YouTube publishes no pixel size for a Community post image, only a suggested 1:1 ratio, a 16 MB cap, up to 10 images per post and four accepted formats. The mistake is designing wide when the feed renders a square.
Where it shows
- Community tab on your channel page
- Subscription feed of your subscribers
- Post recommendations in the home feed
- The expanded post view after a viewer taps the image
The safe zone
YouTube shows the attached image as a square in the feed and lets viewers tap to expand to the full frame, so everything outside the centre square is hidden at the exact moment someone decides whether to stop scrolling. The post text sits above the image rather than over it, and on a multi image post the counter and swipe affordance sit at the edges. Build the message inside a centred square and treat the rest as something only the expanded view will reward.
Quirks worth knowing
- YouTube publishes no recommended pixel dimensions for a Community post image, so width, height and minWidth are all null here. The only shape guidance given is a suggested 1:1 ratio because that is how the feed displays it.
- WEBP is accepted here, which stands out across YouTube's image surfaces where the help pages name only JPG and PNG.
- A single post can carry up to 10 images, making the Community tab the one native YouTube surface where a multi slide sequence works without a video.
- YouTube states the 16 MB limit inside the image requirements alongside the ten image allowance, so it reads as a per image ceiling rather than a per post one.
- Non square images are not refused, they are cropped in the feed and shown whole only when a viewer expands them, so the wide version of your image is one tap away rather than lost.
Common mistakes
- Attaching a 16:9 image left over from a thumbnail, which the feed crops square and cuts the sides off.
- Putting the call to action inside the image when the post text sits above it and is the part that is always fully visible.
- Loading a ten image post with ten separate ideas rather than one sequence, so the opening square has nothing to carry.
- Exporting a photograph as a large PNG and hitting the 16 MB cap when a JPG at the same dimensions would be a fraction of the weight.
What we recommend
- Design at 1080 x 1080 px. YouTube publishes no number, so this matches the 1:1 ratio it does suggest and is a size every editor exports cleanly.
- When the image has to be wide, drop it into a padded square canvas so the feed shows the composition you intended instead of an arbitrary centre cut.
- Write the post text as though nobody opens the image. It sits above the attachment and survives every layout.
- On a multi image post, make the first square work alone, because it is the only one the feed shows before a tap.
Common questions
What size should a YouTube Community post image be?
YouTube does not publish pixel dimensions for Community post images. It suggests a 1:1 ratio because that is how images are shown in the feed, caps files at 16 MB, and accepts JPG, PNG, GIF and WEBP. Designing at 1080 x 1080 px satisfies the ratio and sits far inside the file limit.
Why does my YouTube Community post image look cropped?
The feed renders attached images as squares whatever shape you uploaded. The full image is still there and a viewer who taps to expand sees all of it, but the scroll past version is a centre square. Build for the square and the crop stops being a surprise.
How many images can you put in a YouTube Community post?
Up to 10 per post. That makes it the one YouTube surface designed for a sequence of images rather than a single one, and viewers swipe between them. The first image is what appears in the feed, so it carries the decision to stop scrolling.
Why is my YouTube Community post image blurry?
With a 16 MB allowance, under-exporting is a far more likely cause than compression on YouTube's side. A laptop screenshot is often only a few hundred pixels across once cropped square, which is smaller than the feed renders it. Export at 1080 x 1080 px or larger and the softness goes away.
More answers on thumbnail, carousel and cover questions are on the FAQ.