TikTok Video Cover Size Guide (2026)

Your TikTok video cover displays in two contexts — and they crop differently:

Full-screen (For You page): The full 9:16 cover is shown before the video plays. No cropping happens here.

Profile grid: TikTok crops your cover to roughly a 3:4 ratio, cutting from the top and bottom equally. This means the top ~15% and bottom ~15% of your cover image are hidden on your profile.

This is why you must keep all important content — text, faces, logos — in the center 70% of the image. Anything near the top or bottom edges will be invisible on your profile grid.

Custom text on your TikTok cover is one of the strongest ways to drive clicks from your profile page. Here's how to do it well:

Use 3–6 words maximum. Your cover is displayed at roughly 120px wide on the profile grid. Long sentences become unreadable blobs.

Place text in the vertical center. Avoid the top 15% (cropped on profile) and the bottom 20% (where TikTok overlays the video duration and view count).

High-contrast colors only. White text with a black stroke or a solid color banner behind text ensures readability at thumbnail size.

Be consistent. Creators who use the same font, color, and layout across all covers build a recognizable brand on their profile grid.

Don't use the default. TikTok auto-selects a frame from your video, which is often blurry, mid-motion, or unflattering. Always set a custom cover.

Show the outcome first. Tutorial and how-to videos perform better when the cover shows the finished result rather than the starting state.

Faces drive clicks. Covers with a clear, expressive face consistently outperform text-only or product-only covers in click-through rates.

Match the hook. Your cover should visually promise the same thing your video hook delivers in the first 1–2 seconds. Mismatched covers cause immediate swipe-aways.

Putting text at the very bottom. TikTok displays the video duration, sound name, and view count over the bottom of your cover on the profile grid. Any text there becomes unreadable.

Using horizontal images. TikTok covers are strictly 9:16. Landscape images will either be letterboxed with black bars or cropped aggressively, looking unprofessional.

Low-resolution uploads. Covers under 1080px wide appear pixelated on modern phone screens. Always upload at full 1080×1920 resolution.

Inconsistent cover style. A profile grid with random, unstyled covers looks disorganized. Consistent cover design signals professionalism and encourages profile visits to turn into follows.