SPEC SHEET

Discord banner size

Server banners and profile banners are two different assets with two different aspect ratios. Both specs, both unlock requirements, in one place.

Updated July 20267 min read
The short version

A Discord server banner is 960×540 minimum (16:9) — upload 1920×1080 for a sharp result — and needs Boost Level 2. A Discord profile banner is a different shape, 600×240 (5:2), and needs Nitro.

These are two separate assets with two separate aspect ratios. Whichever brought you here, the sections below cover both in full — jump to server or profile if you already know which one you need.

Server banner

960×540 · 16:9

Profile banner

600×240 · 5:2

Skip straight to it

Two banners, two buttons — pick yours.

Free resizer, already set to the right ratio. No account, nothing uploaded to a server.

Read this part first

There are two Discord banners, not one

Most pages answering 'discord banner size' quietly pick one and answer for it. Which one you actually need depends on whether you're decorating a server or your own profile — and the two aren't the same shape.

16:9
server banner
Above the channel list
5:2
profile banner
Behind your avatar card
16:9
invite splash
A third, related asset — see below

If you own or moderate a server and want the wide image that sits above the channel list, you want the server banner. If you want the strip of color or image behind your own avatar when someone opens your profile card, you want the profile banner— and you'll need Nitro to set one at all.

For a server

Server banner: 960×540, 16:9

The wide image at the top of a server, sitting above the channel list. Set from Server Settings → Server Profile → Banner.

Server banner spec
RuleValueNotes
Minimum size960 × 540 px16:9 — anything smaller gets upscaled and looks soft
Recommended size1920 × 1080 pxSharper on larger screens and high-DPI displays
Unlock requirementBoost Level 2Roughly 7 boosts, from any combination of members
Animated (GIF)Boost Level 3A GIF on a Level 2 server shows only its first frame
FormatPNG, JPG, or GIFGIF only animates at Level 3
Crop behaviourCentered, width-responsiveWider windows reveal more of the sides
Boost level decides whether there's a slot at all
Below Level 2, there is no banner field to fill in at all — it isn't hidden, it doesn't exist yet. Check your server's current boost level before spending time designing one.
For your profile

Profile banner: 600×240, 5:2

The strip of color or image behind your own avatar, visible whenever someone opens your profile card. Set from User Settings → Profiles → Banner — a Nitro feature, not a server one.

Profile banner spec
RuleValueNotes
Recommended size600 × 240 px5:2 — noticeably wider and shorter than the server banner's 16:9
Unlock requirementDiscord NitroNitro Basic does not include this — full Nitro only
Animated (GIF)Nitro (any tier that includes it)Same unlock as a static banner, plus the file being a GIF
FormatPNG or JPG static, GIF animated
Crop behaviourCenteredKeep the focal point in the middle third
Where the '960×540' answer sneaks in
Some pages quote the server banner's 960×540 for the profile banner too, since both are called 'banner' and both get cropped from the center. Upload a 16:9 image where Discord expects 5:2 and it gets squeezed or cropped harder than you'd plan for — check which one you're actually setting before you export.
A third, related asset

Not the invite splash

A third wide image lives in server settings and gets mistaken for the banner constantly, because it's also 16:9 and also unlocked by boosting.

Server banner vs. invite splash
Server bannerInvite splash
Where it showsAbove the channel list, for membersBehind the 'you've been invited' screen, before joining
Size960×540 min, 16:91920×1080, 16:9
Unlock levelBoost Level 2Boost Level 1
Set fromServer Settings → Server ProfileServer Settings → Server Profile → Invite Background

If your goal is "make a good first impression on someone clicking an invite link," it's the splash you want, and it unlocks a full boost level earlier than the banner does.

Before you export

What actually goes wrong

Almost none of it is the pixel count. It's the ratio, the crop, or which of the three wide-image slots you were actually trying to fill.

  • Confirm server vs. profile before you design — different ratio, different place it shows
  • Keep the subject centered — Discord's crop tightens on narrower windows
  • Upload at 1920×1080 for a server banner even though 960×540 clears the minimum
  • Check your current boost level before spending time on a banner you can't upload yet
  • Upload a 16:9 image where Discord expects the profile banner's 5:2
  • Assume 'boosted at all' is enough — banners specifically need Level 2
  • Put text or a logo near the left or right edge — it's the first thing a narrow window crops
  • Confuse the banner with the invite splash — same shape, different slot, different boost level
Already have the photo

Resize it free, right now

Crop to either ratio, or pad the whole image in with transparent margins — no account, no watermark, nothing uploaded to a server.

Drop in a photo, pick server or profile, download the right file.

The same free tool covers Discord emoji, avatars and server icons too — one upload, the correct size back, transparency intact.

open the free resizer →
Straight answers

Questions people actually ask

Depends which one. A server banner — the wide image above the channel list — is 960×540 minimum, 16:9, and Discord recommends uploading 1920×1080 for a sharp result on larger screens. A profile banner — the strip behind your avatar on your own profile card — is a different shape entirely: 600×240, a 5:2 ratio. They aren't interchangeable; a 16:9 image uploaded as a profile banner gets cropped in ways you won't like.

Keep going

One banner sized.
Want a whole identity?

On Air Kit makes you a matched set — emotes, avatar, sub badges — in one consistent style, already sized for every platform. The resizer above is the free half; this is what it's attached to.