Softonic

Image Border Adder

Step 1 / 3

A thin border around a photo makes it pop against a feed background or sits better in a print layout. Drop an image, pick a colour and a thickness, and this tool renders a crisp border of exactly that size on all four sides, so social post thumbnails feel deliberate rather than dropped-in.

How to add a border

  1. 1

    Upload the image

    Any JPG, PNG or WebP.

  2. 2

    Pick border colour

    White (classic Polaroid), black (gallery mat) or any HEX colour.

  3. 3

    Set thickness

    A slider from 0 to 200 px, applied equally on all four sides.

  4. 4

    Preview

    The framed image is shown live, so you can adjust until it looks right.

  5. 5

    Download

    The border is rendered onto the image; the result downloads as a PNG.

Borders that suit their purpose

Different platforms and contexts call for different border styles.

Typical styles

Style Colour Thickness Good for
Classic Polaroid White 40-80 px Square social posts, wedding photo collages
Gallery mat Off-white 10% of the shorter side Portfolio prints, museum grid
Social thumbnail pop Brand colour 20-40 px YouTube cards, Pinterest pins
Minimal frame Black 2-6 px Crisp product photos, portfolio shots

Choosing a thickness

The same thickness is applied to all four sides, so the photo keeps its aspect ratio. Borders are added in pixels: a 40 px border on a 500 × 500 photo looks heavy, but on a 4000 × 4000 print it feels negligible. Pick the thickness relative to the image size, 3-5% of the shorter side is a safe default.

Solid colours only

The border is a solid colour chosen from the picker. White gives the classic Polaroid look, black a gallery mat, and a brand colour works well for social thumbnails. For a border with a texture or an image pattern, add it in a photo editor instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. The original pixels are untouched; a new canvas, larger by the border width, is filled with the chosen colour and the photo is centred inside it. Only the surrounding frame is added.

No, the thickness applies equally to all four sides. If you need an uneven border, extend the canvas in a photo editor and paste the image in with the extra space at the bottom.

The result downloads as a PNG file with the border rendered in. PNG keeps the image sharp for print and screens alike.

No, the border is rasterised into the output. If you might need a different size, save the original and apply borders last at each target size.

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Tool available in other languages