Facebook Catalog Image Optimization: Sizes, Requirements & Dynamic Ad Guide

Laura Cummins

Feb 2, 2026 6 min read

Updated Feb 2, 2026

Facebook Catalog images do not serve a single placement. One product photo feeds into Facebook feed ads, Instagram Shopping tiles, Messenger product cards, carousel units, collection ads, and Audience Network banners. Each placement crops and compresses that image differently. A photo that looks sharp in the Facebook feed can appear blurry in Instagram Shopping or lose its subject entirely in a Messenger placement. Preparing images for this multi-surface system demands specific dimensions, pre-compression, and careful attention to safe zones.

What Size Images Does Facebook Catalog Require?

Meta's catalog system accepts five distinct image types, each with different dimension targets. The product image is the most important -- it appears in every ad placement and Shopping surface. According to the Meta Business Help Center catalog specifications, the minimum is 500x500 pixels, but images below 1080px display poorly on high-density mobile screens.

The 8MB hard limit applies to all catalog uploads, but targeting 500KB or less per image is the practical goal. Facebook's servers re-compress every catalog image at roughly quality 80 (on a 0-100 scale). Uploading a 4MB file does not produce a better result than uploading a well-compressed 300KB file -- Facebook's own processing eliminates any quality advantage from oversized source files.

Common Facebook Catalog Image Problems

Catalog Rejection for Text Overlay

Meta's automated review flags and rejects catalog images that contain more than 20% text coverage. This rule applies to product images that include promotional banners, price stickers, or brand watermarks burned into the photo. The text detection algorithm scans the entire image area, so even small discount badges stacked together can exceed the threshold. Remove all text overlays from product photos and use the ad copy fields in Ads Manager for promotional messaging instead.

Dynamic Ads Showing the Wrong Product Image

Feed sync delays are the primary cause of image mismatches in dynamic ads. When you update a product image in your data feed, Facebook's catalog system does not refresh instantly. The CDN caches the previous version, and ads continue to serve the old image for hours or sometimes days. According to the Meta catalog update documentation, feed refreshes run on the schedule you set in Commerce Manager, with hourly being the most frequent option. After updating product images, trigger a manual feed upload and allow 2-4 hours for the changes to propagate across all ad placements.

Grainy Images on Instagram Shopping

Instagram Shopping renders product tiles at 1080x1080 pixels on most devices. Catalog images uploaded below this resolution get upscaled by Instagram's rendering engine, which introduces visible grain and softness. The problem is amplified because Instagram Shopping also crops square images to 4:5 in the main feed, cutting 10% from the top and bottom. Uploading at 1200x1200 pixels gives enough resolution for both the square tile and the 4:5 crop without upscaling.

The "Image Could Not Be Downloaded" Error

This feed error appears when Facebook's crawlers cannot fetch a product image URL within their timeout window. Slow CDN responses, broken redirect chains, and server-side bot-blocking rules all trigger it. Verify that every image URL in your feed returns an HTTP 200 response within 4 seconds. Ensure your CDN or hosting provider does not block Facebook's IP ranges or user agents. Large, uncompressed files also contribute to timeouts -- a 6MB PNG takes longer to transfer than a 200KB compressed JPG, and the crawler does not wait indefinitely.

Processing Images for Catalog Feeds

1. Export product images at 1200x1200 pixels. Export all product photos at 1200x1200 pixels for the main catalog feed. This resolution satisfies Facebook's requirement for sharp display across feed, marketplace, and Instagram Shopping placements without exceeding the 8MB file size limit.
2. Compress images below 500KB before upload. Run every catalog image through LighterImage to reduce file sizes by 60-80%. Facebook re-compresses catalog images at approximately quality 80, so uploading a pre-compressed file at high visual quality prevents double-compression artifacts.
3. Keep product details inside the safe zone. Place all critical product details within the center 80% of the image. Dynamic ads crop differently on Facebook feed, Instagram Stories, Messenger, and Audience Network. Keeping text and key visual elements away from edges prevents them from being cut off.
4. Test across placements in Ads Manager preview. Use the placement preview in Meta Ads Manager to check how each catalog image renders across Facebook feed, Instagram feed, Stories, and Messenger. Fix any images where cropping hides the product before launching the campaign.

Compression Strategy for Multi-Surface Delivery

Within Facebook's catalog system, every image gets compressed server-side regardless of the source file quality. Uploading uncompressed 5MB PNGs does not improve how the final ad looks -- the servers discard extra data during re-encoding. Compress images yourself before uploading, targeting a balance between visual quality and file size that survives Facebook's second pass without visible degradation.

JPG at quality 85-90 or WebP at quality 80-85 produces the best results for catalog images. At these levels, the file arrives at Facebook's servers with minimal artifacts, and the platform's quality-80 re-compression does not push the image below the threshold where grain becomes visible. For product photos with fine detail (jewelry, electronics, textiles), use a dedicated compression tool to control the exact quality level rather than relying on your image editor's default export settings.

Batch processing matters for catalogs with hundreds or thousands of products. Compressing each image individually is not practical at scale. Tools that handle bulk product photo compression reduce a full catalog's image payload in minutes. A catalog of 500 products with 3 images each (1,500 files) compressed from an average of 1.2MB to 250KB saves over 1.4GB of transfer data per feed sync cycle.

Format selection also affects how Facebook handles your images. WebP files are 25-35% smaller than equivalent JPGs at the same visual quality, and Facebook's catalog system accepts WebP uploads. For a detailed breakdown of modern format tradeoffs, see our AVIF vs WebP comparison. If your feed system does not support WebP URLs, JPG remains the safest default -- every Meta surface renders it without conversion issues.

For more compression strategies and tool recommendations, see our Insights hub and the full platform guides collection covering other ecommerce and social platforms.