Meme Generator

Meme formats, dimensions and the copyright question

Dimensions that fit each platform

Text conventions that keep a meme readable

• Impact, uppercase, white fill, 2–4 px black stroke. The stroke is what makes it survive a busy background; without it, white text vanishes over a bright sky.
• Top and bottom placement for the two-line setup-and-punchline format. Centre placement reads as a caption, not a meme.
• Two lines maximum per block. A meme that needs a paragraph is a screenshot of text, which is a different format.
• Minimum 40 px type on a 1080 px canvas. Feeds display at a fraction of full size and most people scroll on a phone.
• Leave 5 % clear at every edge. Platforms crop previews unpredictably, and story UI covers the top and bottom bands.
• Check it at thumbnail size. If it does not read at 150 px wide, it will not work in a feed.

Export settings

The copyright position, stated plainly

Most meme templates are stills from copyrighted films, television or photography, and the copyright belongs to whoever made the original. Memes nonetheless circulate freely because rights holders rarely enforce against non-commercial social sharing, and because transformative commentary and parody have some protection — fair use in the United States, and fair dealing under Section 52 of the Indian Copyright Act 1957, which is narrower and enumerates specific permitted purposes rather than applying a general balancing test.

The practical distinction that matters: personal and commentary use is low risk; commercial use is not. Putting a meme template on merchandise, in a paid advertisement or on a company landing page is straightforward infringement and does get enforced. Photographers in particular have pursued claims over meme use of their images. If you need a meme for commercial work, use your own photograph, a properly licensed stock image, or a CC0 source.

Making one that is not instantly forgettable

1. Match the template to the emotion, not the other way round. Picking a template first and forcing a joke into it is why most branded memes fail.
2. Be specific. A meme about "Mondays" lands nowhere; a meme about a specific shared frustration lands hard.
3. Keep the format intact. Templates carry meaning — who is speaking, who is reacting. Breaking the convention reads as not getting the joke.
4. Do not add a logo. It is the clearest signal that a brand made it, and it kills sharing.
5. Check the template is still current. A format that peaked three years ago reads as dated.

More questions people ask

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