Crop Image — free, in your browser
Drag a crop box over your photo, lock it to a ratio, rotate, and export. Nothing is uploaded.
To crop an image, drop it here and drag the box over the part you want to keep. Lock a ratio like square or 16:9 and the frame holds those proportions while you move. Cropping removes pixels but never softens the ones you keep. Nothing is uploaded.
- Nothing uploadedRuns on your device
- No limitsNo account, no watermark
- No upload waitStarts immediately
On this page
How it works
- 1
Add your image
Drag it in or click to browse. It's loaded straight from your device into the editor — nothing is sent to a server.
- 2
Position the crop box
Drag inside the box to move it and drag any corner or edge to resize it, or type an exact width and height in pixels. Lock a ratio like square or 16:9 and the box holds those proportions as you drag.
- 3
Rotate if you need to, then crop
The rotate button turns the image a quarter turn at a time. The output size in pixels is shown as you go, so you know exactly what you'll get.
What each setting does
- Free
- No fixed proportions — drag the box to whatever shape suits the picture. Right when the output has no requirement to meet.
- Square 1:1
- Works everywhere. Profile pictures are square on every platform, then masked to a circle by most, so keep the subject away from the corners.
- Portrait 4:5
- The tallest shape Instagram allows in feed, and noticeably more screen than a square. Attention follows area on any feed people scroll with a thumb.
- Widescreen 16:9
- Video thumbnails and most link previews. YouTube crops anything that is not 16:9, and you do not get to choose where.
- Resizing and rotating
- Drag any corner or edge of the box to resize it, or type an exact width and height in pixels. Rotate turns the image a quarter at a time — right angles only, because free rotation needs resampling and would soften the picture.
Results you can expect
Measured on real files by our own test suite, not estimated.
| Ratio | Output | Kept |
|---|---|---|
| Square 1:1 | 900 x 900 | 75% of the frame |
| Portrait 4:5 | 720 x 900 | 60% of the frame |
| Widescreen 16:9 | 1200 x 675 | 75% of the frame |
What people use this for
Profile pictures
Square is the safe choice everywhere. Most platforms mask it to a circle, so anything in the corners is lost.
Read the guideChoosing a ratio
Aspect ratio decides how much of someone's screen your image occupies, which matters more than resolution for anything in a feed.
Read the guideStraightening a photo
A picture taken sideways needs a quarter turn, not an edit. Rotate first, then crop — the box is applied to what you can see.
Trimming for a thumbnail
Crop to 16:9 to choose what is lost, then resize to exactly 1280 by 720 rather than letting a platform crop for you.
Read the guide
How this compares
| FileCrisp | Online croppers | Photos app | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uploads your file | No | Usually | No |
| Resizable crop box | Yes | Varies | Yes |
| Ratio presets | Yes | Sometimes | Yes |
| Watermark | Never | Sometimes | No |
Questions
Does cropping reduce quality?
Cropping only removes pixels — the ones you keep are untouched, so there's no loss of sharpness in the area you keep. The file will be smaller simply because it contains fewer pixels. If the original was a JPG, re-saving does re-encode it, so we use a high quality setting to keep that effect negligible.
What crop size should I use for a profile picture?
Square works everywhere. Most platforms display profile pictures as a circle inscribed in a square, so keep the subject away from the corners, which get cut off. Choose the square ratio and leave a little breathing room around faces.
Can I crop to an exact number of pixels?
This tool crops by ratio and position rather than to an exact pixel size, and shows you the resulting dimensions as you drag. If you need exact dimensions, crop here first to get the framing right, then run the result through the Resize Image tool.
Is my image uploaded when I crop it?
No. The image is loaded into the editor from your own disk and the crop is applied in your browser using WebAssembly. Nothing is transmitted at any point, which you can verify in your browser's network tab.
Why does rotating happen before cropping?
Because that's the order you see on screen. The crop box you drag is positioned over the rotated image, so the same rotation is applied first when the file is processed. Cropping first would apply your rectangle to the wrong axes and cut the wrong part.
What format do I get back?
The same format you put in — a PNG stays a PNG, a JPG stays a JPG. Transparency is preserved for PNG and WebP.
Can I crop without a mouse?
The crop box moves with the arrow keys once focused, the width and height fields set an exact size without a mouse, and the ratio and rotate controls are standard form controls.
Can I crop several images at once?
Not currently. Each image needs its own framing decision, so this tool takes one at a time. For applying the same fixed dimensions to many images, use Resize Image with Fill mode.
Why only right-angle rotation?
Free rotation requires resampling every pixel, which softens the image. For the common case — a photo taken sideways — a quarter turn is exact and lossless.
Is my image uploaded to crop it?
No. The image is loaded into the editor from your own disk and the crop is applied in your browser. You can watch the Network tab while you work and see nothing sent.
What is the best square size for Instagram?
1080×1080 pixels is the standard Instagram square post size. FileCrisp crops to the 1:1 ratio at any size — if your original is smaller than 1080px, the output will be smaller, but the ratio will be perfect.
Can I crop a circle from an image?
FileCrisp crops to rectangular/square shapes. For circular crops (like profile photos with circular frames), crop to 1:1 first, then the platform (Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.) typically applies its own circular mask on display.
If something looks wrong
- The subject will not fit in the frame
- Drag a corner outward, or switch the ratio to Free and set the width and height you actually want. If the subject still will not fit, the original was framed too tightly and you need a wider source.
- The output is not the pixel size I need
- Cropping sets the shape and the framing, not an exact pixel count. Crop first so you control what is lost, then run the result through Resize Image for the exact numbers.
- The rotation cropped the wrong part
- Rotation is applied before the crop, because the box you dragged was positioned over the rotated image. Rotate first, then reposition the box, and the result matches what you saw.
- The image looks softer than the original
- Cropping alone never softens anything — the pixels you keep are untouched. If the source was a JPG, re-saving does re-encode it, which is why we use a high quality setting for the output.