Twitch Panel Size Guide

Making your own Twitch panels? Designing custom panels for a friend or client? If so, you’re probably wondering, “What is the best Twitch panel size?”

It’s important to get the dimensions right, since Twitch automatically scales many images. Make your panel too small and you’ll be left with a blurry mess. Too large and you may lose all those extra details and hard work.

File size is no joke either. Upload an oversized file and you could be dealing with compression issues like distortion and artefacts. Pick the wrong file type and you’ll be left shaking your head.

Remember, Twitch design guidelines and rules are constantly changing. Just see how a recent UI update changed the way we look at Twitch banners forever! You’ll need accurate, up-to-date information before you put time and effort into a new project.

With that said, what Twitch panel dimensions should you be using in 2020?

What is the best Twitch panel size?

The best Twitch panel size is a width of 320 pixels (px) and a height between 60px-100px.

While all panels are required to be 320px wide, Twitch allows a height of up to 600px. We’ve found that a height between 60px-100px is the sweet spot.

The maximum file size for Twitch panels is 2.9MB. While both PNG and JPEG will work, transparent PNG files perform best.

If you want to see why these specs are best—plus tips from our experts—keep reading. Otherwise, see why we’re the #1 free Twitch panel marketplace worldwide. Or, start creating panels with our Twitch panel creator tool—no Photoshop or design skills needed.

Twitch panel dimensions

Twitch Panel Width

As mentioned, Twitch requires a panel width of 320px. Images that do not meet this specification will be automatically scaled to 320px wide.

This means images with a width less than 320px will be upscaled. This can result in a severe loss in quality, often causing graphics to appear grainy and low-resolution. Viewers will have a hard time reading your panels and may think your channel is unprofessional.

On the flip side, panels wider than 320px will be automatically downscaled. While downscaling is generally not a serious issue, it can have unintended consequences. For example, if you’re creating on a larger-than-recommended canvas, you may be tempted to fill it with extra flourishes, intricate patterns and textures. Those details are often muted or lost when downsized, making all your extra work for naught.

Clearly, Twitch panels do not allow for much flexibility when it comes to width — unlike other graphics like the profile banner (which allow for a wider range).

Twitch Panel Height

There’s much more room for creativity and customization when it comes to panel height. Twitch accepts panels as short as 1px (please don’t) all the way up to 600px tall.

Historically, Twitch panels have been much shorter than they are wide. The traditional panel style is short and rectangular, stretching horizontally rather than vertically. This design allows a single line of text (sometimes a title and subtitle) and often an icon to fit neatly inside. Anything too tall and there’s an awkward excess of empty space. Too short and your text blends into the panel borders (or becomes microscopic).

That said, even traditional panels can vary drastically in height. Height fluctuates based on font or icon size, the number of text lines and the artistic style used. However, we find that the vast majority of Twitch panels fall within the 60px-100px height range. This tends to be the sweet spot, allowing ample room for text and creativity, without making your panel feel too empty.

Because of their resemblance to labels and buttons, these short panels tend to serve one of two purposes:

• Organizational: Traditional panels work great as section headers, breaking up your profile into readable chunks.
• Call to Actions: When linked to a third-party website, these panels drive tons of viewer clicks and off-page engagement.

But so far we’ve been speaking about traditional Twitch panel sizes. What if you’re feeling untraditional?

Tall Twitch Panels

Tall panels have surged in popularity lately, providing an alternative to the traditional short panels. These graphics take full advantage of the 600px height maximum, often appearing as squares or vertical rectangles. That means they can be anywhere from two to 10 times taller than typical panels.

All that extra height means more room for text and images, which is why tall panels are most often used for informational purposes. This commonly includes displaying chat emotes, badges, channel rules, PC specs and stream schedules – where the goal is to inform viewers. They are also a great option for sponsor graphics, offering more space for brands to display product photos and logos.

If you’re a newer streamer, tall panels probably aren’t much of a concern or priority. But as your channel grows, you may want to think about adding a few square or vertical graphics to your profile. Some of the top Twitch streamers in the world combine both traditional and tall panels to great effect.

Twitch panel image size

The maximum file size for Twitch panels is 2.9MB. Anything over this size will be automatically compressed by Twitch, which is bad news. If your image looks blurry or distorted after upload, it’s probably because your Twitch panel size exceeded this limit.

2.9MB might not seem like much, but panels are generally small, simple graphics. Even amateur artists should have no problem sticking below this size limit. Just make sure you’re following proper compression techniques while designing. If you’re looking for a quicker solution, try out one of the many online compressor tools like Tiny PNG or PNGGauntlet.

Choosing a File Format

The best file type for Twitch panels is a transparent PNG. While Twitch technically accepts JPEGs, it’s not always a smart choice. See, the key to a good Twitch panel is transparency, and JPEG files don’t support transparency.

The truth is, Twitch panels aren’t always clean-cut rectangles. Sharp 90° degree corners and straight edges are hardly a requirement. Some of the best panels have curved edges and design flourishes along their border. And to use non-linear borders you’ll need transparency.

Transparency allows your panel to layer in neatly over background visuals (in this case your Twitch profile), essentially creating a “cut-out” of your graphic. All of the excess space outside of your panel borders is removed. This allows more room for creativity and out-of-the-box shapes (not just squares and rectangles), which is key to differentiating your brand from the competitors.

Since PNG files support transparency, we almost always recommend them for Twitch panels. PNGs offer more versatility and creativity than standard JPEGs, making them a superior option for most streamers.

Wrapping up

At this point, you’re armed with all the most important specifications and settings. You know the best size for Twitch panels is 320px wide and between 60px-100px tall, with the option to increase height if you so wish. You know to use a transparent PNG file up to a maximum size of 2.9MB. All that’s left is to start creating.

Making your own Twitch panels is a rewarding, eye-opening experience. It can be gratifying to scroll down your profile and see your own creations on display. Your viewers will surely appreciate the time and effort you put into creating a cozy, handmade stream environment. It’s an experience we recommend for most streamers at some point in their journey.

If you’re finding it all a bit difficult and time consuming, you can always trust panels to the pros! Here at Visuals by Impulse we have a huge collection of free Twitch panels available for download. We also built a free Twitch panel maker tool, so you can create custom panels without design experience or expensive software.

If you want to create more graphics for your stream, check out our ultimate Twitch designer guide. You’ll find top recommendations for:

• Twitch emote size
• Twitch overlay size
• Twitch banner size
• Twitch facecam size
• Twitch alert size
• And more!

Be sure to share your creations with our team on Twitter @VBI! We always love seeing your Twitch panel ideas – and can even critique your designs (if you need an extra set of eyes). Until then, happy creating!