Black Background
Make a plain black background image at any size, or go full screen. Free, no install.
Saves every size in the selected set as one ZIP file.
Only need the size in the preview? Use the Download button below.
Customize your black background
Size
Shade
Style & download
Your photo never leaves your device. It is placed in your browser and never uploaded.
A free black background in the exact size you need
A black background is a black picture you put behind text, photos, slides or a video call. The black background maker on Black Screen Online is a free tool that makes one at the exact size of your project. Keep it a plain black image, or add a style, a color, text or your photo, then press Download: no sign-up, no watermark. Only need your screen black right now? Use the black screen instead.
Updated October 13, 2026
16 sizes
Sorted by project, plus any size
12 styles
From plain black to glitter
7 accents
Red, gold, blue and more
Free
No sign-up, no watermark
How do you make a black background?
Need a plain black image now? Leave Solid and Pure black selected, pick the size and press Download. You can add glitter, stars or a gradient only if you want them.
Four steps
- Under Size, pick your project. The starting choice is Zoom / Teams at 1920 × 1080 pixels.
- Keep Pure black for a flat image, or choose a different shade for a softer look.
- Keep Solid or try a Style. Add an Accent color, one line of Text, or Your photo if you need them.
- Check the preview, then press Download for a PNG, JPG or WebP picture. Use Full screen only when you want to show the result on your display.
Why it is sorted by project
I organized this maker by project, because it is easier to choose "YouTube thumbnail" than to guess its width and height. The preview is the file, so what you see is what you download. It also shows you when a photo does not fit the frame the way you expected.
Before saving, check that your text is readable and your photo is cropped the way you want, because a quick look now saves another download later. It takes seconds, and there is nothing to install.
Black backgrounds to download
Ready-made black backgrounds: plain, gradient, glitter, stars, smoke and texture, plus gold, red, white and blue mixes. Open any one in the tool to change its size or color.
Free for personal and commercial use. No attribution, no sign-up.
Plain black · PNG 
Black gradient · JPG 
Black glitter · JPG 
Gold and black glitter · JPG 
Red and black · JPG 
Black and white · JPG 
Black with stars · JPG 
Black smoke · JPG 
Black texture · JPG 
Blue and black smoke · JPG 
Stars for a phone · JPG 
Gold glitter for a phone · JPG
What can you use a black background for?
A slide needs room for a title, and a social post may need space for a face, a product or a short quote. So the first choice is the shape of the image, not its decoration. These sizes cover the common projects without you needing to know the pixel numbers.
| Project | Size offered by the maker | Useful choice |
|---|---|---|
| Video call | 1920 × 1080 | A quiet style that keeps attention on your face |
| Widescreen slide | 1920 × 1080 | Solid or a quiet gradient behind a title |
| Older 4:3 slide | 1024 × 768 | The matching slide shape, with room for text |
| YouTube thumbnail | 1280 × 720 | Leave room for the title and main subject |
| YouTube banner | 2560 × 1440 | Keep the important content near the center |
| Instagram post | 1080 × 1080 | A square for a quote or announcement |
| Portrait post | 1080 × 1350 | A taller design without stretching a square |
| Story or Reel | 1080 × 1920 | Keep key words clear of on-screen buttons |
| LinkedIn or X header | 1584 × 396 or 1500 × 500 | Leave room for a profile image or app cropping |
For product images, leave dark space around the subject instead of pushing it against the edges. A black background makes white items, light colors and bright products stand out, which is why so many product shots use one. This maker creates digital backgrounds, not the lighting or black cloth of a photo studio; studio methods belong in a separate photography guide.
Which black background size should you download?
Choose the size of the space where your picture will appear. Pixels are the tiny dots that form a digital image. A square picture may be cropped in a wide space, and enlarging a small file can blur it.
There are seven size groups: Your screen, Video calls, Presentations, YouTube, Instagram / TikTok, Other social and Desktop. Choose the job first, because a wide banner does not fit a square post even when both files are sharp. Set the shape before you add writing or a photo.
Choose Post at 1080 × 1080 for a black square image, and Story / Reel at 1080 × 1920 for a tall one. Slides have 4:3 and 16:9 choices, and 16:9 is the widescreen shape most slides and screens use.
3840 × 2160
A 4K black background
1920 × 1080
Zoom, Teams and 16:9 slides
1080 × 1080
A square post
16,384 pixels
The largest side you can type
YouTube sizes
The maker offers 1280 × 720 for YouTube thumbnails, also a 16:9 shape. YouTube now recommends 3840 × 2160 when possible, so type that larger size if you want it. The maker also offers 2560 × 1440 for channel banners; keep banner logos and words near the center, where every device shows them.
Desktop and any size
Under Desktop, choose HD, Full HD, 2K, 4K or Ultrawide: 1280 × 720, 1920 × 1080, 2560 × 1440, 3840 × 2160 and 3440 × 1440. A 4K black background is 3840 × 2160. Match my screen picks your own screen's size, and you can type any Width and Height up to 16,384 pixels on either side. Very large images use a lot of memory, so if a download fails, try a smaller size.
For a wallpaper matched to a specific phone model, use Black Wallpaper. For an image link or code, use Black Screen Image.
Plain black image or a styled black background?
A solid black background has no lines, sparkle or pattern. Select Solid with Pure black to make one: a plain, all black image in the color #000000, also written RGB (0, 0, 0). It is the full black background most people want.
The maker also has 11 other styles. Each comes with one main setting, so you can change the look without learning a full design program.
| Style | Appearance | What you can change |
|---|---|---|
| Vignette | Darker outer edges | Strength: Subtle, Medium, Strong |
| Gradient | A smooth fade into another color | Direction |
| Grain | Small, film-like specks | Amount |
| Spotlight | A soft area of light | Position |
| Dots | A quiet dotted pattern | Opacity |
| Grid | Fine lines crossing | Opacity |
| Carbon fiber | A woven-looking surface | Opacity |
| Stars | Scattered points of light | Amount |
| Glitter | Bright, scattered sparkle | Amount |
| Smoke | Soft, cloud-like shapes | Strength |
| Texture | A rough-looking finish | Amount |
Which style for which post
Gradient fades toward another color from the top, the bottom, a side or a corner. Vignette darkens the edges, and Spotlight places a soft bright area in the center or on one side.
A black glitter background suits a party invitation, and a black background with stars suits a night-themed quote. Smoke gives a soft, cloudy look; Texture and Grain add roughness, while Dots, Grid and Carbon fiber make neat repeating patterns. For a black aesthetic background, a soft Grain or Smoke usually looks better than a busy pattern.
Keep text readable
Put headlines over a calm area. For a long title, start with a light gradient instead of glitter, because a style should support your message, not hide it. The tool draws each style for the size you select, so a phone file looks like the desktop one instead of a stretched copy.
Black and red, gold, white or blue: add a color to your black background
Select any style except Solid, then open Accent color. Choose Red, Gold, Blue, Green, Purple or White, or select Your color for pink or any other color. The accent colors the fade, pattern, sparkle, smoke or texture. Solid stays one shade, so it has no accent setting.
Popular pairs
A red and black background can suit a sports post or a birthday, and black and gold fits an invitation. Blue and black works for a work presentation, and green and black for a gaming post. Choose White for a black and white background, or use Your color for a pink and black design. You can try each pair in the same preview.
Keep words readable
Place important words over a simple part of the picture, because stars or glitter behind small letters make them hard to read. A dark red accent may also disappear against black. For readable text, the W3C contrast guidance asks for at least 4.5:1 for ordinary text and 3:1 for large text. In everyday terms, make the words clearly lighter than the area behind them, and if the effect gets in the way, lower it or use Solid.
Which shade of black works best for your image?
Pure black is the deepest, flattest choice; a near black looks softer. A lighter near-black can sit more gently behind a photo or make faint patterns easier to see. The named shades let you compare them without typing color codes.
Pure black
#000000
Rich black
#010A13
Jet
#0A0A0A
Ink
#0D1117
Obsidian
#101014
Onyx
#121212
Charcoal
#1C1C1C
Gunmetal
#242424
Graphite
#2B2B2B
Slate
#333333
Choose from ten shades: Pure black, Rich black, Jet, Ink, Obsidian, Onyx, Charcoal, Gunmetal, Graphite and Slate. Pure black is #000000, Onyx #121212, Charcoal #1C1C1C and Slate #333333. Rich black and Ink are cool blacks with a hint of blue, which feel crisp and modern, while Charcoal and Gunmetal are neutral dark grays. Onyx or Charcoal can look softer around a product photo, and Slate, the lightest, makes faint patterns easier to notice.
Under Custom shade, type a Color code or adjust Color strength and brightness. Supported browsers also offer Pick a color from anywhere on screen to copy a shade you can see. Use Copy this color code when your slide, logo or other design needs to match.
Add text or your own photo to a black background
One line of text
If you need a quote card, type up to 120 characters on one line under Text. The maker places the text in white at the center, with a soft shadow that keeps it readable on any style. Select Sans, Serif or Mono, and set Text size to Small, Medium or Large. Sans is simple, Serif looks formal, and Mono spaces letters evenly. The text becomes part of the downloaded image.
Your photo
To add a picture, open Your photo. Choose Fit when the whole picture must show, edges included, or Fill when it should cover the space and some cropping is fine. Padding adds a border of empty space, Shadow separates the photo from the design, and Remove photo starts again.
Your photo never leaves your device: it is placed on the design in your browser and never uploaded. That matters if you do not want to send a personal picture to an editing service. Your photo places a picture on black; for photo editing such as cutting out a person, use a photo editor.
PNG, JPG or WebP: which black image format should you download?
Choose PNG for plain black, sharp patterns and text. PNG keeps every pixel exact, without the quality loss JPG uses. A single-color PNG is also tiny, because the same color repeats: a plain black 1920 × 1080 PNG from this page is just 347 bytes.
347 bytes
A plain black 1920 × 1080 PNG
12 ready-made
Finished backgrounds in the gallery
JPG and WebP
JPG is familiar to almost every app and works well for photos, smoke or glitter, but it can soften small text and sharp edges. WebP makes smaller files and is supported by most modern apps and browsers. If your browser cannot create WebP here, the maker gives you a PNG.
Saving the file
The Download button names the size and format you chose, and your browser usually saves the file in Downloads. On a phone, check its files app or the browser's downloads. Download in a ZIP file saves every size in the group you are looking at, in one file.
Black Screen Online's ready-made gallery offers 12 finished black backgrounds: plain black, gradients, glitter, stars, smoke, texture, and mixes with red, gold, white or blue. Ten are 1920 × 1080 and two tall ones are 1080 × 1920. They were made with this maker, so choose Download when one already fits, or Open in the tool to change its size, shade or style first.
Can you show a black background full screen?
Yes. Select Full screen, double-click the preview, or press F on a keyboard; on a phone, double-tap where supported. Press Esc or Exit to return. The controls fade away when you stop moving, and the full-screen bar offers the shade dots and Pick any color for quick comparisons. Full screen turns your display into a live black backdrop, for example behind a product you are photographing or on a second screen.
Your background fills the screen. Press Esc to leave.
Can you use these black backgrounds for business?
Free for any project
Yes. Black Screen Online's Terms of Use let you use the backgrounds you make here, and the gallery files, for personal or commercial projects, with no account, watermark or credit. Everything is made in your browser, not through a paid editing service. Check your permission before using another person's photo or logo.
Share setup
Use Share setup to copy a link with the size, shade, style, accent color and text you chose, so a teammate can open the same design. The link does not include your photo, but anyone with it can read the text, so check it before you share.
Why did my background turn black on its own?
If your desktop or phone background turned black when you did not choose it, that is a setting or a glitch, not this maker. On Windows, pick your picture again under Settings › Personalization › Background (Microsoft Support), and check that no accessibility setting has turned background pictures off. On an iPhone or Mac, restart the device, then set the wallpaper again. If the whole screen stays on a blank black screen, Black Screen Online explains what to do when a screen goes black on its own.
Other black screen tools
A full black screen fills your display right now, with no file. Black Screensaver goes black when you step away from your computer. Black Wallpaper makes a background sized for your phone or computer. Black Screen Image makes exact files with image links or code, and Black Screen Video makes black video files.
A true black wallpaper sized for your iPhone, Android, iPad, Mac or PC, with simple steps to set it on your lock screen and home screen.
A black picture file in any size, plus SVG files, favicons and tiny sizes.
A pure black video at any size, length and frame rate, as MP4, WebM or MOV. It fits YouTube, video editors, TVs, Shorts and Reels, with no watermark.
A black screensaver that runs in your browser on Mac and Windows. It goes fully black when you are away and wakes the moment you move.
Pure black on your whole screen, right now.
Frequently asked questions
How do I set a black background in Zoom or Teams?
Download Zoom / Teams at 1920 × 1080 as a PNG or JPG, then add it in your meeting app's virtual background options. Preview your camera, because the app may crop the image. Zoom Support says a 1920 × 1080 picture suits a 16:9 camera, and Microsoft Support explains adding your own picture in Teams. Both apps also offer a blur option, but a downloaded black picture looks the same on every call.
Can I put this background into PowerPoint or Google Slides?
Yes. Save the matching 16:9 slide or 4:3 slide as a PNG or JPG. In PowerPoint, use Design → Format Background → Picture or texture fill. In Google Slides, use Slide → Change background → Image; Google accepts GIF, JPG or PNG backgrounds under 50 MB, so PNG or JPG from this maker works. See Microsoft Support and Google Slides Help.
Can I use a black background for an Instagram story or phone post?
Yes. Choose Story / Reel for a tall 1080 × 1920 image, or Post for a square 1080 × 1080 image. Download it, then open the social app and pick the picture from your files or photos. Keep short writing away from the top and bottom of a story, where the app's buttons can cover it. A plain black story also works as a calm pause between busy posts.
Why does my downloaded image look blurry or gray?
First check Shade: Charcoal and Slate are dark grays by choice, while Pure black is #000000. Next, match the size to the space where the app shows it, because stretching a small image blurs it. JPG can also add blocks around text and sharp patterns, so choose PNG for clean edges. On most computer screens, a light behind the picture makes even pure black look slightly gray.
Can I make a plain black profile picture?
Yes. Choose Post for a 1080 × 1080 square, keep Solid and Pure black, and press Download. Most apps crop a profile picture into a circle, so keep any text or photo near the center. To add a short word or initials, type it under Text; it appears in white, centered, so it stays inside the circle. Pick PNG, so the edges of the letters stay sharp.
Ready for your black background?
The right size for your project, free, no sign-up, no watermark.