Etsy listing photo size: pixels, ratio and thumbnail crop

Etsy's photo rules are spread across a few Help pages, and some of the numbers people repeat are out of date. Here's the current Etsy listing photo size, the ratio to use, how thumbnails crop, and the photo requirements you need to follow, all from Etsy's own pages.

The main source is Etsy Help's article on requirements and best practices for images. If you'd rather not resize every photo by hand, YelloShelf makes listing images sized for Etsy from your product photos, but you can do all of this yourself with the numbers below.

Etsy listing photo size at a glance

The photo and video count comes from Etsy Help's guide to creating a listing.

Etsy listing photo size in pixels

Etsy recommends at least 2000 pixels wide and tall. That's the number to aim for, and it's also what the search visibility page recommends for a high-resolution main photo. If you upload something smaller, Etsy shows a message saying listings look best with photos at least 2000 pixels wide. You can still publish, but the photo will look softer when buyers zoom in.

The hard floor is 635 pixels wide and tall for the first photo. Below that, Etsy says the listing may show up lower in searches.

You don't need to work in inches. Etsy measures listing photos in pixels, and inches only matter if you're printing. If your editing app asks for inches, switch it to pixels.

Shrinking a large photo doesn't lower its quality on Etsy. Enlarging a small one does, because it gets pixelated. So shoot at your camera's full size and scale down.

What ratio should Etsy listing photos be?

Etsy doesn't require a set ratio. What it does say:

• The first photo should be horizontal or square, so the centre of the item shows in cropped thumbnails.
• The first photo sets the shape for the rest of the listing, so keep the others the same.
• Avoid tight square crops, and upload horizontal images where you can. Vertical images need more cropping.

A common choice is 4:3, for example 3000 by 2250 pixels. It's horizontal, both sides are above 2000, and it leaves room for the square crop. That's a convention sellers use, not an Etsy rule.

If you design in Canva or a similar app, set a custom size in pixels (3000 by 2250, or 2000 by 2000 for square) and export as JPG to keep the file small.

YelloShelf sizes listing images for each marketplace it supports, so the Etsy versions come out in a shape that suits Etsy's crops. You still pick which ones to upload.

How Etsy thumbnails crop your first photo

Your first photo appears in search results, your shop and on other Etsy pages, and not always in the same shape. Etsy shows it in square, portrait and horizontal crops depending on where it appears.

When you edit a listing, select Edit on a photo to adjust the thumbnail or crop the photo. To make the thumbnail work everywhere:

• Shoot from a little further back than feels natural.
• Centre the item.
• Leave a border of plain space on every side, so no crop cuts into the product.
• Check the thumbnail preview before you publish.

If you're not sure, open your shop on your phone and look at the listing in search results. That's what most shoppers see, and Etsy says its image sizes are optimized for mobile displays.

Etsy photo requirements

Size is only part of it. Etsy has rules about what your photos show:

• Show the real item. Photos must accurately show its colour, condition, scale and materials.
• One unedited photo. Include at least one unedited photo of the actual item against a real background. Etsy notes some exceptions.
• AI edits are allowed, within limits. You can use AI to adjust lighting, colour, cropping or the background. You can't hide flaws or create false expectations.
• Patterns, recipes and instructions need a photo of an actual result made from them, not an AI-generated or simulated one.
• Your own photos. Etsy's handmade rules say to use your own photographs in your listings.
• First photo for search. A single finished product, clear and well lit, not a collage.

Etsy's best practice is to make the first photo the most realistic one, and to mention any AI edits in the description.

This matters if you use any image tool, YelloShelf included. Its listing images start from your own product photos, so they show the actual item, but keep your unedited photo in the listing as well.

What to put in your 20 photos

You don't need all 20, but several photos answer questions before buyers have to ask. A sequence that works for most items:

1. 1The item on its own, clear and centred, with space around it. This is your first photo.
2. 2The item in use or in a real setting.
3. 3Scale, next to a hand or a familiar object.
4. 4Detail, close up on the material, texture or finish.
5. 5Options, such as colours or sizes, side by side.
6. 6What's included, such as packaging or extra parts.
7. 7The back or underside, if buyers would want to see it.

Add a short video if it helps show movement, size or how something works. Our guide to lifestyle product photos covers in-use shots, and white background product photos at home covers clean product shots.

Etsy listing photos for digital products

Digital items don't have a physical product to photograph, so your images show what the buyer gets. Good options:

• A preview of the file, such as a page from a planner or a section of a pattern.
• A mockup showing a printable on a wall or a template on a screen, clearly as an example.
• An image listing what's included: number of files, file types and sizes.

The same accuracy rule applies: the images must not create false expectations. Etsy notes exceptions to the unedited photo rule for some types of item, so check its image guidance for your category. Keep the first photo horizontal or square, the same as a physical item. Our Etsy listing description template has a section for digital download descriptions.

Resizing photos for every listing takes time. YelloShelf makes listing images sized for Etsy from your product photos, along with your title, description and tags. See how it works.

A worked example

Say you sell a ceramic bud vase and your camera gives you 4000 by 3000 pixel photos.

• First photo. Vase centred on a plain table, with plenty of space around it. Keep it horizontal at 4:3, resized to 3000 by 2250 pixels and saved as a JPG under 1 MB.
• Second photo. The same vase with a single stem, on a windowsill, same 4:3 shape.
• Third photo. Held in a hand for scale.
• Fourth photo. Close up on the glaze.
• Fifth photo. All three colours side by side.

Before publishing, open the thumbnail editor, check that the vase sits in the middle of every crop, and look at it on your phone. If the top of the vase is cut off in the square crop, step back and reshoot with more space.

Other Etsy image sizes

While you're editing, Etsy Help also recommends these sizes for your shop:

Quick checklist

• Photos at least 2000 px wide and tall.
• First photo at least 635 px, horizontal or square, not a collage.
• Same shape for every photo in the listing.
• Space around the item so thumbnail crops don't cut it off.
• JPG or PNG, no transparent backgrounds, under about 1 MB.
• At least one unedited photo of the real item.
• AI edits mentioned in the description.
• Thumbnail checked on your phone.

If your listings look right but still aren't being seen, read why your Etsy shop isn't getting views.

Make Etsy listing images from your photos with YelloShelf

If you're listing a lot of products, YelloShelf can take some of the resizing off your hands. Upload a product photo and it makes listing images sized for Etsy and the other marketplaces it supports. It also writes a title, description, all 13 tags and a suggested price, based on what's already selling on Etsy. You check everything and upload it yourself, since it doesn't publish to your shop.

It can make social posts for the same product too, with captions and hashtags for Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Facebook and X.

No subscription or free trial. Pay as you go credit packs from $10, with a 7-day money-back guarantee on your first purchase.