Crop an Image Online — Free Image Cropper | KhanTools
Image Crop lets you cut a photo down to the part you actually want, either freehand or locked to a common shape such as 1:1 or 16:9. Reach for it when a website, shop or social app asks for a specific ratio and your photo doesn’t fit.
How to crop an image
- Click the upload area and pick an image from your device. Common formats like PNG, JPG, WebP and GIF work.
- Choose a ratio in the Ratio bar: Free, 1:1, 4:3, 16:9, 3:2 or 2:3. Free lets you draw any rectangle.
- Drag the crop box to move it, and drag its edges or corners to make it bigger or smaller. If a ratio is selected, the box keeps that shape while you resize it.
- To zoom, scroll with your mouse wheel over the picture or pinch on a touch screen. You can also drag the picture itself to reposition it under the box.
- Pick an output format in the Format menu: PNG, JPEG or WebP.
- Click Download Cropped Image. The file is saved with your original name plus
-cropped, for example holiday-cropped.jpg. - Want to start over with a different picture? Click Reset.
Which ratio should you pick?
The ratio decides the shape, not the pixel size. The tool keeps the real pixels inside your crop box, so the final width and height depend on how big the box is on the original photo.
- 1:1 for square posts on Instagram, product photos on many online shops, and profile pictures on most sites.
- 16:9 for YouTube thumbnails (usually uploaded at 1280×720), video covers, slides and desktop wallpapers.
- 4:3 for classic presentation slides and many tablet screens.
- 3:2 for standard photo prints such as 6×4 inches, which is also the native shape of most DSLR photos.
- 2:3 is 3:2 turned on its side. Use it for portrait prints, Pinterest pins and phone-style vertical images.
- Free when you just want to trim a screenshot, remove a messy edge or cut one item out of a bigger picture.
PNG, JPEG or WebP?
Pick PNG for screenshots, logos, diagrams and anything with transparent areas. It keeps every pixel exactly, but files can be large.
Pick JPEG for ordinary photos you plan to email or upload. Files are much smaller. JPEG has no transparency, so see-through parts of a PNG won’t stay see-through.
Pick WebP when you want small files and the site you’re uploading to accepts it. It also keeps transparency.
JPEG and WebP are saved at a high quality setting, so you shouldn’t see visible loss on a normal photo.
Your photos stay on your device
The image is read and cropped by your own browser. It isn’t sent to our server, and nothing is stored after you close the page.
That matters when the picture is personal: an ID scan, a family photo, a document with an address on it. You get the cropped file without handing a copy to anyone. It also means there’s no upload wait, even for a large photo.
Tips and limits
- Cropping can only remove pixels. If you crop a small part of a photo, the result will be small too, and it may look soft if a site stretches it.
- There’s no box for typing exact pixel sizes. Choose the ratio here, and let the site you upload to scale it, or resize it in another app.
- There’s no rotate or flip button, so straighten a sideways photo first if you need to.
- An animated GIF is saved as a single still frame.
- You crop one image at a time.
- Need a round avatar instead of a square? Use Circle Image Crop. File too heavy for an upload form? Run it through Image Compress. To cut a person or product out of its background, try Background Remover.
Frequently asked questions
Is the image uploaded anywhere?
No. The crop runs in your browser and the file goes straight from the page to your downloads folder.
Does cropping reduce the quality?
The crop keeps the original pixel size of the area you select, so detail stays the same. PNG is lossless. JPEG and WebP use a high quality setting, which keeps photos looking clean.
How do I make a 1280×720 YouTube thumbnail?
Select 16:9, frame your shot and download. If the source photo is large, the crop will be bigger than 1280×720, and YouTube scales it down for you. Just make sure the crop box covers enough of the photo that it isn’t smaller than 1280 pixels wide.
Can I change the ratio after I start cropping?
Yes. Click another ratio button at any time and the crop box changes shape. Click Free to remove the lock.
Why did my transparent background turn solid?
You probably saved as JPEG, which can’t store transparency. Download again as PNG or WebP.
What will the downloaded file be called?
Your original file name with -cropped added. A photo called beach.jpg saved as JPEG becomes beach-cropped.jpg.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. Tap the upload area to pick a photo, drag the box with your finger and pinch to zoom.
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