Crop image to a circle

How to crop an image to a circle

1. Add your imageChoose a JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, GIF or BMP file, or drop it on the box. Phone photos open upright.
2. Place the circleDrag the circle over the part you want and pull its handles to make it bigger or smaller. For exact values, type X, Y and the diameter in pixels.
3. Crop and downloadPick an output size and format, press Crop to circle and download the file. PNG keeps the outside of the circle transparent.

What is a circle crop?

A circle crop keeps the round part of a picture and removes everything outside it. The result is a square file in which the corners are transparent, so on a web page or in an app it looks like a round photo.

To crop an image to a circle, place a round frame over the area you want, then save it as a PNG or WebP. Those formats can be transparent, so the corners show the page behind them instead of a white or black square.

The circle is always a true circle, never an oval, because the frame is locked to a square. The edge is smoothed over about one pixel, so it does not look jagged on a profile picture.

Transparent PNG, WebP or a flat background

PNG is the default and keeps the outside of the circle fully transparent. WebP also supports transparency and usually makes a smaller file. Use either one when you place the round picture on a colored or dark page.

JPG cannot be transparent. If you choose JPG, or if a site only accepts JPG, the tool fills the outside of the circle with a background color you pick, white by default. You can also turn on Fill background for PNG and WebP to get a colored square with a round photo in it.

• If the picture already has transparent areas, they stay transparent inside the circle.
• Location and camera data are not copied into the result.
• Animated GIFs use only their first frame.

Sizes for profile pictures and avatars

Output size defaults to the size of your circle, so nothing is resampled. You can also pick 1024, 512, 400, 256 or 128 pixels, or type your own size up to 4096. Sizes larger than your picture are not offered, because enlarging only makes the photo blurry.

Sites differ in what they want, so check the upload hint of the service you use. A source of 400 by 400 or 512 by 512 pixels is a common choice for a profile picture, and the site then displays it smaller.

Large photos, phone photos and small images

On screen you work with a smaller preview, but the final circle is cut from the full-size file. The X, Y and diameter fields are real pixels of your original, so a 12 megapixel photo keeps its detail.

Photos taken with a phone carry a rotation note. The tool applies it first, so the picture looks the same in the editor and in the result. Wide and tall pictures work too: the circle can be as large as the shorter side.

Use it with the keyboard or a touch screen

Click or tab to the image area and use the arrow keys to move the circle by 1 pixel, or 10 with Shift. Hold Alt with the left or right arrow to change its size. The number fields are fully usable by keyboard too.

On a phone or tablet, drag the circle with one finger and pull a handle to resize it. For fine control on a small screen, use the number fields.

Questions