Image Cropper & Resizer
Crop and resize images to exact dimensions and download them, entirely in your browser — with why cropping and resizing are different operations.
"Crop to 16:9" costs anywhere from nothing to three quarters
Cropping to a ratio means taking the largest rectangle of that shape that fits, so the further the source is from the target the more falls off the edges. Share of the pixels that survive:
| Source | square | 16:9 | 4:5 portrait | 9:16 story | 3:2 print |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| widescreen 1920×1080 | 56.3% | 100.0% | 45.0% | 31.6% | 84.4% |
| phone photo 4032×3024 | 75.0% | 75.0% | 60.0% | 42.2% | 88.9% |
| phone portrait 1170×2532 | 46.2% | 26.0% | 57.8% | 82.1% | 30.8% |
| ultrawide 3440×1440 | 41.9% | 74.4% | 33.5% | 23.5% | 62.8% |
The instruction is identical in every cell and the cost is not:
- crop to square keeps 41.9% to 75.0% of the picture
- crop to 16:9 keeps 26.0% to 100.0% of the picture
- crop to 4:5 portrait keeps 33.5% to 60.0% of the picture
- crop to 9:16 story keeps 23.5% to 82.1% of the picture
- crop to 3:2 print keeps 30.8% to 88.9% of the picture
The worst single case in the table loses 76.5% — an ultrawide screenshot taken to a vertical story frame, the two shapes furthest apart.
And the rule underneath is simpler than the table
The surviving share is the smaller of the two ratios divided by the larger. Nothing about the pixel count enters into it, which has a useful consequence: a 48-megapixel phone photo cropped to a story frame loses exactly the same proportion as a thumbnail of the same shape. Resolution buys you detail in what remains, not more of the frame.
It also means the cost is symmetric. A square source treats a landscape target and a portrait one identically, and flipping both the source and the target leaves the share unchanged. If you know both shapes you know the answer before you open the file.
The thing you would worry about is the one that does not matter
The crop size reported above the image is worked out by scaling the box you dragged and rounding each side on its own, so the rectangle it names almost never has exactly the ratio you dragged:
| Source | Box sizes that drift | Worst drift |
|---|---|---|
| phone photo | 413 of 431 (96%) | 0.40% |
| widescreen | 402 of 431 (93%) | 1.25% |
| phone portrait | 191 of 206 (93%) | 0.86% |
The cause is not the scaling. A 16:9 box of height h has width 16h/9, which is only a whole number when h is a multiple of 9 — so the box is usually fractional before any conversion happens. Restrict the drag to whole pixels on both sides and the drift disappears entirely, at any display scale.
And it means almost nothing anyway. The worst drift measured across every box height on three different sources is 1.25%, and the typical one is far below that. One pixel of rounding on a 1,600-pixel crop is not a shape anyone can see.
So the two errors in a cropping workflow run in opposite directions. The rounding is ever-present and negligible; the area loss is invisible in the interface and reaches 76%. It is worth knowing which one to check.
How to use
- Choose your image.
- Set the crop area, or lock an aspect ratio.
- Resize afterwards if you need specific dimensions.
- Download — your original file is untouched.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between cropping and resizing?
Cropping removes part of the image, changing what is shown. Resizing scales the whole image, changing the pixel dimensions without removing anything. Wanting a specific size usually means doing both — crop to the right shape, then resize to the right number of pixels.
Why does my image look stretched?
Because the width and height were changed by different proportions. Locking the aspect ratio prevents it, and the fix when a specific shape is required is to crop to that shape first and then resize proportionally. Stretching is immediately obvious on faces and circles.
Does enlarging an image lose quality?
It cannot add detail that was never captured, so an enlarged image is softer regardless of the method. Modern upscaling can make an enlargement look plausible, but it is inventing plausible detail rather than recovering real detail — which matters if the image is evidence of something.
Should I crop before or after other edits?
Crop early, since it reduces the pixels everything else has to work on and lets you judge the composition you are actually keeping. The exception is anything where you might change your mind, since cropping is destructive once saved.
Does this modify my original file?
No. The cropped version is produced as a new image for you to download, and the file on your device is untouched. Keeping the original matters, because cropping cannot be undone from the output.
Does my image get uploaded?
No. Everything happens in your browser using canvas, so personal photographs and client work never leave your device.
🔒 This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded, logged, or stored.