TikTok slideshow blurry? Fix it in this order, from export to upload

What numbers does TikTok actually publish?

Before changing anything, know which numbers are official and which are folklore. As of November 2026:

So 20 MB and 1080p are reference points for what TikTok's posting API accepts. They do not describe what the app does to a photo you upload by hand. TikTok does not document that, which is why the steps below are tests rather than promises. For the size debate, see TikTok slideshow size.

Which fix should you try first?

Work in this order. Each step removes a cause before the next one is worth checking.

1. Open the exported file at full size. View it on your computer at 100 percent and then on your phone. If it is soft there, the problem is upstream of TikTok. If it is sharp, go on.
2. Check the source images. A small picture stretched to fill a 1080-wide slide goes soft however you export it. Zoom in on each photo; replace any that look coarse. A photo should be at least as wide, in pixels, as the space it fills.
3. Export a file, not a screenshot. A screenshot captures what the screen shows, which may be smaller than the slide. Export from the editor at the slide's design size. Fyslide exports PNG or JPG slides, the caption and a zip into a folder you choose (export guide).
4. Check file type and compression. Hard JPEG compression leaves blocky edges around text. A 1080-wide slide is normally far below the 20 MB API limit, so you have room to export at high quality. If your posting tool sends images through the API, remember the guide lists only WebP and JPEG: a PNG may be converted on the way, so export JPG when a posting tool will send the files. Ask the tool what it sends.
5. Match the ratio on every slide. The Creator Academy advises one ratio for a cleaner look. An odd slide out is a common suspect when only some slides look soft or stretched.
6. Compare upload routes. Post the same slide from your phone and from your tool. If only one looks soft, the route is the cause. Also check that the photo is fully stored on the phone and not a cloud preview that has not downloaded yet.
7. Strip editor extras. The Creator Academy says you can add filters, text, stickers, sound and crops while swiping through photos. Post a test without any of them. If it looks sharper, add them back one at a time.
8. Check the text itself. Thin letters, small sizes and low contrast look blurry even when the pixels are sharp. Enlarge the text, thicken it and raise the contrast. W3C's WCAG (opens in a new tab) sets 4.5:1 for text, which is a useful benchmark for slides and not a TikTok rule. See the slideshow design guide.

How can you test without wasting a post?

Create a test slideshow using the exact export you plan to use, set the privacy to limit who can view it, and look at it on a phone. The Creator Academy lists privacy among the settings you can edit on a photo post. Delete it afterwards.

What about Instagram?

If the same slides also go to Instagram, its Help Center says photos upload at up to 1,080 px wide and keep their resolution between ratios of 1.91:1 and 3:4 (Instagram Help Center (opens in a new tab), read in German and translated). Exporting at 1,080 px wide therefore fits Instagram's limit. TikTok publishes no pixel spec for in-app photo posts, so test one private post there first, as described above. Other ratios are cropped on Instagram, so see Instagram carousel sizes.

What should you write down once it works?

• The export size and file type that looked right.
• Whether you posted from the app or a tool.
• Which editor extras you kept.
• The text size that stayed crisp on a phone.

Keep that as your default for the next batch. The wider list of causes is in slideshow troubleshooting.