The Best Sizing For Etsy Product Photos [UPDATED April 2022]

Updated April 2022!

One of my most frequently asked questions is what size and ratio Etsy product listing photos should be. Sizing and ratio is very important when it comes to your Etsy product photos, so in this post I’ll be covering the best sizing for etsy, including these topics:

  • Why getting your image sizing right is important
  • The correct ratio for Etsy images
  • The correct pixels for Etsy images
  • How to optimize your Etsy images for web use (1 MB or less)
  • DPI explained

First let’s talk about size and ratio.

The ratio refers to how wide the image is compared to how tall it is (eg, 1:1, 5:4, 4:3, etc). You set your ratio when you crop your photo in your editing process either on your computer or your smartphone, or within your camera when you take the actual photo.

Size refers to how many pixels wide and how many pixels tall your photo is. This can be adjusted when editing, but needs to be at least a certain size when captured (more on that in moment).

So why do we even care about this?

The ratio is important for two reasons.

One, when someone searches Etsy, or views your shop, the “gallery images” that are meant to capture the attention of shoppers are a ratio of 4:3 (so slightly wider than they are tall). If the photos you upload aren’t a 4:3 ratio, you risk your product being cut off and not shown in its entirety. The search results are a crucial opportunity to capture the attention of shoppers, and with part of your product not even been seen, there’s a good chance you’ll be passed over.

Two, if your product photos in your product listings are all different ratios, that will produce unsightly spaces above and below, or on the sides, of some of your photos. The “container” for your product photos will fit the largest photo, so anything smaller will show space around it.

So what ratio and resolution should your photos be for your online shop?

The size (pixels) of your photo is also important, as it affects the quality of your photo especially when viewed with the zoom tool. Your photos should be 2700px along the long edge. For the best size and quality with a 4:3 ratio, your photo would be 2700 pixels wide and 2025 pixels tall. This size is perfect for Etsy's recommendations, and will allow you optimize the image for web.

To Summarize:

Ratio: Your ratio should be 4:3.*

This means your photo will be wider than it is tall. It's a perfect size for Etsy, as this is the ratio of the thumbnails that appear in the search and in your shop view - which means your entire photo will be shown and none of your product will be cut off.

*NOTE: It appears as of April 2022 that Etsy's thumbnails have reverted back to a 5:4 ratio on both web and mobile, but I have been in touch with Etsy and they are not changing their recommendation of 4:3 as of yet. Just be aware when uploading your images and verify that your product appears fully in the thumbnail at both a 4:3 and 5:4 ratio.

Size (in pixels): 2700px wide by 2025px tall

This maintains your 4:3 ratio and ensures your photo is large enough that it will still look great when viewed with the zoom tool.

best sizing for etsy guide


Keep in mind - your customers need to see great, high quality photos in order to feel like they're making an informed purchase. That means that if you want customers to click on your listing when it pops up in the search, they need to be able to see the whole photo (and not have parts of it cut off due to incorrect ratio).

That also means that when they enlarge your photo and/or use the zoom tool, they need to see a sharp, crisp image that shows off the details of your product - not a pixelated, low quality photo that makes your product look low quality too.

IMPORTANT: You cannot enlarge your photos after they're taken. When the photo is captured by your camera it must already be larger than your finished image. To ensure your photos are captured at a large enough size, check your camera settings. If you are using an iPhone the native size of image captured isn’t changeable, but it is large enough at 4032 x 3024 px.

Watch my YouTube video on how to re-size your images in Photoshop and Lightroom

Optimizing Images For Web

In order for web images to load quickly (so potential customers don't lose interest), your images should be a small enough file size to load quickly. A good rule of thumb is to for the images to be 1MB or less.

To ensure your images are 1MB or less, always save your images in jpeg and if you need it, you can reduce the quality of the jpeg down to 80% without losing quality.

Watch my YouTube video on how to optimize your images for web

A Word About DPI

It is a widely-held misconception that your images should be 72 dpi. 

The dpi of an image has no impact whatsoever on a digital images. It doesn't impact the image's resolution, or it's file size. It's a metric that only applies to print media, and thus isn't even uploaded with your image to the web.  So you don't need to worry about what the dpi is. 72 is fine. So is 300. So is 3000. It makes no difference to digital images.

Want to edit you photos quickly and effortlessly? Check out the Lightroom Presets here.

And there you have it! The complete low down on the best sizing for Etsy product photos. Have a question? Drop it below!

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55 comments on “The Best Sizing For Etsy Product Photos [UPDATED April 2022]”

  2. Thanks for this tutorial. I have been selling on Etsy for over 10 years and now I am having difficulty uploading pictures. I don't understand 3000 x 2400pixels as suggested versus 170 x 135 both suggested by Etsy. A large pixel size make my garments very wide and unappealing. In the past it was
    about 850 x 570. Now I have a large amount of items to upload and I am thoroughly confused and frustrated. I don't know what to do.

    Do you have any suggestions? I have over 130 items listed before with the old numbers. No problem.

    Thank you so much.

    Reply

    1. The 170x135 you're seeing probably refers to a different image on Etsy, not the product listing images. I've updated the article above for the most current recommendations, hope it helps!

  3. Hi, Thanks for your article however it seems like the aspect ratio is 4x5 and not 5x4 as you advised. LMK if I'm missing something as this is a new venture for me. Thank you!

    Reply

    1. The ratio was 5:4, and has since been changed to 4:3. Etsy images for the product listings are slightly wider than they are tall.

    1. It changed at the end of 2019! The article has been updated. 🙂

    1. No, it wouldn't be a good idea to use a larger image size. They'll take too long to load, bogging down the site, and Etsy doesn't recommend images above 3000px. Hope that helps!

  6. Hi Amy,
    I have an Etsy store but I have it on vacation mode because I want to learn the correct pixel size, besides removing items, adding items, working on tags, etc.

    Anyway, I took a couple of my photos and used your recommended size, which was 3000px wide by 2400px tall for maximum size and quality and my photos look silly. They are short and fat and I must not be understanding something and I was hoping you could clear this up for me. Thank you for your time.

    Reply

    1. Hi Diane, the photos should be slightly wider and shorter with the stated ratio (see updated post above for new recommendations, but still similar in ratio). This ratio is set by Etsy for the thumbnail images, and it’s definitely in your best interest to optimize your images for this size. They shouldn’t look silly, or overly short/fat with the correct ratio.

  7. Hi Amy, thank you for your generous tips. They are very much appreciated. Yet, unfortunately even grea looking pictures appear terribly ugly and blurry once uploaded. I wouldn’t my my own products, so neither would the rest of the world. I have lost my mind trying to fix this the past months. I was hoping your new update would help, but I have come to the point that I am sure there’s nothing I can do to make them look better. It just doesn’t depend on me. I read of tens of people with the same problem on Etsy.

    Reply

    1. Hi Daria, if you're continuing to have issues I think your problem may be related to the original image size. Are your original images (before you resize them) larger than the finished size? If you try to resize a small image to a larger image, the image will always look pixelated and poor quality. I've taught hundreds of makers and they've found this image sizing to be perfect for high quality images on Etsy.

  8. Hello, thanks for sharing this!
    I make my mockups for Etsy in illustrator (as that's what I've made my artwork in).
    However, my file size when I save as JPEG are huge - 15MB
    I've watched your video for optimising file size but it only refers to Lightroom and photoshop.
    Do you know how I would reduce my file size in illustrator please?

    Thanks! Nisha xx

    Reply

    1. Hi Nisha! I don't have extensive experience with Illustrator, but if I remember correctly, the export process for Illustrator is similar to Photoshop. You should be able to resize when you export your image (export instead of "save as").

    2. Hi Nisha
      A few things to look at...
      What Dpi are your images... 72dpi / 96dpi / 100dpi / 150dpi / 300dpi ??
      What color mode... CMYK or RGb or sRGB??
      How many bits per channel... 8bit, 16bit, 32bit ???

      Photoshop and illustrator play different ballgames especially when it comes to dpi settings.
      For e.g. for my POD co i have to provide a lot of images at 3600px by 3600px at 300dpi.
      I only have black images ... so they only require 8bit channel.
      For any digital color prints I use sRGB with 32bit channel.

      In Photoshop i create and save my images at 3600px by 3600px at 300dpi.
      illustrator works differently... its default setting is 72dpi...
      so if i create in Ai a 3600px by 3600px at 300dpi... when i save it the resolution
      changes from 3600px up to 15000px... (which obviously is a larger file size).

      Could that be the problem you're having?

      Theres a formula shown by Helen Bradley in the youtube link below that shows how to apply the correct dimensions when working with Ai.
      For e.g. in Ai the formula is: Dimension / Resolution x 72dpi

      So if i want a 3600px / 300dpi image at the end of the day in Ai, i would have to set Ai to 864px at 300dpi.
      Formula: 3600px / 300dpi x 72dpi = 864px

      When i check the image properties in File Manager the 864px image displays 3600 by 3600px correctly.

      For more info Google: CMYK websafe colors vs RGB
      Printify has a really good explanation...
      https://printify.com/blog/rgb-vs-cmyk/

      Helen Bradley youtube video
      Illustrator - Calculate File Dimensions and Resolution for Accurate Output
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT89O7ca1P0&ab_channel=HelenBradley

      Hope that helps... cheers

  9. Thanks for all you help with this! What do you recommend for the first photo which Etsy creates a thumbnail out of it? I've tried different sizes but sometimes they get cropped. Any size that works well for this?

    Reply

    1. The 4:3 ratio will work to get your photo from getting cut off by the thumbnail. 🙂

    2. Try the ratio 5:4 (72dpi) works with different sizes... fits perfectly in the "Adjust Thumbnail" section...
      My Primary photo that the Adjust Thumbnail uses... (either size)...
      2000px (W) by 1600px (H)
      2700px (W) by 2160px (H)

    1. You can still use the 1:1 ratio at 2000 x 2000, you'll just have to be extra careful to make sure that the 4:3 thumbnail in the search results and shop view doesn't cut off important parts of your photos. If Etsy would change that thumbnail ratio to 1:1 it would make everyone's life a lot easier! 😆

  11. MAY GOD BLESS YOU!!!! I literally have almost been in tears trying to figure out the sizing for listings. Your recommended dimensions are PERFECT!

    THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! I literally almost gave up this Etsy thing because of it. Thank you, again!

    Reply

  12. The ratio of product thumbnails on Etsy is 5 x 4. It's not 4 x 3. The exact size is 340 x 270 pixels.

    Reply

  13. Yup, I just checked. The information in their guide is not correct. The aspect ratio is 5 x 4. Very easy to check by copying the thumbnail and pasting it in Photoshop. Also, when you create a photo that is 5 x 4, you can see that nothing gets cut off when you look at the thumbnail. However, if you create a 4 x 3 photo, the sides get cut off.

    Reply

    1. Thanks Ivan! This is a very recent change. It was 5:4 a couple of years ago, then they changed it to 4:3 in December of 2019. In the past month or two the thumbnail size has fluctuated on mobile and desktop, from 4:3 to square (on mobile) to 5:4. It may be a bit of bug on their end, or something they're testing. Until the dust settles and the new guidelines are released, I recommend planning on editing your photo collections for 4:3. But I'll be keeping an eye out for official word then update the post. Stay tuned!

  14. I just tested the dpi thing and exported 72 vs 300. One was 5Mb and the other was 3Mb so I'm confused about what difference it actually makes?

    Reply

  15. I am new to this and it is so confusing. When you say thumbnail, is this a photo that's different from all the other photos you add to your listing? Also is there any update on the ratio...4:3, 5:4, does anyone know? Thanks so much!

    Reply

    1. The thumbnail isn't different from the photos you upload, but just how your main listing photo previews in the search results and in your shop view. That preview (aka thumbnail) is a set ratio across all of Etsy, so if you upload a photo that isn't that same ratio you risk part of your product getting cut off in that view.

      The official word on the ratio from Etsy is still 4:3, but it appears to have reverted to 5:4 on both web and mobile. Etsy had not made any changes to their official recommendations yet though. I have reached out to Etsy for clarification and will update if I hear back. Hope that helps!

  16. After taking a picture on my iPhone to upload to Etsy should I crop first or set ratio then crop ?

    Reply

  17. Great article!. Very informative!

    I read someplace that 3000 x 2400 is the new size....is that correct in 2022?

    Thank you. so much!

    Reply

    1. 3000 x 2400 is the maximum, but Etsy recommends 2000px along the short edge of the photo and less than 1MB total file size. I share more about Etsy image sizing, including how to optimize your photos for that 1MB size, on my YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/amyeaton. Hope that helps!

  18. Hi. Have a question. For the digital downloads it also applies the sizing? Because it will be different sizes for different measurements ? Thank you

    Reply

    1. Digital downloads do not apply here, this is specifically for photos for your product listings. Your digital downloads should be optimized for their intended use. Hope that helps!

  19. Hi,

    We have an issue we simply don't understand where things are going wrong with the pictures when loaded to etsy. If we start with a crisp clear picture meeting either the 5:4 or 4:3 ratios with the 2700 pixels x 2025 pixels or 2700 pixels x 2160 pixels the file size ranges between 4-5MB. Etsy will accept the file however it appears a bit pixelated in the resulting posting.

    Is etsy running a compression algorithm that throws away extra pixels to squeze the file size down to 1MB?

    If so, how do we losslessly compress the file to 1M and maintain the detail on etsy? We use Adobe photoshop (full version not elements).

    Reply

    1. Hey Todd! Etsy is mostly likely compressing that file and that's what is causing your quality issues. Ideally your file size would be 1MB or less. I have a YouTube video that talks about how you can optimize your image files for web (1MB or less) here: https://youtu.be/5Ut11CYFB_0. I hope that helps!

  20. Does ETSY actually want to help us?? Why is it so hard to set up shop? Especially with photos etc
    Is there another place we can go??

    Reply

    1. Happy to help with the photos part, Karen! Etsy isn't perfect and it is a lot of work to get setup and optimized, but it can be a good place to have your products discovered.

  21. Came here looking for the ratio for images on Etsy but I feel like I have to say something in reference to DPI since I've been doing graphic design for a minute now. DPI, or PPI as it's referred to more in digital media, is important and not just for print. 72 DPI is recommended as that is the resolution that most displays will output and if you have an image below 72 DPI you can run into pixilation on images. In todays world though with more and more people using HiDPI displays something that is 150 to 300 DPI is preferred depending on what you're doing. For just displaying images on Etsy that are not a digital download 72 DPI should be enough for anyone even with HiDPI displays out there. Also a higher DPI leads to larger file sizes. Just not sure why you call it a widely held misconception when it's literally how the resolution of images works.

    Reply

    1. I've done a lot of research on this topic, believe me. There is a lot of misinformation out there, and DPI or PPI do not matter for web images. When you set the PPI in Photoshop or Lightroom, that metric refers to print alone. The resolution you're referring to is pixel dimensions. To optimize for HiDPI screens, it's generally recommended to double the pixel dimensions and run them through an image optimizing service or use a plug in to optimize them for web. Also, a higher DPI does not create larger file sizes. Really. Try it yourself. Here are just a few sources I've found that back up what I said, and you can find lots more. Plus search any image optimization article for HiDPI screens and you'll find your answer in the lack of reference to dpi or ppi (it's all about those pixel dimensions):



  22. Having been doing graphic design for 16 or more years can say I've done plenty of testing over the years especially when it comes to file size. DPI, which is Dots per inch does specifically refer to print. But PPI, which is Pixels Per Inch, is the pixel density of the image. I just think you should make the clarification and link your sources in your article if you're going to call it out as a misconception.

    Reply

    1. Still no, according to all the research I've done and my 12 years as a photographer. I do know there's a difference between PPI and DPI, but neither matter for digital web images.

      Here's an additional article that specifically cites ppi: https://www.photoshopessentials.com/essentials/the-72-ppi-web-resolution-myth/

      And another: https://www.photocascadia.com/the-72-ppi-web-image-myth/

      To quote the above article: "On a screen, pixels are pixels and the pixels don’t change size unless you change the resolution setting of your monitor. All that matters for web images is pixel dimensions. So, if pixels per inch don’t matter, what is the ppi setting for? The answer is that changing the pixels per inch changes the size the image will print. The size of pixels on your screen is determined by the resolution of your monitor. The only thing your monitor cares about is how many pixels an image has."

      PPI does not matter when it comes to sizing images for the web.

    2. Sorry, I was not trying to be obstinate. Most of the work I've done has been in print so I usually have resample checked which does effect the file size on things and looks like I'm in need of updating some of my knowledge on how it effects things digitally. Thank you for linking the articles. Good to always stay updated on things.

    3. No worries Jeron! It's truly a confusing topic and finding clear information is a challenge. Glad the articles helped!

  24. Hi
    I agree with Ivan Paunovic comment above that the ratio should 5:4
    I uploaded to my Etsy listing numerous 4:3 images and they were all cut off at the sides in the "Adjust Thumbnail" section... (as Ivan stated)...
    however they all fit inside the main listing photos.

    Etsy stills states the minimum width of the listing photo should be 2000px...
    https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-gb/articles/115015663347?segment=selling

    All the dimensions i tried at 4: 3 had the sides cut off in the "Adjust Thumbnail" section...
    2700px by 2025px (your recommendation)
    2600px by 1950px
    2500px by 1875px
    2400px by 1800px
    2300px by 1725px
    2200px by 1650px
    2100px by 1575px
    2000px by 1500px

    The ratio 5:4 (72dpi) works with different sizes... fits perfectly in the "Adjust Thumbnail" section...
    My Primary photo that the Adjust Thumbnail uses... (either size)...
    2000px (W) by 1600px (H)
    2700px (W) by 2160px (H)

    Also the ratio 5:4 fits perfectly in the listing photos...
    To check... click the "Crop photo" when you hover over your Etsy listing photo...
    The 5:4 image fills the entire crop box correctly.
    As you will see underneath the cropbox there are 5 other ratios...
    4:3 3:2 1:1 2:3 3:4
    (obviously 5:4 checkbox is not shown)... however it fits correctly.

    All of the 4:3 dimensions listed above fills the entire crop box correctly as well.

    My POD company provides my Mockup listing images at 2000px by 2000px which is 1:1 ratio.
    Although they fit inside the listing photos and thumbnail section...
    they have big blank borders (they don't touch the sides of the crop boxes or listing photos box).
    In "Adjust Thumbnail" I have to manually increase and repositioned the image (time consuming with over a 100 listings).

    I can provide screenshots, but i couldn't attached them to this comment...
    so Amy, if you wish to update this webpage with new screenshots of the 5:4 ratio shown in my Etsy listings/Thumbnail sections
    email me and i'll zipp them over to ya.

    My Etsy shop is not open yet (hopefully end Oct/early Nov 2022)...
    but if you wish see the 5:4 ratio in action on Etsy, please go to
    https://www.etsy.com/your/shops/AnimalMetalArt

    Kind regards
    Rob in Australia

    Reply

    2. Hi Rob, did you happen read the section in the post above where I explain my findings when it comes to 5:4 and 4:3?

      "*NOTE: It appears as of April 2022 that Etsy's thumbnails have reverted back to a 5:4 ratio on both web and mobile, but I have been in touch with Etsy and they are not changing their recommendation of 4:3 as of yet. Just be aware when uploading your images and verify that your product appears fully in the thumbnail at both a 4:3 and 5:4 ratio."

  28. This was something I didn't realise, but just to let everyone know, Etsy have just announced that all pictures should now be square

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Amy

Go-to product photography instructor for creatives since 2017

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