How to Crop an Image Into a Circle
Need a circular profile picture for social media or your website? Crop any photo into a perfect circle online.
Quick Answer
Upload your photo to the free image cropper at dotsapps.com, select the circular crop option, adjust the selection area, and download as PNG with transparent corners.
Why Crop Photos Into Circles?
Circular photos are used everywhere online:
- Profile pictures on LinkedIn, Slack, Discord, and Zoom.
- Team pages on company websites.
- Contact cards in apps and email signatures.
- Social media avatars on most platforms.
While most platforms crop your photo into a circle automatically for display, they still store the original square image. If you want a circular image file to use elsewhere — like in a presentation or email signature — you need to crop it yourself.
How to Crop a Photo Into a Circle Online
Open the image cropper at dotsapps.com. Upload your photo. Select the circle crop mode.
Drag the circle over the part of the photo you want to keep. Resize it by dragging the edges. Make sure your face or subject is centered in the circle.
Click the crop button and download the result. The output is a PNG file with a transparent background — the area outside the circle is transparent, not white.
Best Image Size for Profile Pictures
After cropping to a circle, resize to match the platform's recommended size:
- LinkedIn: 400 × 400 px
- Slack: 512 × 512 px
- Google Workspace: 250 × 250 px
- Zoom: 200 × 200 px
- General use: 500 × 500 px works almost everywhere
Use the image resizer tool after cropping to hit the exact dimensions you need.
Tips for Better Circular Profile Photos
A good profile photo follows these rules:
- Center your face in the frame. Circles cut off the edges, so keep important content in the middle.
- Leave some space around your head. Don't crop too tight or the top of your head gets cut off.
- Use good lighting — natural light from a window works best.
- Simple background — busy backgrounds are distracting at small sizes.
How to Do It: Step-by-Step
- 1
Open the free Image Cropper at dotsapps.com.
- 2
Upload or drag your photo onto the page.
- 3
Select the circle crop mode.
- 4
Drag and resize the circle to frame your subject.
- 5
Click Crop and download the circular PNG image.
Frequently Asked Questions
What format is a circular cropped image?
PNG. It is the only common format that supports transparency, which is needed for the area outside the circle to be see-through.
Can I crop a circle with a transparent background?
Yes. The cropper outputs a PNG file where the area outside the circle is fully transparent. You can place it on any background.
What size should a profile picture be?
500×500 pixels works for most platforms. LinkedIn recommends 400×400, Slack recommends 512×512. When in doubt, go with 500×500.
Can I crop other shapes besides circles?
The image cropper also supports square and rectangular crops with custom aspect ratios. Circle crop is a special mode for profile pictures.
Ready to Try It?
Image Cropper is free, private, and works right in your browser. No sign-up needed.
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