The short answer
Why use Megapixel?
The megapixel number on a camera or phone spec sheet is not always what ends up in the file. Reading the saved photo tells you what you actually have to print or crop from.
Megapixels are width × height ÷ 1,000,000, so a 4000 × 3000 photo is 12.00 MP and a 1920 × 1080 frame is 2.07 MP. The same report shows the print size at 300 DPI in inches and centimeters, which is the quickest way to judge whether a photo is big enough for a given print.
Images above 50 megapixels or 50 MB are refused, so files from very high-resolution cameras will not open here. A crop shrinks the count fast: cutting a 12 MP photo to its middle half on each side leaves only 3 MP. Screenshots and images saved from social media are often well under what the camera recorded.
Print Size works the other way round: enter a print size and DPI and it tells you how many pixels you need. Size Finder and Aspect Ratio give this same report, and Resize Image changes the pixel count when a site asks for a smaller file.
Where Megapixel fits
Phone settings
Check whether your phone saved a 12 MP or a full-resolution photo.
Poster prints
Find out whether a photo has enough pixels for an A3 or 12 × 18 inch print.
Stock submissions
Confirm a photo meets a stock site's minimum megapixel rule before submitting.
Start to finish
How to use Megapixel
- 01Tap Choose image and pick the original photo, not a copy saved from a chat or social app.
- 02Tap Apply changes and read Megapixels next to the dimensions and the 300 DPI print size.
- 03Use Download result to keep the numbers as text, for example when comparing cameras.
What to expect from Megapixel
| Check | What it means here |
|---|---|
| Supported input | JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, SVG and browser-supported AVIF images |
| Main controls | Choose a file; the results are read-only |
| Output | Dimensions, metadata, colors, or an extracted preview, depending on the tool |
| Working limit | 50 MB and 50 megapixels per image |
Megapixel tips
- Megapixels are width × height ÷ 1,000,000, shown to two decimals.
- An 8 × 10 inch print at 300 DPI needs 7.2 MP.
- Cropping to half the width and half the height leaves a quarter of the megapixels.
- Files over 50 megapixels are refused, so very high-resolution camera shots will not open.
Megapixel FAQ
Something missing? Ask us.
My phone has a 48 MP camera. Why does the photo show 12 MP?
How many megapixels do I need for a print?
Does upscaling add megapixels?
Does Megapixel upload my file?
Is Megapixel free to use?
Why did Megapixel fail or look wrong?
Related tools
More in Image Information.