Quick answer: Status images are 1080×1920 (9:16), profile photos are 500×500 square (shown as a circle, 192×1920 minimum), Business catalog photos are 800×800, and regular chat images are compressed to roughly 1600 pixels on the longest edge.

The three rulebooks

WhatsApp runs three systems — the consumer app, the WhatsApp Business app, and the Business Platform (the API). People who say "WhatsApp image size" usually mean one of them without saying which. Status is the consumer side; catalog and template-header images are the business side. The spec table below separates them.

The size table

Asset Dimensions Ratio Format / limit
Status image 1080×1920 9:16 JPG/PNG, ~16 MB
Profile photo 500×500 (1080×1080 source) 1:1 Circle crop; min 192×1920
Group icon 500×500 1:1 Circle crop
Chat photo ~1600 px longest edge varies Compressed on send
Business catalog photo 800×800 1:1 Min 300×300, ≤5 MB, up to 10 per product
Business template header 1200×700 12:7 JPG/PNG, ≤5 MB
Sticker 512×512 1:1 WebP with transparent background

Status

Status is WhatsApp's full-screen story, so it shares the 9:16 canvas with Instagram and TikTok. The name bar and reply field sit on top of the image, so keep the message in the central 1080×1350 band — the same safe zone logic as the other story networks. The Story safe zone guide has the comparison. Status videos run up to 90 seconds per clip, but images are static full-screen slides and disappear after 24 hours.

Profile photo

The profile picture is a square stored at around 640×640 and rendered as a circle. A 500×500 upload is the documented recommendation; 1080×1080 gives the sharpest source for high-resolution phones. The four corners are always cropped away, so a logo or face must sit inside the central 70% of the frame. Small text in a profile picture fails for the same reason it fails on every circle-crop network.

Chat photos and compression

WhatsApp compresses photos sent in chat aggressively — roughly 1600 pixels on the longest edge, with heavy JPEG compression. There are two known ways around it:

  1. Send the image as a Document rather than a photo. Documents are not compressed, but the recipient has to open a file rather than see an inline preview.
  2. Enable HD quality where the client offers it; this raises the resolution ceiling but still recompresses.

For marketing, this means the pretty card you designed at 1080 pixels wide will look fine inline, but a full-resolution product shot should be a document attachment.

Business catalog and templates

A catalog product photo is square: 800×800, minimum 300×300, maximum 5 MB, up to ten images per product. WhatsApp Business Platform message templates use a header image around a 12:7 ratio — 1200×700 works well — under 5 MB. The free Business app's profile cover has no published official size, and the community figures vary; a 16:9 landscape image with the subject centered is the safe choice.

When a business needs a full set

Businesses typically need a circle-safe profile, a catalog grid of square product shots, 9:16 status updates, and a 12:7 template header. These are four different crops of one brand system, and producing them together keeps colors and type consistent across the app. Neatico generates the variants as a set, which is simpler than resizing four times in an image editor.

Frequently asked questions

What is the WhatsApp Status image size? 1080×1920 pixels, 9:16. Keep the message in the center of the frame because the name bar and reply field overlay the top and bottom.

What size should a WhatsApp profile picture be? 500×500 pixels at minimum, with a 1080×1080 source for best quality. It is displayed as a circle, so center the subject.

How do I send photos without compression? Send the image as a Document, or use HD mode in newer clients. Inline photos are compressed to about 1600 pixels on the longest edge.

What size is a WhatsApp Business catalog image? 800×800 square, 300×300 minimum, 5 MB maximum, with up to ten images per product.