How to Resize an Image in Photopea: by Scaling or Cropping

Photopea is a free online photo editor that works a lot like Photoshop. People use it every day to resize images for social media, print, websites, or just to make a photo fit a specific frame. Here we will walk through 3 methods to resize an image in Photopea step by step.

How to Choose from the 3 Solutions

Before you begin, it helps to know the difference between the three approaches:

• Image Scale – changes the pixel dimensions of the whole image, and the content stretches or shrinks with it. (See Method 1 and Method 2)
• Canvas Scale – changes the working area around the image without resizing the picture itself. You can add space or crop the edges. (See Method 1)
• Crop – lets you draw a new frame and throw away everything outside it. The remaining pixels keep their original quality. (See Method 3)

Method 1: Set Exact Image Size and Canvas Size

Step 1Open your image

Go to photopea.com, then choose File > Open and select your picture.

Step 2Change the actual image size or canvas size

At the top bar, click Image > Image Size/Canvas Size. Then type the new Width and Height. Keep the chain-link icon locked if you want to preserve the aspect ratio.

Method 2: Free Transform / Scale and Content-Aware Scale

These tools let you drag the image by hand. They're very helpful if you want it straightforward and visual, rather than typing exact numbers.

Step 1Select the layer

Click the layer you want to resize in the Layers panel. If it's locked (Background), double-click it or unlock it first.

Step 2Free Transform / Scale

Go to Edit in the top menu, then click Free Transform or go to Transform > Scale. Drag any corner handle to resize.

Step 3Content-Aware Scale (keep subjects looking normal)

When you need to stretch the background but leave people, buildings, or products in the foreground mostly unchanged, use Edit > Content-Aware Scale.

Drag the handles the same way as Free Transform. Photopea tries to protect detailed areas and only stretch the less important parts.

Press Enter when you're happy with the size.

Tip: Content-Aware Scale works well for enlargement, but when shrinking an image, it can make it look squeezed or overlapped.

Method 3: Crop the Image in Photopea

Cropping is the cleanest way to change the final frame without scaling any pixels.

Step 1Select the Crop tool

Click the Crop tool in the left toolbar. A crop box then appears over the image.

Step 2Adjust the crop area

Drag the corners or edges to set the new frame. You can move the whole box by dragging inside it. Hold the mouse near an edge to rotate the crop if needed.

In the top options bar, you can lock a fixed ratio or set a fixed pixel size.

Step 3Apply the crop

Press Enter or click the checkmark in the top bar. Everything outside the box is removed. The remaining pixels keep their original quality.

Pros and Cons of Using Photopea

Photopea brings convenience with its versatile features, yet it has a few trade-offs to consider before diving in.

Free Alternatives to Photopea for Image Resizing

1. AVAide Image Upscaler to Enlarge Image

The perfect platform that can make your image bigger without losing its quality is AVAide Image Upscaler.

It uses top-notch artificial intelligence to enhance and enlarge photos automatically. You can make them two, four, six, or even eight times bigger, and they will still look clear and sharp. These pictures can be used for any purpose, like e-commerce, printing, etc. It is free, has no watermarks on your image, and works with many different image formats. Furthermore, it supports batch upload processing, which requires upgrading your plan.

2. Picwand to Enlarge Image on Phone

A mobile application perfect for enlarging images and excellent for sprucing up visuals is Picwand. You control how much bigger you want your image to be. You can make it two times, four times, or even more! Besides that, it can help you turn your lower-resolution images to higher-resolution.

As it uses intelligent artificial intelligence, you do not need to do anything; it does everything for you. However, you must upgrade your plan to enable acceleration and other enlargement levels.

FAQs about Resizing Images in Photopea

Is Photopea the same as Photoshop?

Photoshop costs money, but Photopea is a free online platform that works like Photoshop. One big difference is that you can use Photoshop without the internet, but Photopea needs it because it is an online tool.

What file formats does Photopea support?

Photopea can work with many files, like Photoshop (PSD), PNG, JPEG, GIF, SVG, etc. You can use AVAide Image Converter to convert your photos to a format compatible with Photopea.

Is it possible to undo a resize in Photopea?

In Photopea, you can use Ctrl + Z or Command + Z to undo if you make a mistake. It works for resizing as long as you have not saved your changes.

By Jane Pineda on Oct 22, 2026