping makes that worse. Check what you have with the resolution calculator first.
Common Questions
Does cropping lose quality?
The pixels that remain are untouched, so there is no quality loss in the kept area. What you lose is total resolution, which matters if you plan to print or enlarge later.
Why is my circle crop square with white corners?
You exported as JPG. JPG has no transparency, so the round corners get filled. Choose PNG.
Can I crop a batch of images to the same size?
Not one by one here. The Script-Fu generator builds a GIMP batch script that centre crops a whole folder in one run.