What is the Recommended Discord Profile Picture Size? [+Templates]10 min read

Discord has grown into a massive multimedia messaging platform over the years. It’s been actively used in the gaming industry, and several businesses have also started to foster its use. However, not a lot of people customize their profiles after they’ve set it up, primarily because they don’t know about things like the ideal Discord profile picture size.

It’s crucial to understand how each aspect of the platform works if you want to build a customized profile. If you’re using it for your business, you need to shape your profile accordingly.

Similarly, if you’re using it for gaming, you need to know how to set yourself apart with things like your avatar; that’s especially true for streamers.

In this article, we’ll go over what the recommended Discord profile picture size is, profile picture ideas, and how you can set your avatar up.

Let’s dive right in.

Recommended Discord Profile Picture Size

The recommended Discord profile picture size is 128 x 128 pixels with an aspect ratio of 1:1. Furthermore, the typical file types you can use are JPG, PNG, and GIF for animated Discord profile pictures. The maximum file size for the profile picture is 8 MB.

You can upload a larger image, but Discord will automatically cut it down and resize it to the appropriate size.

Don’t get confused between what a Discord avatar and profile picture is; they’re the same thing. It’s also called a Discord PFP in some cases.

Here’s a list of all the recommended sizes for Discord images:

Some other things to keep in mind when choosing your profile image include the content guidelines along with the terms and conditions. For example, you can’t upload any NSFW image as your profile photo.

It’s crucial to follow these rules because otherwise, you’ll just be shadowbanned, similar to how it works on Twitch.

Other than that, keep in mind that if you’re designing your Discord avatar, you have to take the aspect ratio into account as well. Otherwise, if Discord resizes your image, it could cut out some of the elements that you might want to show.

Types of Discord Profile Pictures You Can Upload

Discord lets users choose any image they want for their avatar as long as they follow their guidelines.

There are two different types of uploads you can make:

• Normal Profile Picture – This can be any image, whether it’s your face, meme pictures, object, design, illustration, or any other high-quality picture. It just has to follow the Discord profile picture size requirements. Your image will be cropped into a circle if you upload a square image. But, as long as you follow those requirements and Discord’s guidelines, you can upload practically any image you want.
• Animated GIFs – You can also upload complete GIFs as your avatar that will keep on running on a loop. However, this feature is limited to Discord Nitro users only (more information on Discord Nitro below). If you have Discord Nitro, you can upload a custom animated GIF or any other GIF as your avatar. If you want ideas, you can check out various GIF sites to find a good GIF for your Discord avatar.

Discord users can use the platform for free, but there’s a paid version that’s called Discord Nitro. It’s a monthly ($9.99) or yearly ($99.99) subscription that gives Discord users added benefits. These benefits include the following:

• Better emojis
• Profile personalization options like the animated pictures or GIF avatar
• Server boosts (30% faster boosts)
• Profile badges and a special profile badge to show that you support Discord
• Custom Discord user tag
• Larger upload limits for sharing images of up to 100 MB
• HD video options, including screen-share ability at 720p/60FPS and 1080p/30FPS
• Live stream ability with source quality and more

You can also upload a Discord profile picture of up to 50 MB, as opposed to the 8 MB limit for free users.

How Do I Change My Discord Profile Picture?

Changing your Discord profile picture is easy – the following is a step-by-step tutorial on how you can quickly do it:

1. Open Discord on your browser and log into your Profile. If you’re logging into your account from a new IP address, you’ll have to do a small authorization check through your email, unless you have 2-factor authorization turned on.
2. On the bottom-left corner, you’ll see your avatar, name, microphone button, headphone button, and a User Settings icon. Click on the User Settings icon and you’ll be directed to ‘My Account’ settings.
3. There are two ways to move forward. You can either hover over the current avatar and click on it to open the next prompt. Or, you can click on the three dots on the left and you’ll see a Change Avatar and Delete Avatar option; click on the former.
4. A File Explorer window will pop up and you can navigate to where you saved your new avatar.
5. Click on the image you want. Either double-click it or click the Open button on the bottom-left of the small window.
6. You’ll see a small window pop up on Discord. It will show you a circle around your image. This circle is how your avatar will show up. You can adjust the circle and zoom in or out to resize and adjust the image size. Once you’re done, click the Apply button on the bottom left.
7. Once you’re done, hit the Save button on the bottom. There will be a pane at the bottom that has a Reset or Save Changes option; click on the latter.

There it is. You now have a new Discord profile picture.

Changing Your Discord Avatar on Your Phone

You can also change your Discord avatar on your phone too. Here’s a quick step-by-step process on how you can do that:

1. Open the Discord app on your phone. If you don’t have the app, you can download it from the Play Store (for Android) or the App Store (for iOS).
2. Tap the hamburger menu on the top left corner, or swipe right to see the Menu icons.
3. On the bottom right corner, tap on your current avatar (View Profile) to get to the User Settings.
4. Tap the My Account button.
5. Tap your current avatar.
6. You’ll see a pop-up that will let you choose between Google Drive, Photos, and Files (on Android) to choose your new profile photo from.
7. Once you choose an image, you can either Upload the pic or choose to edit (crop or resize) it. You can change the avatar size, aspect ratio, and even rotate it.
8. Once you’re done editing, tap the Tick button on the top right.
9. When you’re done, tap on the Save button on the bottom right.

You’ll see your new Discord avatar now.

How to Download or Save Your Current Discord Avatar

If you want to save your current Discord avatar or view it, you can’t do it directly from the platform. However, there’s a small hack on how you can do it. Simply follow these steps:

1. Go to the View Profile or My Account tab.
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + I to open the inspect window. You can also right-click and choose the Inspect Element option.
3. Click on the square and arrow button on the top left of the inspect element window.
4. Hover over your avatar and click it; you’ll be prompted to the relevant script.
5. Go through the elements and you’ll eventually see a URL. When you hover over it, you’ll see the avatar.
6. Copy the URL and open it in a new tab and the avatar will show up.
7. Right-click that avatar and save the picture on your computer.

You can also take a screenshot but it won’t be high-quality.

How to Design Your Discord Profile Picture with Pixelied

Uploading your Discord avatar is one thing, but choosing what to upload is another. If you don’t want to put your own picture up or choose generic PFP templates from various websites, you can design your own Discord profile picture using Pixelied which is a free online graphic design software.

Follow these steps if you’re looking to design your PFP or want to easily adhere to the Discord profile picture size:

Step One – Open the Pixelied Editor

Open Pixelied’s easy-to-use editor which comes with the pre-defined dimensions for Discord profile picture.

Once you have the dimensions right, you can start editing.

Step Two – Add Elements and Edit Your PFP

Depending on how you want to proceed, you can start editing. If you want to add an image, you can add any image you want. Alternatively, you can add an illustration.

Here’s a complete list of editing options:

• Images – You can add a stock image or upload a custom image to start editing.
• Text – If you want to add some text, you can do that anywhere on the picture. You can also play around with the font (such as a minimalist font), size, color, and more.
• Illustrations – For a completely custom design, you can add vector illustrations to make it interesting.
• Mockups – This is an option to see how your new design will show up on different devices.
• Brandify – If you’ve used Pixelied before and have brand assets saved, you can automatically add them using this option.
• Elements – This option allows you to add various elements like shapes to your design.
• Icons – If you want to include and create icons, you can do that using this option.
• Blend – To add custom color, you can use the Blend option.
• My Files – You can upload your designs if you want to work on them later.

There’s also an additional functionality like border, drop shadow, opacity, and more that lets you edit individual assets.

Step Three – Download Your New Discord Avatar

After you’re done with your design and have finalized it, you can download it. On the top right corner, you’ll see a Download button. Click it and you’ll see the following box:

You can choose among the following formats when downloading your design:

• JPG
• JPG Transparent
• PNG
• PNG Transparent
• PDF
• SVG
• WEBP
• WEBP Transparent

However, for Discord, you should only download the design in JPG or PNG format.

Other than that, you can also adjust the quality to control the file size of the downloaded image. It’s best to choose the highest quality, although the default is at 80.

You can also choose the size of the image if you want to expand the image within the same aspect ratio. However, it’s best not to play with that when downloading a Discord avatar design.

Click on the Download button when you’re done and you’ll have your new Discord avatar design.

Bottom Line

If you want, you can check out some amazing graphic design tips to design the ideal Discord avatar. When you’re done, all you have to do is follow the steps listed above to upload it.

Using Pixelied, you don’t have to worry about the Discord profile picture size because your final image will be adjusted accordingly.

Other than that, you should always make it a habit to check out the size requirements for such things. The recommended Discord profile picture size helps you create an avatar that fits perfectly. Just like that, knowing size requirements can help you do the same on other platforms.