How to Crop an Image into a Circle (Transparent PNG)
Circular avatars are everywhere — Slack, Discord, team pages, profile pictures. To get a real circle (not a square photo behind a circular mask), you need to crop the image into a circle and save it as a transparent PNG. Here's how to do it in seconds.
Use the tool
Circle Crop
Step-by-step
- 1
Open Circle Crop
Use our Circle Crop tool. Everything runs in your browser — the photo never uploads.
- 2
Drop in your photo
Drag your image onto the upload area. The tool centers the largest circle that fits.
- 3
Add a border (optional)
Slide the border width up and pick a color if you want a ring around your avatar — handy for light icons on light backgrounds.
- 4
Crop
Click Circle Crop. The corners outside the circle become transparent.
- 5
Download as PNG
Save the PNG — the transparency is preserved so the circle drops cleanly onto any background.
💡 Tips
- Always save circle crops as PNG, never JPG — JPG can't store transparency and would fill the corners with white.
- For headshots, make sure your face is centered before cropping; the tool takes a centered square, so off-center subjects get clipped.
- Adding a 2-4px white or brand-colored border helps a circular avatar stand out against busy backgrounds.
FAQ
Why is my circle crop showing a white background?
You probably saved it as JPG. Re-export as PNG — JPG doesn't support transparency, so it fills the corners with white.
Can I crop a rectangular photo?
Yes. The tool takes the largest centered square from your image and crops the circle from that, so position your subject centrally.
Will the image lose quality?
No — cropping only removes pixels outside the circle. The pixels that remain are unchanged.
Disclaimer. This guide is for general informational purposes. Our tools run entirely in your browser and process files on your device, so exact results depend on your image, browser, and the settings you choose. Read our editorial policy.