The Ultimate Guide to Paid Media Advertising Sizes (2026 Edition) 

Introduction

Every paid media platform plays by its own rules. A creative that looks flawless on Meta can be automatically rejected on Google, cropped awkwardly on Pinterest, or stretched out of shape on LinkedIn. For marketers running campaigns across multiple channels, keeping track of image ratios, video codecs, file size caps and format requirements is a constant, low-grade headache and getting it wrong is costly. Disapproved ads mean delayed launches. Incorrect ratios mean cropped logos, hidden calls-to-action, or creative that simply doesn't perform as intended.

This guide brings together the current (2026) creative specifications for six of the most widely used paid digital platforms - Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Meta Ads, Pinterest Ads, StackAdapt (programmatic display), and TikTok Ads - in one place. We've summarised the essentials for each platform's core ad formats and highlighted the key differences you need to know when planning creative that will run across more than one channel.

Prefer something you can keep on your desktop? We've also put together a companion PDF cheat sheet with all these specs in a single printable reference - see the download link at the end of this guide. 

How to use this guide

• Use the comparison table below for a fast, at-a-glance view of how the platforms differ.
• Jump to the relevant platform section for full detail on file types, sizes, ratios and technical requirements.
• Check the “Key differences to watch out for” section before briefing a designer or repurposing creative across channels.
• Always confirm against the platform's official specs before launch - links are provided throughout, as platforms update requirements periodically.

If you have a specific platform in mind you want to check on now, then use the jump links below. 

Google Ads

LinkedIn Ads

Meta Ads

Pinterest Ads

StackAdapt

TikTok Ad

At a glance: Platform comparison

Before diving into the detail, here's how the six platforms stack up against each other on the fundamentals - file types, size limits and the aspect ratios you'll be designing most often. 

Note: this table reflects the primary / most commonly used ad type per platform included in this guide. Full detail, including secondary formats such as video and legacy banner sizes, is covered platform-by-platform below. 

Google Ads

Google's Display Network reaches audiences across millions of websites and apps and supports two very different creative approaches: fully responsive ads that Google reformats automatically, and fixed-size custom banners for precise creative control. 

Responsive Display Ads

Google's system automatically adapts your image assets to fit different placements, so you only need to supply a couple of core sizes. 

Landscape image: (1.91:1): Recommended 1200 × 628px · Minimum 600 × 314px

Square image: (1:1): Recommended 1200 × 1200px · Minimum 300 × 300px

Max file size: 5,120 KB (5 MB) per image 

Custom Display Ads

For advertisers who want pixel-perfect control, Google still supports the classic set of fixed IAB banner sizes.

File formats: GIF, JPG, PNG

Max file size: 150 KB

Square & rectangle: 200 × 200 (small square) · 250 × 250 (square)

Skyscraper: 120 × 600 · 160 × 600 (wide)

Leaderboard: 468 × 60 (banner) · 728 × 90 (leaderboard)

Mobile: 300 × 50 (mobile banner)

Animated GIFs: 30 seconds max (may loop), and must run at under 5 frames per second 

LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn's Single Image Ads are the workhorse format for B2B traffic and awareness campaigns, appearing natively in-feed on both desktop and mobile.

Single Image Ads

File formats: JPG, PNG, GIF

Max file size: 5 MB

Most common ratio: 1:1 (square) — recommended for both desktop and mobile delivery

Other supported ratios: 1.91:1 (horizontal) · 1:1.91 (vertical, mobile only)

Minimum dimensions: 360 × 360px

Maximum dimensions: 4,320 × 4,320px

Recommended size: 1,200 × 1,200px (1:1)

Meta Ads

Meta (Facebook and Instagram) supports the widest range of placements of any platform in this guide, with distinct specs for feed and Stories/Reels - and separate requirements for image versus video creative.

Single Image - Feed

File formats: JPG, PNG

Ratio: 4:5

Resolution: 1,440 × 1,800px

Max file size: 30 MB

Minimum width / height: 600px wide · 750px high (at 4:5)

Aspect ratio tolerance: 3%

Single Image - Stories

File formats: JPG, PNG

Ratio: 9:16

Resolution: 1,440 × 2,560px

Design tip: leave roughly 14% of the top, 6% of each side, and 35% of the bottom of a Stories image free of text and logos — this space is reserved for UI elements like the call-to-action button. 

Video - Feed Placements

File formats: MP4, MOV, GIF

Ratio: 1.91:1 to 4:5 (in-feed)

Resolution: 1,440 × 1,800px (at 4:5)

Encoding: H.264 compression, square pixels, fixed frame rate, progressive scan, stereo AAC audio at 128kbps+

Video - Reels

File formats: MP4, MOV, GIF

Recommended ratio: 9:16

Resolution: 1,440 × 2,560px

Max duration: No maximum limit

Max file size: 4 GB

Captions are optional but recommended; sound is optional but strongly recommended. Avoid edit lists in your video file containers, and the same Stories safe-zone guidance applies to Reels. 

Pinterest Ads

Pinterest is a visually-led, discovery platform - and its specs reflect a strong preference for tall, portrait-orientation creative that fills more of the feed.

Standard Image Ads

File formats: PNG, JPEG

Max file size: 20 MB (desktop) · 32 MB (in-app)

Recommended ratio: 2:3 (1,000 × 1,500px)

Video Ads

File formats: MP4, MOV, M4V

Max file size: Up to 2 GB

Aspect ratios: Vertical — 2:3, 4:5 or 9:16 · Square — 1:1

Encoding: H.264 or H.265

Duration: Minimum 4 seconds · Maximum 15 minutes

StackAdapt - Programmatic Display

As a programmatic DSP, StackAdapt serves display creative across a huge network of publisher sites, so it relies on the traditional set of IAB-standard banner sizes rather than the ratio-based systems used by the social platforms.

Display Ads

Mobile Banner: 320 × 50

Leaderboard: 728 × 90

Wide Skyscraper: 160 × 600

Medium Rectangle: 300 × 250

Half-Page Skyscraper: 300 × 600

Billboard: 970 × 250

File formats: JPG, PNG, GIF

Optimal file size (JPG/PNG): 750 KB

Max file size (GIF): 3.5 MB

Resolution: Minimum 72 PPI, recommended 144 PPI, for a crisp, high-resolution result

TikTok Ads

TikTok's Non-Spark, in-feed video ads are built for full-screen, sound-on, vertical viewing - but the platform is flexible on orientation and accepts a broader range of video file formats than most other channels. 

Non-Spark Ads

Vertical (recommended): 9:16, ≥ 540 × 960px

Horizontal: 16:9, ≥ 960 × 540px

Square: 1:1, ≥ 640 × 640px

File formats: .mp4, .mov, .mpeg, .3gp, .avi

Duration: 5–60 seconds (21–34s recommended), up to 10 minutes

Max file size: 500 MB

Bitrate: ≥ 516 kbps

Captions: Displayed in a fixed white font; cannot include clickable links, @ symbols or hashtags 

Key differences to watch out for

Once you look across all six platforms together, a few clear patterns - and traps - emerge. Keep these in mind whenever you're briefing creative that needs to travel across channels.

1. Aspect ratio is not universal

Square (1:1) creative is the closest thing to a common denominator — it's supported on Google, LinkedIn, Meta, Pinterest and TikTok. But beyond that, preferences diverge sharply: Pinterest favours tall 2:3 portrait images, Meta and TikTok lean into full-screen 9:16 vertical video for Stories/Reels/in-feed, and Google's Custom Display and StackAdapt still rely on horizontal, fixed-pixel banner shapes inherited from traditional web display advertising.

2. “Display” means different things on different platforms

Google Custom Display Ads and StackAdapt's programmatic inventory both use the classic IAB banner sizes (300×250, 728×90, 160×600, and similar). Social platforms, by contrast, have largely moved away from fixed pixel dimensions in favour of ratio-based systems that adapt to each placement. If your team is used to designing for social, don't assume the same assets will work for programmatic or Google Display - you'll need dedicated banner sizes.

3. File size limits vary by orders of magnitude

At one extreme, Google's Custom Display Ads cap out at just 150 KB, and StackAdapt recommends 750 KB for static formats — a legacy of the lightweight ad tech these banners load through. At the other extreme, Meta allows video files up to 4 GB, and Pinterest up to 2 GB. Always check the specific limit for the exact ad type and format you're using; there is no single “safe” file size that works everywhere.

4. Safe zones matter for full-screen vertical formats

Meta Stories/Reels and TikTok's vertical in-feed ads are viewed full-screen, with UI elements (profile info, captions, calls-to-action) overlaid on top of the creative. Both platforms recommend keeping key text, logos and calls-to-action out of the top and bottom margins of the frame so they aren't obscured. This is easy to miss if you're used to designing for feed placements where the whole image is visible.

5. Video format support is inconsistent

TikTok accepts the broadest range of video containers (.mp4, .mov, .mpeg, .3gp, .avi), while Meta and Pinterest are more prescriptive, generally expecting MP4 or MOV with H.264 (or H.265 on Pinterest) encoding. If you're repurposing a single video master across platforms, export platform-specific versions rather than assuming one file will be accepted everywhere.

6. Animation rules can catch you out

Google's animated GIF display ads must run at under 5 frames per second and stop after 30 seconds of looping - a restriction that doesn't apply to static formats or to other platforms' GIF support (e.g. LinkedIn and StackAdapt allow GIF without the same animation-speed rule). Always check format-specific sub-rules, not just the headline file type list.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Designing one asset at one size and stretching or cropping it to fit every placement, rather than exporting platform-specific ratios.
• Placing logos, text or CTAs in the top/bottom safe zones of vertical Stories, Reels or TikTok creative.
• Assuming social-style ratio-based specs apply to programmatic or Google Display banners (they don't - fixed pixel sizes still apply).
• Missing file size limits on lightweight formats like Google Custom Display (150 KB) and StackAdapt (750 KB), causing upload rejections.
• Using a video codec or container that isn't supported on the target platform, especially when repurposing one master file across channels. 

Final thoughts

Creative specifications will keep evolving as platforms roll out new placements, formats and AI-driven ad experiences - so treat this guide as a living reference rather than a one-time checklist. The underlying principle stays the same, though: design with each platform's native format in mind from the start, rather than retrofitting one asset to fit them all, and you'll spend far less time fighting ad rejections and far more time optimising performance.

This guide was put together by Bluesoup. If you'd like help planning, designing or trafficking paid media creative across any of these platforms, we're always happy to talk. 

Keep this guide handy

Download the companion PDF cheat sheet - a printable summary of every spec in this guide, perfect for keeping next to your desk or sharing with your design team.