What size should a Telegram link preview image be?

Telegram reads the Open Graph image from the linked page. Use a 1200x630 pixel image at a 1.91:1 ratio, the standard OG size. Telegram crops it to its preview card, so keep the key subject centred and avoid text near the edges.

What is the best video thumbnail size for Telegram?

Match the thumbnail aspect ratio to the video. For landscape 16:9 video use 1280x720, and for vertical 9:16 stories or clips use 720x1280. Telegram generates a frame automatically, but a clean custom thumbnail at these sizes looks far better.

Does Telegram compress my images?

Yes, unless you send them as files. Sending a photo normally recompresses it, so start from a high-quality source at the recommended size. To preserve full quality, attach the image as a document, though it then loses the inline preview.

What aspect ratio do Telegram photo posts use?

Telegram keeps the original aspect ratio of a photo and scales it to fit the chat width, up to roughly 1280 pixels on the long edge. There is no forced crop for single photos, so landscape, square, and portrait all display, though very tall images are scaled down to fit the screen.

What file formats does Telegram support for images?

Telegram supports JPG, PNG, and WebP for photos, plus GIF and MP4 for animation. Use JPG for photographs to keep files small, PNG or WebP for graphics with sharp edges or transparency, and MP4 for short looping video that Telegram treats as a GIF.

Telegram Thumbnail Size Tool

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Telegram displays media in several distinct slots — inline link-preview cards, video thumbnails, single-photo posts, and channel art — each with its own ideal size and aspect ratio. This tool gives you the exact target dimensions, ratio, and file-size ceiling for each so your previews render sharply instead of being heavily recompressed.

How it works

Each content type maps to a recommended resolution, aspect ratio, and maximum file size. Telegram scales media to fit the chat width and recompresses ordinary photos, so starting at the right size avoids visible quality loss:

link preview  → 1200×630  (1.91:1)  from the page's OG image
video 16:9    → 1280×720  (16:9)
video 9:16    → 720×1280  (9:16)
photo post    → up to 1280 px long edge, original ratio kept

For link previews Telegram reads the Open Graph image tag of the destination page, so the size is controlled on that page, not in Telegram itself.

Tips and example

To make a YouTube-style landscape clip look crisp, export a 1280×720 JPG under a megabyte and send it as the video thumbnail. For a link card, set the linked page’s og:image to 1200×630 and keep the headline and logo away from the edges, since Telegram crops the card. When you need pixel-perfect quality with no recompression, attach the image as a document — you lose the inline preview but keep every pixel.