Discord Emoji and Sticker Cutouts: Sizes, Specs, and Optimization
Discord users upload millions of custom emoji and stickers every month. Most of them look bad because they were not designed for the size they will be displayed at. The tools are easy. The prep work is what separates a clean emoji from a muddy one.
No signup. No watermark. Processed in about twenty seconds.
Drop an image to try it
PNG, JPG, or WebP. About twenty seconds.
The specs
Custom emoji can be uploaded at up to 256KB in PNG, JPG, or GIF format. Discord displays them as 32 by 32 pixels in chat, 48 by 48 in reactions, and up to 128 by 128 when hovered. The upload size can be as large as 128 by 128 pixels (or any square size up to that).
Custom stickers must be PNG with transparency, exactly 320 by 320 pixels, under 500KB. Stickers display at 160 by 160 in chat and can be clicked for a larger view. Discord Nitro users can also use animated stickers, but those are APNG format and outside the scope of this guide.
For animated emoji, the format is APNG or GIF, and the total file size must stay under 256KB. Animated emoji look best at eight to twelve frames. More frames than that exceed the size limit after compression.
Why 32 pixels matters more than 128
The hover view is 128 pixels. The default view in chat is 32. Most users see the 32-pixel version more often than the 128-pixel version. Design for the smaller size.
A cutout that has fine detail (small text, thin lines, intricate features) loses that detail at 32 pixels. What survives is bold shapes, high contrast, and clearly defined silhouettes.
The practical test: shrink your finished emoji to 32 by 32 in any editor and look at it. If you cannot tell what it is at that size, it will be unreadable in Discord. Redesign with bolder shapes.
The workflow
Start with a photo, illustration, or mascot. Remove the background using Remova. Download the transparent PNG at 2x or 3x the final size (so 320 by 320 for a 128-pixel sticker, or 128 by 128 for a 128-pixel emoji).
Crop to the exact dimensions required. Emoji are square. Stickers are square. Do not use a rectangular source and expect it to look right.
Test the result at the display size. In Discord itself, upload a draft to a private server, send it in a message, and see how it looks at 32 pixels. Repeat until it reads clearly.
For reaction emoji specifically, the emoji appears next to other reactions at very small sizes. Bold silhouettes win here. A cutout of a face with a big expression beats a cutout of a subtle scene.
Common mistakes
Uploading a large image and assuming Discord downsamples cleanly. Discord does resize, but it uses a basic scaling algorithm that produces soft edges on intricate cutouts. Pre-sizing to the exact target resolution produces a sharper result.
Using a photo with a busy background without removing it. The emoji appears in chat with a coloured rectangle around it, which is what every bad Discord emoji looks like. Remove the background.
Over-detailing the source. A cutout of a dog with visible fur strands looks like a furry blob at 32 pixels. A cutout of a dog with a simplified silhouette reads clearly. Simplify before uploading.
Common questions
What format does Discord accept for emoji?
PNG, JPG, or GIF, up to 256KB. Animated emoji use APNG or GIF. Static emoji use PNG or JPG. PNG with transparency is recommended.
Does Discord accept transparent PNGs for emoji?
Yes, and it preserves the alpha channel. This is one of the few platforms where uploaded transparency is rendered correctly without a matte.
What size should custom emoji be?
Up to 128 by 128 pixels for the source upload. The display size in chat is 32 by 32. Design at 128 and test at 32.
Do I need Nitro to use custom emoji?
To upload custom emoji to a server, you need to be the server owner or have Manage Emojis permission. To use custom emoji from other servers in your own messages, you need Nitro. This is a Discord policy, not a tooling constraint.