Why does this show a different resolution to my display settings?

A browser reports CSS pixels, not physical ones. If your display is scaled to 150% or 200% — which most laptops and every Retina screen are by default — the browser sees a smaller grid than the panel has. Multiplying by the device pixel ratio gives the physical resolution back, which is what the large figure shows. Both numbers are listed so you can see the gap.

Is screen resolution the same as screen size?

No. Resolution counts pixels; size measures glass. A 24-inch and a 32-inch monitor can both be 3840 × 2160, and the pixels on the 32-inch are a third larger. That is why this page asks for the diagonal before it tells you anything about sharpness.

What is the most common screen resolution?

1920 × 1080 — Full HD, 16:9 — is still the most common resolution across desktops, laptops and televisions worldwide, with 1366 × 768 behind it on older laptops and 2560 × 1440 rising fast on desktop monitors.

Does a higher resolution always look sharper?

Only up to the point where your eyes stop resolving the difference. Sharpness is pixels per degree of your field of view, which depends on the distance you sit as much as the pixel count. At 2.5 m a 55-inch 1080p television is already close to that limit, so 4K on the same set is a subtle upgrade rather than an obvious one.

Can a website see my screen resolution?

Yes. Screen size, pixel ratio and colour depth are readable by any page you visit, without permission, and they form part of the fingerprint that identifies a browser. This page reads them in your browser and keeps them there.

What is my screen resolution?

Read straight from the display you are on. Below the number is the part most of these pages leave out: what those pixels measure in centimetres, and whether they are enough to look sharp from where you sit.

Your screen resolution

—

Reading the display…

What the display reports

Resolution: —Physical pixels on the panel
Browser resolution: —CSS pixels, after scaling
Pixel ratio: —
Browser window: —The area a page can actually use
Aspect ratio: —
Total pixels: —
Colour depth: —
Refresh rate: Measuring…Measured from the frames this page is given

Now tell us the size

Resolution on its own says nothing about how sharp a screen looks. The same resolution is crisp on a laptop and soft on a television. Add the diagonal and where you sit, and it becomes an answer.

Screen size

The diagonal, in inches — the number the screen was sold as.

How far you sit

Eyes to the face of the screen.

Units

Panel size: —Glass only, no bezel
Pixel density: —
Sharpness where you sit: —
Comfortable distance: —For this size, at this aspect ratio

Your screen at true scale, from where you sit. To see a size you are thinking of buying in your own room or on your own desk, try the monitor size calculator or the TV size calculator.

Why this number may not match your display settings

A browser does not measure your panel. It reports CSS pixels — the grid a page is laid out on — and the operating system decides how many physical pixels go into each one. A 14-inch laptop with a 3024 × 1964 panel scaled to 200% hands the browser 1512 × 982 and draws every CSS pixel four physical pixels large. Neither number is wrong; they answer different questions. Multiply the reported width by the device pixel ratio and you get the panel back, which is the figure at the top of this page.

That gap is why the answer here can disagree with the one in your display settings. Windows calls the scaling factor a percentage, macOS hides it behind “looks like” sizes, and phones never mention it at all. A ratio of 1× means no scaling and the two numbers agree. Anything above 1× means your screen has more pixels than the browser is drawing on, and text is being rendered sharper than the layout suggests.

Resolution alone tells you nothing about sharpness

Pixels only matter relative to the glass they are spread over and the distance you view them from. 2560 × 1440 across a 27-inch panel is 109 pixels per inch, which reads as crisp at desk distance. The same 2560 × 1440 stretched to 32 inches is 92 PPI, and the softness is visible from the same chair. Move to a 55-inch television and it is 53 PPI — which looks fine, because you are sitting two and a half metres away rather than 65 centimetres.

The measure that survives all three cases is pixels per degree: how many pixels land in one degree of your field of view. Around 60 PPD is the point where most people stop picking out individual pixels, and the panel above works it out for the size and distance you enter. It is also the honest answer to whether 4K is worth it — a question that has no answer until someone says how big the screen is and where the sofa is.

Screen, window and viewport are three different sizes

The panel lists all three because people arrive here needing different ones. Screen resolution is the display itself and does not change when you resize anything. Browser resolution is that same display in CSS pixels, after scaling. The browser window is the area a web page can actually draw in — smaller again, because the address bar, the tabs and any open dev tools take their share. If you are testing a layout or filing a bug report, the window figure is usually the one being asked for; if you are buying a monitor, it is the first.

One caveat on multi-monitor setups: a browser can only see the display holding its own window. Drag this page to your other screen and the numbers change. Nothing here can see how many displays you have, or which one is primary.

Common screen resolutions, and what they are called

Resolution	Name	Aspect	Pixels	Usually seen on
1,366 × 768	HD	16:9	1.0 MP	Budget and older laptops
1,920 × 1,080	1080p · Full HD	16:9	2.1 MP	The default for laptops, monitors and televisions
1,920 × 1,200	WUXGA	16:10	2.3 MP	Taller 16:10 work monitors and laptops
2,560 × 1,080	UW-FHD	21:9	2.8 MP	Entry-level ultrawide monitors
2,560 × 1,440	1440p · QHD	16:9	3.7 MP	27-inch monitors, and most gaming panels
2,560 × 1,600	WQXGA	16:10	4.1 MP	13- and 14-inch Retina laptops
3,024 × 1,964	Retina laptop	16:10	5.9 MP	14-inch Retina laptops
3,440 × 1,440	UWQHD	21:9	5.0 MP	34-inch ultrawide monitors
3,456 × 2,234	Retina laptop	16:10	7.7 MP	16-inch Retina laptops
3,840 × 1,600	UWQHD+	21:9	6.1 MP	38-inch ultrawide monitors
3,840 × 2,160	4K UHD	16:9	8.3 MP	Televisions from 43 inches up, and 27- to 32-inch monitors
5,120 × 1,440	DQHD	32:9	7.4 MP	49-inch super ultrawide monitors
5,120 × 2,880	5K	16:9	14.7 MP	27-inch 5K monitors
7,680 × 4,320	8K UHD	16:9	33.2 MP	Large flagship televisions

Pixel counts are exact. A resolution can appear at several sizes, which is why the same name covers screens that look very different in a room.

Common questions

What is my screen resolution?: The reading at the top of this page is your screen resolution: the number of physical pixels across and down the display this browser window is on. It is detected in your browser, so nothing is sent anywhere and there is nothing to install.
Why does this show a different resolution to my display settings?: A browser reports CSS pixels, not physical ones. If your display is scaled to 150% or 200% — which most laptops and every Retina screen are by default — the browser sees a smaller grid than the panel has. Multiplying by the device pixel ratio gives the physical resolution back, which is what the large figure shows. Both numbers are listed so you can see the gap.
Is screen resolution the same as screen size?: No. Resolution counts pixels; size measures glass. A 24-inch and a 32-inch monitor can both be 3840 × 2160, and the pixels on the 32-inch are a third larger. That is why this page asks for the diagonal before it tells you anything about sharpness.
What is the most common screen resolution?: 1920 × 1080 — Full HD, 16:9 — is still the most common resolution across desktops, laptops and televisions worldwide, with 1366 × 768 behind it on older laptops and 2560 × 1440 rising fast on desktop monitors.
Does a higher resolution always look sharper?: Only up to the point where your eyes stop resolving the difference. Sharpness is pixels per degree of your field of view, which depends on the distance you sit as much as the pixel count. At 2.5 m a 55-inch 1080p television is already close to that limit, so 4K on the same set is a subtle upgrade rather than an obvious one.
Can a website see my screen resolution?: Yes. Screen size, pixel ratio and colour depth are readable by any page you visit, without permission, and they form part of the fingerprint that identifies a browser. This page reads them in your browser and keeps them there.