Which collage layout should you use?
Each layout has a fixed shape, and the shape decides where the collage works best. Match the layout to the place you'll post it.
| Layout | Slots | Collage shape (square images) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Grid (2×1) | 2 | Wide, 2:1 | Comparisons, before and after, X posts |
| 4 Grid (2×2) | 4 | Square | Instagram and Facebook feed posts |
| 9 Grid (3×3) | 9 | Square | Recaps, catalogs, mood boards |
| Horizontal | Any | Very wide | Banners, headers, step-by-step rows |
| Vertical | Any | Very tall | Stories, Pinterest, scrolling timelines |
How the collage maker sizes each tile
Every tile in the grid is the same size: as wide as your widest image and as tall as your tallest one. Each image is scaled to fill its tile exactly. With images of the same shape that gives a perfectly even grid. With mixed shapes, some images get stretched. The fix is simple: crop every image to the same ratio first (1:1 for grids, 9:16 for vertical strips) with the image cropper.
Grids fill left to right, top to bottom. Empty slots stay white, and images beyond the last slot are left out, so add exactly 2, 4 or 9 for a full grid. Strips take as many images as you add.
Spacing: seamless or with gutters?
Gaps change the feel more than people expect. 0 px reads as one continuous picture, which suits product angles and sequences. 8–15 px is the classic photo grid look. 25–40 px feels like prints pinned to a white board and works well for mood boards. The gutters are white, so they disappear on white web pages and look framed on dark ones.
Making a picture collage for a gift or memories? The photo collage maker walks through that, with ideas for each occasion. To split a single photo into a grid of posts instead, use the Instagram grid maker.
