How to Insert a Picture in Google Sheets

To insert a picture in Google Sheets, click a cell, click Insert > Image, choose whether the picture goes in the cell or over the cells, then pick an image and click Open or Select. You can also paste a copied picture into the sheet or load one from the web with the =IMAGE("URL") formula.

These steps cover Google Sheets in a web browser on Windows, Mac, and Chromebook, plus the Google Sheets app for Android, iPhone, and iPad. They follow Google’s Docs Editors Help pages on adding an image to a spreadsheet, the IMAGE function, and the iPhone and iPad app.

Before You Start

• You need edit access. If you can only view or comment on the spreadsheet, the Insert menu won’t add anything. Ask the owner for edit access or make your own copy with File > Make a copy.
• Use a supported file. Google accepts PNG, JPG, and GIF files under 50 MB. SVG isn’t supported. iPhone photos saved as HEIC aren’t on Google’s list, so convert them to JPG first if the upload fails.
• Decide where the picture should live. A picture in a cell behaves like cell content. A picture over the cells floats on top of the grid. The next section explains which one to pick.

Which Placement Should You Use?

Placement	How it behaves	Good for
In the cell	Fits inside one cell and keeps its proportions. It moves with the cell when you sort, filter, or hide rows.	Product lists, inventories, a photo next to each name
Over the cells	Floats above the grid. You drag it anywhere and resize it with its blue markers. It can cover data underneath.	Logos, headers, dashboards, one large picture
IMAGE formula	Shows a web picture inside a cell from a link. Change the link and the picture changes.	Long lists of image links, catalogs

A cell that holds an image can’t also hold text. If you want a label, type it in the cell next to the picture.

How to Insert a Picture in Google Sheets

1. Open the spreadsheet in Google Sheets on your computer.
2. Click the cell where you want the image. For a floating picture, this sets where it first appears.
3. Click Insert at the top of the screen, then point to Image.
4. Choose Insert image in cell or Insert image over cells. A window opens with places to get a picture from.
5. Pick a source, choose your picture, and click Open, Select, or Insert, depending on the source.

The picture now appears in the cell or on top of the grid. The window usually offers these sources:

• Upload: a file from your computer. You can also drag a file onto the window.
• Camera: a snapshot from your webcam. Your browser asks for camera permission first.
• By URL: paste a link that goes straight to an image file.
• Google Photos and Google Drive: pictures already stored in your Google account.
• Google Images: a web search. Check that you have the right to use a picture before you add it to a shared or public sheet.

Need to crop or shrink the picture first? You can edit images online for free in your browser and then upload the saved copy. Working in a document instead? Docs has its own way to insert and edit pictures.

Copy and Paste a Picture

You can also copy an image from your desktop or a web page and paste it into the sheet with Ctrl + V (Command + V on a Mac). Google notes it may take a moment to appear. If the pasted picture lands over the cells and you wanted it inside one, use Put image in selected cell, described below.

Resize, Move, or Switch a Picture

Make an in-cell picture bigger

A picture in a cell always fits the cell, so you can’t drag its corners. Make the cell bigger instead: drag the bottom edge of the row number down and the right edge of the column letter to the right. For exact sizes, set the row height in Google Sheets. To give one picture extra room without resizing a whole column, you can merge cells in Google Sheets, though merged cells get in the way of sorting.

Resize or move a floating picture

1. Click the picture. Blue markers appear around its edges.
2. Drag a marker to change the size.
3. Click inside the picture and drag it to move it.

To change several floating pictures by the same amount, hold Ctrl (or Command on a Mac), click each one, and then drag a marker.

Move an in-cell picture to another cell

Click the cell with the picture, cut it with Ctrl + X (Command + X on a Mac), click the new cell, and paste. Copying and pasting the same way makes a duplicate.

Switch between in the cell and over the cells

• In the cell to over the cells: right-click the picture and click Put image over cells.
• Over the cells to in a cell: click the cell you want, click the picture, click More (the three dots in the picture’s top-right corner), and choose Put image in selected cell.

How to Add an Image With the IMAGE Formula

The IMAGE function shows a picture from a web address inside a cell. Type it in the cell where you want the picture:

• =IMAGE("URL") or =IMAGE("URL", 1): fits the picture inside the cell and keeps its proportions. This is the default.
• =IMAGE("URL", 2): stretches or squeezes it to fill the cell, ignoring proportions.
• =IMAGE("URL", 3): keeps the original size, which may crop it.
• =IMAGE("URL", 4, height, width): sets a custom size in pixels, for example =IMAGE("URL", 4, 50, 50).

Replace URL with the full image address, including https://, inside quotation marks. The picture loads into the cell. No mode resizes the cell itself, so adjust the row height and column width if the picture looks tiny.

Use a cell reference for many pictures

You can point the formula at a cell that holds the link instead of typing the address. With links in column A, type =IMAGE(A2) in B2, then drag the small square at the bottom-right corner of B2 down the column. Each row shows its own picture, and changing a link updates its picture. Since pictures load from the web, a sheet with hundreds of large images can slow down, so use small image files where you can.

IMAGE formula limits

• Links hosted at drive.google.com aren’t allowed. For a picture stored in Drive, use Insert > Image > Google Drive instead.
• SVG images aren’t supported.
• The link must open the image file itself, not a web page that shows the image.
• The picture must be public. Images behind a login won’t load.
• The address can’t depend on volatile functions such as NOW, RAND, or RANDBETWEEN.

The picture is never stored in your file. If the website deletes or moves it, the cell goes blank. Use Insert > Image for pictures that must stay put.

The HYPERLINK function reads web addresses from cells the same way, so you can also add a clickable hyperlink in Google Sheets next to each picture.

How to Insert a Picture in the Google Sheets App

iPhone and iPad

1. Open the spreadsheet in the Google Sheets app.
2. Tap Insert (the plus icon), then Image.
3. Choose to place the image in the cell or over the cells.
4. Choose where to get the image from, then tap a photo.

The photo is added to the sheet. You can also touch and hold an image in another app and drag it into the spreadsheet. A dragged image lands over the cells; tap it and choose Insert in cell to put it in a cell. To move a floating image, tap it and drag. To move an in-cell image, tap the cell, tap Cut, tap the new cell, tap it again, and choose Paste.

For a cleaner background behind a logo or photo, you can turn off gridlines in the Sheets app on iPhone.

Android

1. Open the spreadsheet in the Google Sheets app.
2. Tap Insert (the plus icon), then Image.
3. Choose to place the image in the cell or over the cells.
4. Choose where to get the image from, then tap a photo.

The Android steps on Google’s help page list the same file rules as the computer version.

Replace, Delete, or Add Alt Text to an Image

• Replace a floating image: click it, click More in its top-right corner, click Replace image, choose a new image, and click Replace or Select.
• Delete an image: for an in-cell picture, click the cell and press Delete. For a floating picture, click it and press Delete, or use More > Delete image. For an IMAGE formula, clear the cell.
• Add alt text: right-click an in-cell image and click Alt text, or click a floating image, then More > Alt text. Type a short title and description so people using screen readers know what the picture shows.

The More menu on a floating image also offers Reset size to undo resizing. If you share the sheet and don’t want others moving pictures or data, read about how to protect a sheet or range, including how protections work and how to remove them later.

Use Drawing to Annotate a Picture

To add arrows, shapes, or text on top of a picture, click Insert > Drawing, click the image icon in the Drawing editor to add your picture, add shapes or text boxes, then click Save and close. A drawing always floats over the cells. Double-click it later to edit it.

If the Picture Won’t Insert or Show

• Image is missing or grayed out on the Insert menu: you probably have view-only or comment-only access. Ask for edit access or make a copy.
• Upload fails: check that the file is PNG, JPG, or GIF and under 50 MB. Convert SVG, HEIC, or WEBP files to PNG or JPG first.
• The picture is tiny: an in-cell picture is limited by the cell size. Make the row taller and the column wider.
• The IMAGE formula shows an error or a blank cell: paste the link into a new browser tab. If the picture doesn’t open by itself, Sheets can’t load it either. Check for missing quotation marks, a link to a web page instead of the image file, a drive.google.com link, or an image that needs a login.
• The picture looks stretched: the formula is probably using mode 2. Change it to mode 1.
• A floating picture covers your data: drag it aside, or move it into a cell with Put image in selected cell.
• Pictures don’t follow their rows when you sort: floating pictures stay where they are. Put them in cells so they move with the data.

Frequently Asked Questions