White 1:1 expand for a square post
A landscape photograph placed in a square well with a white expand border. The source is not stretched. Empty well area is the same white as the frame. Use this when a feed crop would otherwise cut the sides.
Local canvas frame
Add Border to Photo
Add Border to Photo in the browser. Set color, thickness, and ratio, then download a file that matches the preview.
The file never leaves this browser.
The workbench reads one JPG, PNG, or WebP on your device, draws the border in canvas, and exports the pixels you see. There is no remote model, no credit charge, and no My Creations copy of the upload.
Local canvas frame
Set the Border, Then Download
Load one photo, choose expand or overlay, and download a file that matches the preview. The photograph stays on this device.
01 / Photo
JPG, PNG, or WebP · up to 5 MB · not uploaded
256–4,096 px per side · ≤ 16 MP
02 / Border
Quick setup
Mode
Color
03 / Export
The file is not uploaded. Closing the tab discards the preview.
0 creditsYour bordered photo will appear here
Load a supported photo to preview expand or overlay. Landscape and portrait files keep native pixels in expand mode.
Owned compositor exports
Judge the Frame Beside the Source
These pairs are owned stills with compositor output from this page. Instagram uses expand, white, 6 percent, 1:1. Print uses expand, near-black, 4 percent, original ratio. Passport uses expand, white, 5 percent, 3:4. Check thickness, letterbox, and corners on your own file before you keep a download.
Dark original-ratio expand for print
The same aspect as the camera file, with a thin near-black expand border. Export size is the source plus twice the thickness on each axis. Use this when you want a matte around the full frame.
White 3:4 expand for a document crop
A portrait still letterboxed into 3:4 with a white expand border. The person is not stretched. Overlay would hide edges instead. Use expand when those edges must remain visible.
Verified coverage
What Add Border to Photo Can Do
The tool is a geometry compositor, not a restyle model. It covers the two jobs people mean when they search add border to photo: grow the canvas, or paint a frame on a crop.
Expand the canvas, keep every pixel
Expand mode contain-fits the photograph into a well, then adds equal thickness around that well. Original ratio keeps native width and height plus twice the thickness. A chosen ratio letterboxes. The source is never stretched.
Overlay a frame on a cover crop
Overlay mode cover-crops to the ratio, then paints the border on top. Export size matches the crop. Edge pixels sit under the frame. Use this when the final file must stay the same size as the crop, not grow.
Color, thickness, radius, and export
Thickness is 1 to 30 percent of the shortest source side. Corner radius is 0 to 50 percent. Color is a six-digit hex value. Instagram, print, and passport presets fill those controls. Export PNG, JPEG, or WebP from the same preview.
Honest limits
What This Border Will Not Do
To add a border to a photo without sending the file to a server, load the photograph in the browser and change only the canvas around it. Expand mode keeps every source pixel, places the photo inside a larger canvas, and fills the new area with your color. For original ratio the export width is the source width plus twice the thickness, and the export height is the source height plus twice the thickness. For a chosen ratio such as 1:1 or 3:4, the photo sits in a letterboxed well and is never stretched. Overlay mode first cover-crops to the ratio, then paints the border on top, so edge pixels disappear under the frame and the export size matches the crop. Thickness is 1 to 30 percent of the shortest source side. Corner radius is optional. Download PNG, JPEG, or WebP. A generative image API cannot lock hex color, thickness in pixels, expand versus overlay, or that export size contract.
This page does not draw an instant-film caption well, date stamp, or analog color grade. That job lives on Polaroid Photo Filter. It does not invent extra scene around the frame. That job lives on Uncrop. It does not restyle clothing, sky, or identity. A prompt-based editor can do that, and it will also redraw pixels you wanted to keep.
Canvas export is not lossless in every format. PNG keeps the compositor pixels. JPEG and WebP re-encode. Very large sources scale the canvas down so the longest side stays at or below 8,192 pixels. Files over 5 MB, or outside 256 to 4,096 pixels per side, or over 16 megapixels, are rejected before a preview is drawn.
Choose the right method
Banana Pro AI vs generative restyle vs desktop editors
The useful choice depends on whether you need pixel-true thickness and color, whether you can send the file to a model, and whether you already work in a desktop editor.
Banana Pro AI browser canvas
- Best for
- You need to add border to photo with a known hex color, thickness, expand or overlay, and an export you can measure against the source
- Control
- Local canvas, 0 credits, no upload, live preview that matches the download
- Tradeoff
- No artistic frame, caption well, or invented scene. Geometry only.
Generative restyle
- Best for
- You want an illustrated frame, film look, or a new picture that only resembles the upload
- Control
- A written prompt and a model output size, not a thickness in pixels
- Tradeoff
- The model can shift identity, crop, and color. It cannot promise source plus twice the thickness.
Desktop editors
- Best for
- You already composite print layouts, CMYK, or multi-layer documents on a workstation
- Control
- Full layer stack, guides, and press profiles you already own
- Tradeoff
- Install, license, and a slower path when the job is one equal border on a social or document crop.
Practical workflow
How to add border to photo
The workbench is the product. Load one supported still, set the border, and download only when the preview matches the crop you want.
- 01
Load one photo on this device
Choose a JPG, PNG, or WebP file up to 5 MB, with each side from 256 to 4,096 pixels and no more than 16 megapixels. The file is read locally. It is not uploaded.
- 02
Set mode, color, thickness, and ratio
Start from Instagram, print, or passport if those jobs match, then adjust. Expand keeps every pixel. Overlay hides edges under the frame. Thickness is a percent of the shortest side, so a 1,200 by 900 file at 6 percent gets a 54 pixel border.
- 03
Download the preview you accept
PNG, JPEG, or WebP all come from the same canvas. The download name follows the export type. There is no second pass and no credit charge. 0 credits.
Questions
Add Border to Photo FAQ
Clear answers about expand versus overlay, upload, credits, Polaroid Photo Filter, and export size.
Does add border to photo upload my file?
No. The photograph is read in the browser and drawn on a canvas. Nothing is sent to storage or an image API for this tool.
What is the difference between expand and overlay?
Expand grows the canvas and keeps every source pixel, letterboxing when you pick a ratio other than original. Overlay cover-crops first, then paints the border on top, so the export stays the crop size and edges are hidden.
Is this the same as Polaroid Photo Filter?
No. This page is an equal geometric border. Polaroid Photo Filter is a white instant well with optional caption, date, grain, and analog color. Use that page when you want the instant-print look.
How many credits does it use?
Zero. The compositor runs on the device. 0 credits per download. A retry is still free.
Will the download match the preview?
Yes for the pixels on the canvas. PNG stores those pixels. JPEG and WebP compress them. If the bordered canvas would exceed 8,192 pixels on a side, the layout is scaled down before export.
Continue editing
Related Photo Tools
Keep each operation explicit. Add a geometric border here, then choose an instant print, an outpaint, a broader edit, or the full tool directory only when that is the next job.
Tool specifications
File, Price, and Privacy Specs
The workbench accepts one JPG, PNG, or WebP image up to 5 MB. Each side must be between 256 and 4,096 pixels, and the image must stay within 16 megapixels. Each export costs 0 credits. Canvas longest side stays at or below 8,192 pixels.
The result is a local canvas composite, not a generative restyle or a print-shop proof. By using the tool, you confirm that your file complies with the Terms of Service.
Privacy, Storage, and Deletion
The photograph is not uploaded for this tool. There is no My Creations record because no server task is created. Review the Privacy Policy for other tools on this site that do upload.
If you later use a tool that uploads, that page states its own storage and deletion rules. This compositor does not keep a copy after you close the tab. The download lives only where your browser saves it. See the Privacy Policy before using upload-based editors on sensitive portraits.
Product notes describe the implemented contract on this page. Dedicated border sites exist as a category. This page does not outbound-link them. Reviewed by the Banana Pro AI product team · Last reviewed: 2026-09-16.
- Expand or overlay canvas border
- Hex color, thickness 1–30%, radius 0–50%
- Original, 1:1, 4:5, 3:4, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3
- 0 credits, local processing
- JPG, PNG, and WebP input up to 5 MB
- PNG, JPEG, or WebP download from the preview
Research sources
Sources
Ratio names on this page follow common social and document crops. Implementation details for unrelated image APIs stay off this page.
- Instagram Help: Crop your photo on Instagram
- MDN: CanvasRenderingContext2D drawing and clipping
- Three compositor exports from owned stills were reviewed on September 16, 2026 using the Instagram, print, and passport presets.
See the border before you keep it.
Add a Measured Border in the Browser
Load one photo, set expand or overlay, and download PNG, JPEG, or WebP only when the preview is the crop you want.
Open the border workbench