Discord server icon: minimum 512×512px, displayed as a circle. Server banner: 960×540px (requires Level 2). Profile avatar: upload at 128×128px minimum. Custom emoji: 128×128px max, under 256KB. Channel image posts: 8MB limit (50MB with Nitro). PNG is the best format for icons and graphics; GIF supports animation with Nitro.
| Image type | Upload size | Display size | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Server icon | 512 × 512 px min | 48 px (sidebar) | Cropped to circle |
| Server banner | 960 × 540 px | 960 × 540 px | Level 2 required |
| Server splash | 1920 × 1080 px | Invite screen bg | Level 1 required |
| Profile avatar | 128 × 128 px min | 32–128 px | GIF requires Nitro |
| Custom emoji | 128 × 128 px max | 22 px in chat | Under 256KB |
| Channel image post | Up to 8MB | Varies | 50MB with Nitro |
Server icons and the circle crop
Discord displays server icons as circles in the left sidebar at 48px. The icon is also shown larger in certain contexts — the server discovery listing, invite links, and when viewed in the server settings panel. Upload at 512×512px minimum to ensure sharp display at all sizes.
Because the icon is cropped to a circle, the corners of your image are hidden. Design with the important content — logo, initial, symbol — centered with some margin from the edges. A safe zone of about 80% of the image diameter works well: for a 512×512 image, keep the main element within a centered circle of about 410px diameter.
PNG with a transparent background is the best format. The circular crop removes the corners, and if your background is a solid color rather than transparent, the color fills the circle but still clips cleanly. If your logo has a shape that doesn't naturally fit a circle, a solid-colored circular background that bleeds to the edges looks cleaner than transparency.
Custom emojis: the 256KB limit and why it matters
Custom server emojis must be 128×128 pixels maximum and under 256KB in file size. In the chat interface, emojis display at 22×22px for inline emojis and up to 48×48px for "jumbo" emojis (when an emoji is the only content in a message).
256KB is tight for a 128×128 PNG with complex content. A full-colour illustration at 128×128 as PNG can easily hit 50–100KB, but if you're trying to upload a photo crop or a complex gradient, you might approach the limit. Compressing to under 200KB first gives you safe headroom.
For animated emojis (GIF format), file size is the bigger challenge. Animated GIFs at 128×128 with more than a few frames can exceed 256KB quickly. Limit animated emojis to 3–5 frames with simple motion to stay under the limit. Animated emojis require Nitro to use — non-Nitro members see the first frame only.
Server banner and boost levels
Discord server features unlock at boost levels. Boost features relevant to images:
- Level 1 (2 boosts): Custom invite splash background — 1920×1080px, shown on the server invite page
- Level 2 (7 boosts): Server banner — 960×540px, displayed behind the server name at the top of the channel list
- Level 3 (14 boosts): Animated server icon (GIF) and banner
Banners are visible to members whenever they're in the server. Design them to look good at 960×540 but keep in mind they may be rendered slightly smaller on lower-resolution monitors. Avoid fine text — at 960px wide scaled to a smaller window, small text becomes hard to read.
Images posted in channels
Regular image attachments in Discord channels have an 8MB limit for free accounts and 50MB with Nitro. Discord recompresses and serves images via its CDN at display-appropriate sizes. For images shared in chats — screenshots, memes, photos — this limit is rarely an issue.
If you're trying to share a large photo or asset file with someone through Discord and it exceeds 8MB, compress to under 5MB before uploading. For files that genuinely need to be full-resolution (RAW exports, print files, high-resolution graphics), Discord channels aren't the right transfer method regardless of the limit — use a file transfer service instead.