Shopify Product Image Sizes and Formats (2026): What Shopify Documents

Shopify's product media types page says that for square product images, a size of 2048 x 2048 pixels usually displays best. It also sets the upload limits: images must be smaller than 20 MB, and the same page allows any size up to 5000 x 5000 pixels, or 25 megapixels.

Shopify's theme images page gives a lower pixel limit. It says uploads cannot exceed 20 megapixels or 20 megabytes, and that a file under 20 MB can still fail because of its megapixel count. Until Shopify reconciles the two pages, keep masters under 20 megapixels. A 2048 x 2048 image is about 4.2 megapixels, so it sits well inside both limits.

Shopify accepts PNG, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, GIF, SVG, HEIC and WebP for product images. Its two help pages lean different ways on the default. The product media types page says PNG is the best file type for most product images, followed by JPEG. The theme images page says to use JPEG for product images or slideshows, and PNG for line drawings, text and graphics with transparency.

You do not need to convert to WebP or AVIF yourself. Shopify's image_url reference says Shopify automatically detects which image formats the visitor's browser supports, such as WebP and AVIF, and picks one for quality and file size. The theme images page adds that uploads are not compressed in the admin, so your original quality is kept. Our working recommendation is a high-quality JPEG for photographs and PNG only when you need transparency. Avoid heavy compression before upload, because the delivered image can only be as good as the file you give Shopify.

Shopify does not require a ratio. Its product media types page says that when images sit side by side on collection pages, you need a consistent aspect ratio for all featured or main images. The theme images page warns that wide images can be cropped on tall screens, and that Shopify sometimes shows only part of a large image.

Square is the safe default, because Shopify's size advice is written for it. Portrait suits tall products and apparel if your theme displays it well. If you go portrait, a 3:4 file at 1536 x 2048 pixels keeps the long side at the 2048 figure Shopify uses. That is our suggestion, not a Shopify rule. Whatever you choose, use it for every main image in the catalog.

On a product page, the largest element on screen is often the main product image. Google's web.dev guide to Largest Contentful Paint advises you to serve an appropriately sized image in a modern format, set fetchpriority to high on the image likely to be the largest element, and never lazy-load that image. Most of this is theme work, but you control the source files.

Shopify's alt text page says alt text helps assistive technology describe images and can improve search visibility. Write a short, factual description of what each image shows.

Picmato plans a set of listing images for each product from your uploads, and you can pick a saved brand kit per run. You choose 1K on Free and Starter, 2K on Pro, or 4K on Max. The exports are standard image files, so they work on a Shopify store like anywhere else, and you upload them to your store yourself. Compare each export with the real product, since AI renderers can alter fine details.