How to use the Image Cropper
- Drop an image onto the box or click to choose one. A crop box appears over your picture.
- Pick an aspect ratio such as 1:1 or 16:9, or keep Free for any shape.
- Drag inside the box to move it and drag the corner or edge handles to resize. You can also drag across the picture to draw a new box, or type exact X, Y, width and height values.
- Turn on Circle crop for a round avatar, choose PNG, JPG or WebP and click Download cropped image.
Features
- Drag-and-resize crop box that works with mouse, touch and pen
- Seven aspect ratio presets, from 1:1 to 9:16
- Exact X, Y, width and height in original pixels
- Circle crop with transparent corners
- Rule-of-thirds guides inside the crop box
- Full-resolution export as PNG, JPG or WebP
How cropping works
Cropping keeps a rectangle of your image and throws away everything outside it. Nothing inside the rectangle is resampled: every pixel you keep stays exactly as it was in the original. That is why cropping is the best first step for any edit. Remove the distractions, then resize or compress what is left.
The crop box on this page is measured in the original image's pixels, not screen pixels. If your photo is 4000 pixels wide and the preview is 600 pixels wide, a box that looks half as wide as the preview is 2000 real pixels wide. The numeric fields always show the real values, so you can crop to an exact size such as 1200 × 800 for a website slot.
Choosing an aspect ratio
| Ratio | Typical use |
|---|---|
| 1:1 | Profile pictures, square feed posts, product thumbnails |
| 4:3 | Most phone camera photos, tablets, classic slides |
| 3:2 | DSLR and mirrorless photos, 6 × 4 inch prints |
| 16:9 | Video thumbnails, widescreen slides, desktop wallpapers |
| 9:16 | Stories, Reels, Shorts and phone wallpapers |
| 4:5 | Portrait feed posts, which take up more of the screen than squares |
When you pick a ratio, the box jumps to the largest centered area of that shape, and it keeps the ratio while you resize it. Switch back to Free to drag each edge independently.
Circle crops for avatars
Circle crop keeps the pixels inside an ellipse that touches the edges of your box and makes the corners transparent. Use the 1:1 ratio for a perfect circle. Save it as PNG or WebP, because JPG has no transparency and would fill the corners with white. Most social networks and chat apps already display profile pictures as circles, so for those you can upload a square crop and let the platform round it. A transparent circle is handy for slides, email signatures and web pages.
Composition tips
- Use the thirds. The faint lines divide the box into a 3 × 3 grid. Placing a horizon on a line, or a face where lines cross, usually looks more balanced than dead center.
- Leave breathing room. Give people space in the direction they are looking or moving, and avoid cutting through joints such as wrists, knees and ankles.
- Straighten first. A tilted horizon is easier to fix before cropping; use Rotate Image with a small angle, then crop away the empty corners.
Cropping and print size
Every crop reduces the pixel count, which matters if you plan to print. A common rule is 300 pixels per inch for sharp prints, so a 6 × 4 inch print needs about 1800 × 1200 pixels. Check the size readout under the preview before you crop very tightly from a small photo.
Keyboard and touch
On a phone, drag the box with one finger and pull the white handles to resize; the handles have large touch areas. With a keyboard, tab to the crop box and use the arrow keys to move it, holding Shift to move ten times faster, and type sizes in the fields.
Frequently asked questions
Does cropping reduce image quality?
No. The pixels you keep are copied exactly. Saving as PNG is completely lossless; JPG and WebP add slight compression, which is invisible at the default 92% quality.
How do I crop an image to an exact pixel size?
Type the width and height in the fields under the preview, then move the box into position. Switch the ratio to Free first if your size does not match a preset ratio.
Why is my circle crop saved as a PNG?
The corners outside the circle are transparent, and only PNG and WebP can store transparency. If you choose JPG, those corners are filled with white instead.
Can I crop photos on my phone?
Yes. The crop box responds to touch: drag inside it to move it and drag the handles to resize. The download is saved to your phone like any other file.
Is my image uploaded to a server?
No. The image is loaded and cropped by your browser on your own device, and nothing is sent anywhere.