How to Crop an Image on a Mac
Preview and Photos both crop in a few clicks, but they treat your original differently. Here is which one to use, and when a browser tool is quicker.
To crop an image on a Mac, open it in Preview, click the Rectangular Selection tool in the Markup toolbar, drag over the part you want to keep, and click Crop. If the picture lives in your Photos library, use Photos instead: open it, click Edit, then Crop. For exact pixel sizes or a batch of files, Crop Image does it in your browser, and nothing is uploaded.
How to crop an image in Preview
Preview is the right tool for an image file sitting in Finder, a download, or a screenshot. These steps follow Apple's Preview User Guide page Crop, resize, or rotate an image in Preview on Mac:
- Open the image in Preview.
- If the Markup toolbar isn't showing, click the Markup button to show it.
- Click the Rectangular Selection tool and drag over the part of the image you want to keep.
- Click the Crop button in the Markup toolbar.
To see the size of your selection while you drag, choose Tools > Show Inspector, click the Crop Inspector button, and pick a unit. That is how you check you're cropping to, say, 1200 pixels wide.
Preview changes the file itself. To undo straight away, choose Edit > Undo Crop. To get the uncropped picture back later, Apple's guide points to File > Revert To > Browse All Versions, where you can restore an earlier version. If you want to keep the original untouched, duplicate the file in Finder first and crop the copy.
How to crop a photo in the Photos app
For pictures in your Photos library, Apple's Photos User Guide page Crop, extend, reframe, and straighten photos and videos on Mac gives these steps:
- In Photos, double-click the photo, then click Edit in the toolbar.
- Click Crop in the toolbar.
- Drag the selection rectangle, or click Auto to let Photos crop and straighten it for you.
- To lock a shape, click Aspect and pick one, such as Square or 16:9, or choose Custom to enter your own.
- Click Done (or Save Changes) to save.
To undo a crop in Photos, open the photo in Edit and click Revert to Original. The catch, in Apple's own words: cropping changes the photo "everywhere in Photos", including albums and slideshows. If you only want a cropped version for one job, duplicate the photo first and crop the duplicate.
Preview, Photos, or a browser tool?
| You want to | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Crop a file in Finder, a download, or a screenshot | Preview | Opens the file directly, with a size readout in the Crop Inspector |
| Crop a picture in your Photos library | Photos | Aspect presets, Auto straighten, and Revert to Original |
| Type an exact X, Y, width and height | Crop Image | Number fields that move the box, and the box updates the numbers |
| Crop many files the same way | Crop Image | Takes up to 50 files and returns them in one zip |
How to crop an image on a Mac with Crop Image
- Open Crop Image in Safari or any browser and drop in one image or several.
- Pick a shape from "Aspect ratio": Free, Square (1:1), Standard (4:3), Widescreen (16:9), or Photo (3:2). Free is the default.
- Drag the box and its handles over the first image, or type exact pixel values into the X, Y, W and H fields.
- Run the crop and download. Several files come back together in one zip.
The crop is cut from your full-size original, not the scaled-down preview. A JPG comes back as a JPG and a WebP as a WebP, both re-saved at high quality, and anything else comes back as a PNG. The file name gets -cropped added, so your original stays where it was.
In a batch, the box you set on the first image is applied to every file in the same proportions: the same share of the width and height, from the same relative position. That works well for photos that are all the same shape, like a set from one camera. Mixed portrait and landscape shots come out in different proportions, so crop those in separate runs.
Cropping well, not just cropping
Every crop throws pixels away, which is why the order is crop first, then resize. Our guide to cropping a photo without wrecking it covers what to cut and which ratio to pick. If you need a perfect square for a profile picture, Crop to Square locks to 1:1, and once the frame is right, Resize Image sets the final pixel size. For background on ratios, see what aspect ratio means.
FAQ
Can I crop to an exact size on a Mac?
Yes. Preview's Crop Inspector shows the selection's dimensions as you drag, and Crop Image lets you type the exact width and height in pixels.
Does cropping lower the quality?
The pixels you keep are unchanged, but there are fewer of them. Crop Image cuts from the full-size original, and a JPG or WebP is re-saved at high quality on the way out.
Can I undo a crop after saving?
In Photos, Revert to Original restores it. In Preview, File > Revert To > Browse All Versions lets you restore an earlier version. Crop Image never touches your original file.