Cropping is the quickest way to improve a photo: cut out the clutter, centre the subject and make it fit the shape a website wants. You can crop an image online for free with PixOtter, and because it runs in your browser, the photo is never uploaded.
Crop or resize?
Cropping cuts away part of the picture. Resizing keeps the whole picture but makes it bigger or smaller. If a form wants a 600 × 600 photo and yours is a tall phone shot, crop it to a square first, then use the Resize Image tool to bring it down to 600 pixels.
How to crop an image (step by step)
- Open the Crop Image tool and add your picture.
- Pick a shape: Free, or a fixed ratio such as 1:1.
- Drag over the part you want to keep. The rest is shaded so you can see what will go.
- Fine-tune with the X, Y, W and H boxes if you need exact pixels.
- Crop and download.
Which ratio to use
| Use | Ratio |
|---|---|
| Profile pictures, Instagram square posts | 1:1 |
| Instagram portrait posts | 4:5 |
| YouTube thumbnails, slides, TV and laptop screens | 16:9 |
| Standard 6 × 4 inch photo prints | 3:2 |
Does cropping lose quality?
The pixels you keep are copied exactly, so the crop itself loses nothing. JPG and WebP files are compressed again when saved, at a high quality setting, so the difference is not visible in normal use. PNG files are saved without any loss at all.
Cropping to remove personal details
Cropping is a clean way to cut out something you do not want to share, such as a house number at the edge of a photo. If the detail is in the middle of the picture, use Blur & Redact instead to cover just that part.
Frequently asked questions
How do I crop an image for free?
Add your image above, drag over the part you want to keep, then click Crop image and download the result. There is no sign-up and no watermark.
How do I crop a photo into a square?
Choose 1:1 under Aspect ratio, then drag over the part of the photo you want. The selection stays square while you drag.
Does cropping reduce quality?
No. Cropping keeps the pixels you select exactly as they are; it just removes the rest. The file is saved again in the same format.