LinkedIn carousel size and PDF specs.
A LinkedIn carousel is a document post, not an image post. Use 1080x1350 pixels (4:5 portrait) or 1080x1080 (1:1 square), export the slides as a single PDF, and keep the file under 100 MB. LinkedIn accepts up to 300 pages, but five to fifteen slides is the working range.
The PDF requirement is the part people miss. Uploading slides as separate images makes an image post, which looks and behaves differently from the carousel you were trying to make.
By PurpeuPublished Updated
The short version
- Carousels on LinkedIn are uploaded as one PDF, through the Add a document option.
- 1080x1350 (4:5) is the strongest for mobile. 1080x1080 (1:1) is the safe universal choice.
- Under 100 MB, up to 300 pages, though five to fifteen slides is realistic.
- PDF renders text and fonts predictably. PPT and DOC are accepted but riskier.
What size should a LinkedIn carousel be?
Design at 1080 pixels wide, the same as Instagram, and choose your height from the ratio. Portrait fills more of a phone screen, which is where most of the feed is read.
Portrait
- Pixels
- 1080x1350
- Ratio
- 4:5
- Use it when
- Default for mobile reach. Takes the most feed space.
Square
- Pixels
- 1080x1080
- Ratio
- 1:1
- Use it when
- Reads well on both mobile and desktop. Reuses Instagram slides directly.
Landscape
- Pixels
- 1920x1080
- Ratio
- 16:9
- Use it when
- Repurposing existing presentation slides. Small on a phone.
Keep every page of the PDF at one size. A document with mixed page sizes displays inconsistently as people swipe.
What is the best format for a LinkedIn carousel?
PDF. LinkedIn also accepts PPT, PPTX, DOC and DOCX, but those are converted on upload and the conversion can move text or substitute fonts. A PDF is already fixed, so what you see is what posts.
The file limits are generous: up to 100 MB and up to 300 pages. Neither is the real constraint, since almost nobody swipes through 300 slides.
- File format: PDF, strongly preferred over PPT and DOC.
- Maximum file size: 100 MB.
- Maximum pages: 300. Realistic range: five to fifteen.
- Embed or outline fonts so nothing is substituted.
How to build a carousel for LinkedIn
Design the slides at one size, export them, then combine them into a single PDF in page order. Any design tool that exports multi-page PDF does this in one step; if yours exports images, combine them afterwards with a PDF tool.
To post it, start a post, choose Add a document from the options, upload the PDF, and give it a title. The title appears under the document as people swipe, so it is worth writing properly rather than leaving it as the filename.
What is the 3/2/1 rule on LinkedIn?
It is a posting-cadence idea rather than a specification: roughly three pieces of value for every two pieces of engagement with other people and one promotional post. Variations circulate with different numbers, and none of them come from LinkedIn.
It has nothing to do with carousel sizing, but it comes up alongside these searches often enough to be worth answering. Treat it as one person's ratio, not a rule.