What Is 1440p Resolution? 2560 × 1440, QHD and WQHD

By Aspect Ratio Calculator Pro Editorial Team · Updated Oct 30, 2026

1440p is the resolution between Full HD and 4K: 2560 × 1440 pixels in a 16:9 frame. Monitor makers sell it as QHD, WQHD or 2K, and the same 1,440-row height is the basis of the common ultrawide sizes, 3440 × 1440 and 5120 × 1440. This guide gives exact pixel counts, pixel density at common screen sizes, the ultrawide math and what Windows scaling does to your usable workspace.

What is 1440p resolution?

1440p means a picture 1,440 pixels tall, drawn progressively (the "p"). At the standard 16:9 shape that makes it 2560 × 1440, or 3,686,400 pixels (3.69 megapixels). It is exactly four times the pixels of 720p HD (1280 × 720), which is where the name Quad HD comes from: twice the width and twice the height.

Unlike 1080p, which is the HDTV picture format in ITU-R BT.709, and 4K UHD, which is defined in ITU-R BT.2020, 1440p is not a broadcast standard. It is a computer and gaming display resolution, and its names come from manufacturers rather than a standards body.

QHD vs. WQHD: what do the names mean?

For a 16:9 monitor, QHD and WQHD refer to the same 2560 × 1440 resolution. Manufacturers simply pick one:

• ASUS describes its PB278Q as "2560 x 1440 WQHD" in a 16:9 format.
• ViewSonic's spec sheet for the VX2758A-2K-PRO-2 lists 2560 × 1440 with the resolution type "QHD (Quad HD)," while the product name calls it 2K.

The "W" (wide) is where it gets loose. LG uses WQHD for an ultrawide: its 34WR55QK-B is listed as a 34-inch "WQHD (3440 x 1440)" display. Another LG ultrawide with the same pixel count, the 34WP60C-B, is named an "UltraWide QHD 1440P" monitor, labeled "UltraWide QHD (3440 x 1440)" in its product images, and listed as "WQHD (3440 x 1440)" in its spec table. Samsung names the 5120 × 1440 size "DQHD," spelled out on its Odyssey OLED G9 page as Dual QHD.

1440p naming table

Since the letters are not standardized, the pixel dimensions on the spec sheet are the only reliable label.

Is 1440p 2K?

Only in marketing. The official 2K is the 2048 × 1080 image container in the Digital Cinema Initiatives Digital Cinema System Specification, which has the same height as 1080p. Monitor makers use "2K" for 2560 × 1440, as the ViewSonic example above shows, so a "2K monitor" is almost always a 1440p monitor. A 1440p screen has 1.67 times the pixels of cinema 2K. The 2K resolution guide explains both meanings in detail.

1440p vs. 1080p vs. 4K

All three 16:9 formats share the same shape, so the ratios are clean fractions: 1440p is exactly 16/9 of 1080p (1.7778×) and exactly 4/9 of 4K UHD (44.44%). In each direction, 1440p is 4/3 of 1080p and 2/3 of 4K.

Is 1440p better than 1080p?

It has 640 more columns and 360 more rows than 1080p, for 1,612,800 extra pixels, or 77.78% more. On the same size screen that means finer text and more room for windows. In games, the graphics card has to render 1.78 times as many pixels for every frame. See the 1080p resolution guide for Full HD sizes and variants.

Is 1440p better than 4K?

For detail, no. 4K UHD has 2.25 times the pixels of 1440p (4,608,000 more). 1440p has 55.56% fewer pixels to render per frame, and 4K at 150% scaling gives exactly the same workspace as 1440p at 100%, only drawn with more pixels. The 4K resolution guide covers UHD and DCI 4K.

Ultrawide 1440p: 3440 × 1440 and 5120 × 1440

Ultrawide monitors keep the 1,440-pixel height and add width.

3440 × 1440. The greatest common divisor of 3440 and 1440 is 80, so the exact ratio is 43:18, or 2.389:1. It is sold as 21:9, but 21:9 is 2.333:1; a true 21:9 screen 1,440 pixels tall would be 3,360 pixels wide, 80 fewer. Compared with 16:9 1440p it is 880 pixels wider and has 1,267,200 more pixels (34.38% more), 4,953,600 in total.

5120 × 1440. This is exactly two 2560 × 1440 screens side by side: 7,372,800 pixels, 32:9 (3.56:1). It has twice the pixels of 1440p and 88.89% of 4K UHD.

1440p pixel density (PPI) at 24, 27, 32 and 34 inches

Pixels per inch is the diagonal pixel count divided by the diagonal size: √(2560² + 1440²) = 2,937.21 pixels along the diagonal for 1440p.

The 27-inch figure lines up with published specs: ASUS lists 109 PPI for the PB278Q, and ViewSonic's listed 0.233 mm pixel size works out to 109.0 PPI (25.4 ÷ 0.233).

Two useful equivalences fall out of the math:

• A 34-inch 3440 × 1440 screen (109.7 PPI, 13.13 in tall) has almost the same density and height as a 27-inch 1440p screen (108.8 PPI, 13.24 in tall). It is effectively a 27-inch 1440p widened from 23.53 to 31.36 inches.
• A 49-inch 5120 × 1440 screen works out to 108.5 PPI and 47.17 × 13.27 inches, very close to two 27-inch 1440p monitors placed edge to edge.

Use Inches to Pixels to convert physical sizes at any of these densities.

What does 125% or 150% scaling do to 1440p?

Operating systems can enlarge text and interface elements without changing the panel's resolution. Windows treats 100% as 96 DPI (Microsoft Learn), so 125% corresponds to 120 DPI and 150% to 144 DPI. The panel still shows every one of its pixels, but apps lay themselves out as if the screen were smaller. That effective workspace is the native resolution divided by the scale factor:

Values marked ≈ are rounded to the nearest pixel (2560 ÷ 1.5 = 1706.67).

What that means in practice:

• At 125%, a 1440p screen still gives more room than a 1080p screen at 100% (2048 × 1152 vs. 1920 × 1080). On a 27-inch panel, interface elements are drawn at an effective 87.0 PPI, slightly smaller than on a 27-inch 1080p monitor at 81.6 PPI.
• At 150%, the workspace drops to about 1707 × 960, less than native 1080p. Text is sharper than on a 1080p screen, but you fit less on it.
• At 200%, 1440p behaves like a 720p desktop, the same way 4K at 200% behaves like 1080p.

Browsers report this scaled size too. The devicePixelRatio property gives the ratio between device pixels and CSS pixels, so a 1440p monitor at 125% usually reports a CSS screen size of 2048 × 1152 with a ratio of 1.25. What Is My Screen Resolution shows both numbers, so you can confirm your panel is running at 2560 × 1440 and see which scaling you are on.

Common 1440p mistakes

1. Assuming WQHD always means 2560 × 1440. Some ultrawides at 3440 × 1440 are sold as WQHD. Read the pixel numbers.
2. Calling 3440 × 1440 exactly 21:9. It is 43:18 (2.39:1). Check any size with the Aspect Ratio Calculator.
3. Rounding the gain over 1080p to 33%. 1440p is 33.33% larger in each direction, but 77.78% larger in total pixels.
4. Confusing a "2K monitor" with cinema 2K. A 2K monitor is 2560 × 1440; cinema 2K is 2048 × 1080.
5. Reading the browser's screen size as the panel resolution. At 125% scaling a browser reports 2048 × 1152 CSS pixels for a 2560 × 1440 panel. Multiply by the device pixel ratio, and use the Image Resolution Checker to read the real pixel size of a screenshot.

How this guide was made: an AI tool helped with research and the first draft, and we then checked each figure against the sources above. Found an error? Email editorial@aspectratiocalculatorpro.com. Editorial policy.

Related

• What Is 2K Resolution? Cinema 2K vs. 2K Monitors2K resolution officially means the DCI cinema container, 2048 × 1080. Monitors sold as 2K are usually 2560 × 1440. Exact pixel counts, ratios and diagrams.
• 1080p Resolution: 1920 × 1080 Pixels Explained1080p resolution is 1920 × 1080 pixels (16:9, 2,073,600 px). What the p means, 1080p vs 720p, 1440p and 4K, PPI by screen size, and other-ratio sizes.
• 4K Resolution: UHD vs DCI 4K, Pixel Counts and PPI4K resolution is 3840 × 2160 on TVs and monitors and 4096 × 2160 in cinemas. Exact pixel counts, aspect ratios, PPI by screen size and viewing distance.
• Aspect Ratio CalculatorWork out any width, height or ratio.