How to make a circle pfp
To make a circle pfp, crop your picture to a square, make everything outside the biggest circle that fits transparent, and save it as a PNG. The file is still a square, but its corners are see-through, so it looks round on any background.
Quickest way: open the PFP Cropper, drop in a photo, keep the shape on Circle, drag and zoom, then download. For Discord, which publishes no pixel size, 512 × 512 is a safe choice.
What a "circle pfp" actually is
Image files are rectangles. There's no such thing as a round PNG. A circle pfp is a square image where every pixel outside the circle has an alpha (opacity) of zero, which the PNG specification defines as fully transparent. Whatever sits behind the picture shows through the corners.
That's why the format matters:
- PNG or WebP keep the transparent corners.
- JPG can't store transparency, so the corners get filled with a solid color. On a page of the same color that looks round; anywhere else you'll see the square.
- GIF keeps transparency too, but each GIF pixel is either fully see-through or fully solid, so the edge of the circle is a little harder than in a PNG.
How much of your photo is left
A circle covers π ÷ 4, about 78.5%, of the square around it. On a 512 × 512 pfp that's about 205,887 of the 262,144 pixels; the other 56,257 (21.5%) are the transparent corners. Anything in the corners is cut off, so keep faces and text near the middle.
How to make a circle pfp, step by step
- Pick a photo with room around the subject. A head-and-shoulders shot works best, because the circle trims the corners.
- Crop to a square. Center the face, with a little space above the head.
- Cut the circle. Make everything outside the largest circle transparent. In a desktop editor that means a circular selection on the square, then deleting or masking the rest. In the PFP Cropper, keep the shape on Circle and it's done as you drag.
- Check it small. Avatars can be shown very small next to a name. If the face doesn't read at that size, zoom in.
- Optional ring. A colored border ring around the circle helps it stand out. In the PFP Cropper the ring is 4% of the image size by default: about 20 px on a 512 px pfp, 10 px on a 256 px one.
- Export as PNG. Then upload it where you need it.
What size should a pfp be?
Each platform sets its own rules, and not all of them publish a pixel size. This is what their own help pages say:
| Platform | Pixel size | File limit | File types |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discord | Not published | Not published | PNG, GIF (animated GIF needs Nitro) |
| Twitch | 256 × 256 px | 10 MB | GIF, JPG, PNG |
| X (Twitter) | 400 × 400 px recommended | 2 MB | JPEG, GIF, PNG |
Upload a square. If you upload a rectangle, the site has to crop it for you, and it may not crop where you'd like.
What size is a Discord pfp?
Discord's help article on custom profiles doesn't give a pixel size or a file size limit for avatars. It lists the file types, PNG and GIF, and says animated GIF avatars are for Nitro subscribers. So an exact Discord avatar size quoted elsewhere doesn't come from that page.
A practical choice is 512 × 512 px. It's a small file, and it still has detail to spare if the avatar is shown larger or on a high-density screen. That's a rule of thumb, not a Discord rule. The PFP Cropper uses it as its default size and shows the file size after you download, so you can check it against any limit Discord gives you on upload.
Discord does publish its profile banner rules: banners are a Nitro feature, PNG, JPG or animated GIF, under 10 MB, at least 680 × 240 px.
Do it with the free PFP Cropper
- Open the PFP Cropper and choose, drop or paste a photo or animated GIF.
- Keep the shape on Circle. Drag to move, scroll or pinch to zoom, and add a border ring if you like.
- Pick a size (Discord 512, Twitch 256, X 400, or your own) and download a PNG with transparent corners.
It runs in your browser: the photo isn't uploaded, and there's no watermark. Matching PFPs mode cuts one photo into 2 to 4 avatars of the same size.
Open the PFP CropperFAQ
How do I make a circle pfp?
Crop the picture to a square, make everything outside the circle transparent, and save it as PNG. The PFP Cropper does all three: choose a photo, keep Circle selected, line up your face and download.
How can I convert an image to a circle shape?
Same steps: square crop, transparent corners, PNG. A JPG can't hold transparency, so a "circle JPG" always has filled corners.
How do I make a circle on a picture?
If you want a ring around a round pfp, turn on Border ring in the PFP Cropper and pick its color and width. It's drawn just inside the edge of the circle.
Can I crop a photo into a circle on my iPhone?
Yes, in the browser. Open the PFP Cropper in Safari, tap Choose image, drag with one finger and pinch to zoom, then tap Download. Nothing to install, and the photo stays on your phone.
How do I make my Discord pfp fit?
Start from a square image with the face in the middle, so nothing important sits in the corners that a round avatar hides. Crop it in the PFP Cropper at 512 × 512 and upload the PNG.
Can I use a GIF as my Discord pfp?
Only with Nitro: Discord's help page says Nitro subscribers can upload animated GIFs as their avatar. The PFP Cropper can crop an animated GIF into a circle and keep its timing, up to 300 frames and 1024 × 1024.
What size is the Discord profile banner?
Discord's help page says banners must be PNG, JPG or animated GIF, under 10 MB, at least 680 × 240 px, and that only Nitro members can upload one.
Related
Sources
Each page below was read on 27 October 2026. The 512 × 512 suggestion and the ring and area numbers are worked out from the PFP Cropper's own code, not from any platform.
- Discord Support, Custom Profiles. Avatar file types "PNG and GIF"; animated GIF avatars are for Nitro subscribers; profile banners are Nitro only, PNG, JPG or animated GIF under 10MB, at least 680 × 240 px. No avatar pixel size or file limit is given. Read through Discord's help centre; article last updated 24 October 2026.
- Twitch Help, Twitch Account Settings. Profile picture: "maximum file size for a profile picture is 10MB, 256px width x 256px height", .gif, .jpg or .png. Rendered in a browser.
- X Help Center, Help with uploading a profile photo. JPEG, GIF or PNG under 2MB, recommended 400 × 400 px. Rendered in a browser.
- W3C, PNG Specification (Third Edition), §4.2. The alpha sample sets a pixel's opacity, "where zero means fully transparent". W3C Recommendation, 24 June 2025.