How do I crop an image online for free?
Drop the image in, choose a crop ratio and drag over the part you want to keep. Check the preview and download the result. It needs no account and adds no watermark.
Crop an image online
Drag to pick the area to keep. Nothing is uploaded.
Crop an image by dragging a box over the part you want to keep. Choose a free selection or lock a ratio such as 1:1, 4:5, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3 or 3:2, and move the box until the framing is right. Cropping happens in your browser, so the photo is never uploaded.
How to use
- Drop an image, paste it or choose one from your device.
- Pick a crop ratio: Free, 1:1, 4:5, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3 or 3:2.
- Drag on the image to place the crop box, and check the preview.
- Download the cropped image.
Frequently asked questions
How do I crop a photo to a square?
Choose the 1:1 ratio. A square box appears on the image; drag it to frame your subject and download. This is the shape used for profile pictures and square posts.
How do I crop an image to 16:9?
Choose 16:9. The crop box locks to that shape, which is the proportion of most videos, slides and YouTube thumbnails. Drag it over the part you want to keep.
How do I crop without a fixed ratio?
Choose Free, then drag any rectangle over the image. Without a locked ratio you can make a box as wide, tall, narrow or small as you like.
Does cropping reduce the image quality?
No. Cropping keeps the pixels you selected exactly as they were, so the part that stays is as sharp as before. The file simply has fewer pixels, which also tends to make it smaller.
Can I crop to exact pixel dimensions?
Cropping selects an area by ratio. To end up at exact pixels, crop first and then enter the width and height in the resize options, or use the “Fill and crop” fit mode that trims edges evenly.
Can I crop several images at once?
No. Crop works on one image at a time, because each photo needs its own framing. Size presets, however, can be applied to many images at once.
Which crop ratio should I pick?
The right ratio depends on where the picture will be shown. 1:1 is a square, used for profile pictures and square posts. 4:5 is a tall portrait shape that takes up more room in a social feed. 16:9 is the wide shape of videos, slides and thumbnails, and 9:16 is its upright version for Stories and Reels. 4:3 and 3:2 are the shapes of many compact cameras and printed photos.
If you do not know where the picture ends up, choose Free and crop to what looks best, then adjust later. A locked ratio is safer when a platform will otherwise crop the image itself, often cutting off heads or text.
How do I frame the crop well?
Place the subject slightly off center rather than dead middle; it usually looks more natural. Leave a little room in the direction a person is looking or moving. When photographing a document, keep the edges just inside the paper so the scan does not show the desk.
Look at the preview before downloading. The area outside the box is dimmed, so you see exactly what will be left. If the box is not quite right, drag it to move it or draw a new one.
Should I crop before or after resizing?
Crop first, then resize. Cropping decides what is in the picture, and resizing then scales that result to the pixel size you need. Doing it in the other order can leave you with an awkward shape or throw away pixels you wanted. Both steps live on the same page: the resize tool also has presets for social posts and ID photos.
A sideways photo that needs turning before you crop can be fixed on the rotate image page. In the tool, rotation is applied first and the crop box is placed on the rotated picture.
Can cropping hide private details?
Cropping removes the part of the picture you cut away, which is a simple way to leave out a street sign or a bystander. It does not hide anything that stays in the frame. For a face or a number plate that must remain in the picture, cover it with the blur and redact tool instead.
How it compares
| This tool | Upload-based services | |
|---|---|---|
| Do files leave your device? | No | Yes |
| Account required | No | Often |
| Daily limit | None | Often |
| Watermark | None | Sometimes |
Limits and privacy
- Crop works on one image at a time.
- The crop box follows the chosen ratio; for an exact pixel size, resize after cropping.
- Very large photos can fail on phones with little memory.
- HEIC photos are saved as JPEG, because browsers cannot write HEIC files.
Use it in your AI assistant
With the local MCP server, an assistant can crop images on your computer through the resize_image tool, for example “crop these screenshots to 16:9”. The files stay on your machine.