Guides / How-to

How to crop an image into a circle avatar

A profile photo does not need Photoshop. A free circle image cropper in the browser is enough: frame the face, export a PNG, and keep the file on your device. This is an avatar crop online, not a cloud editor.

Steps that actually produce a file

1. 1

   Open the image cropper online

   Go to the PixTools image cropper. There is no signup wall — the page is the tool.

2. 2

   Upload a photo

   Drop a JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, or BMP, or use the sample image. The file stays in the tab.

3. 3

   Choose Circle / avatar

   In Aspect, pick Circle / avatar. The frame becomes round so you can crop the image to a circle instead of a rectangle.

4. 4

   Drag and zoom the face

   Move the photo inside the circle and use the zoom slider until the head and shoulders sit where you want them.

5. 5

   Download the cropped PNG

   Click Download cropped PNG. Circle crops export a PNG with transparent corners — ready to use as an avatar.

Why the download is a PNG

JPEG cannot store transparency. If you crop image to circle and save as JPEG, the corners become a solid color. PixTools writes a PNG so the pixels outside the circle are transparent. Sites that draw a round mask still work; sites that show the file as-is show a real circle.

Pixel size follows the area you selected, not a fixed 512×512 template. If the source is small, the avatar stays small. Crop first, then enlarge with the image upscaler (Lanczos + sharpen, not generative AI) if you need more pixels.

When this is the right tool

Use it when you already like the photo and only need framing: Slack, GitHub, a forum, a resume header. It will not retouch skin, relight a room, or invent a better angle. The other aspect presets (free, 1:1, 16:9, 4:3) are the same cropper if you need a rectangle instead of a circle.

Busy wallpaper behind a face still shows in the circle. For a clean cutout, run the background remover first, download the transparent PNG, then crop that file here.

Privacy

Cropping runs on a canvas in your browser. PixTools does not receive the photo. There is no account and no watermark on the download in this MVP.