diff --git a/packages/cli/src/cli/cogify/action.make.cog.ts b/packages/cli/src/cli/cogify/action.make.cog.ts
index 238b0691e..a9923e769 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/cli/cogify/action.make.cog.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/cli/cogify/action.make.cog.ts
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ export class CommandMakeCog extends CommandLineAction {
   private target: CommandLineStringParameter;
   private cutline: CommandLineStringParameter;
   private blend: CommandLineIntegerParameter;
-  private maxPixelWidth: CommandLineIntegerParameter;
+  private alignedLevel: CommandLineIntegerParameter;
   private output: CommandLineStringParameter;
   private aws: CommandLineFlagParameter;
 
@@ -85,10 +85,10 @@ export class CommandMakeCog extends CommandLineAction {
       description: 'Cutline blend',
       required: false,
     });
-    this.maxPixelWidth = this.defineIntegerParameter({
-      argumentName: 'MAX_PIXEL_WIDTH',
-      parameterLongName: '--max-pixel',
-      description: 'Maximum Pixel Width for the cogs',
+    this.alignedLevel = this.defineIntegerParameter({
+      argumentName: 'ALIGNED_LEVEL',
+      parameterLongName: '--aligned-level',
+      description: 'Aligned level between resolution and cog',
       required: false,
     });
     this.output = this.defineStringParameter({
@@ -185,7 +185,12 @@ export class CommandMakeCog extends CommandLineAction {
 
     const ctx: JobCreationContext = {
       imageryName,
-      override: { id, projection: Epsg.Nztm2000, resampling, maxImageSize: this.maxPixelWidth.value },
+      override: {
+        id,
+        projection: Epsg.Nztm2000,
+        resampling,
+        alignedLevel: this.alignedLevel.value,
+      },
       outputLocation: this.aws.value
         ? await this.findLocation(`s3://${bucket}/`)
         : { type: 'local' as const, path: '.' },
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/cog/__tests__/cutline.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/cog/__tests__/cutline.test.ts
index db735b3b6..aa127cc9e 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/cog/__tests__/cutline.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/cog/__tests__/cutline.test.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { MultiPolygon } from '@linzjs/geojson';
 import o from 'ospec';
 import path from 'path';
 import url from 'url';
+import { AlignedLevel } from '../constants.js';
 import { Cutline, polyContainsBounds } from '../cutline.js';
 import { SourceMetadata } from '../types.js';
 import { SourceTiffTestHelper } from './source.tiff.testhelper.js';
@@ -163,11 +164,14 @@ o.spec('cutline', () => {
 
     o('full-extent 3857', () => {
       const cutline = new Cutline(GoogleTms);
-      const covering = cutline.optimizeCovering({
-        projection: EpsgCode.Google,
-        bounds: [{ ...GoogleTms.extent, name: 'gebco' }],
-        resZoom: 5,
-      } as SourceMetadata);
+      const covering = cutline.optimizeCovering(
+        {
+          projection: EpsgCode.Google,
+          bounds: [{ ...GoogleTms.extent, name: 'gebco' }],
+          resZoom: 5,
+        } as SourceMetadata,
+        4,
+      );
 
       o(round(covering, 4)).deepEquals([
         {
@@ -207,7 +211,7 @@ o.spec('cutline', () => {
       const covering = cutline.optimizeCovering({
         projection: EpsgCode.Nztm2000,
         bounds,
-        resZoom: 14,
+        resZoom: 7 + AlignedLevel,
       } as SourceMetadata);
 
       o(covering[4]).deepEquals({
@@ -253,11 +257,14 @@ o.spec('cutline', () => {
       const bounds = [tiff1, tiff2];
       const cutline = new Cutline(GoogleTms, await Cutline.loadCutline(testDir + '/kapiti.geojson'), 500);
 
-      const covering = cutline.optimizeCovering({
-        projection: EpsgCode.Nztm2000,
-        bounds,
-        resZoom: 22,
-      } as SourceMetadata);
+      const covering = cutline.optimizeCovering(
+        {
+          projection: EpsgCode.Nztm2000,
+          bounds,
+          resZoom: 22,
+        } as SourceMetadata,
+        8,
+      );
 
       o(round(cutline.clipPoly, 4)).deepEquals([
         [
@@ -298,11 +305,14 @@ o.spec('cutline', () => {
         },
       ];
 
-      const covering = cutline.optimizeCovering({
-        projection: EpsgCode.Nztm2000,
-        bounds,
-        resZoom: 22,
-      } as SourceMetadata);
+      const covering = cutline.optimizeCovering(
+        {
+          projection: EpsgCode.Nztm2000,
+          bounds,
+          resZoom: 22,
+        } as SourceMetadata,
+        8,
+      );
 
       o(round(cutline.clipPoly, 4)).deepEquals([
         [
@@ -328,22 +338,28 @@ o.spec('cutline', () => {
     o('low res', () => {
       const cutline = new Cutline(GoogleTms);
 
-      const covering = cutline.optimizeCovering({
-        projection: EpsgCode.Nztm2000,
-        bounds,
-        resZoom: 13,
-      } as SourceMetadata);
+      const covering = cutline.optimizeCovering(
+        {
+          projection: EpsgCode.Nztm2000,
+          bounds,
+          resZoom: 13,
+        } as SourceMetadata,
+        9,
+      );
 
       o(covering.length).equals(covering.length);
       o(covering.map((c) => c.name)).deepEquals(['8-252-159', '8-252-160']);
     });
 
     o('hi res', () => {
-      const covering2 = new Cutline(GoogleTms).optimizeCovering({
-        projection: EpsgCode.Nztm2000,
-        bounds,
-        resZoom: 18,
-      } as SourceMetadata);
+      const covering2 = new Cutline(GoogleTms).optimizeCovering(
+        {
+          projection: EpsgCode.Nztm2000,
+          bounds,
+          resZoom: 18,
+        } as SourceMetadata,
+        8,
+      );
 
       o(covering2.length).equals(covering2.length);
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/cog/builder.ts b/packages/cli/src/cog/builder.ts
index 9039a93a2..1aad74dba 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/cog/builder.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/cog/builder.ts
@@ -188,11 +188,11 @@ export class CogBuilder {
    * @param tiffs list of source imagery to be converted
    * @returns List of Tile bounds covering tiffs
    */
-  async build(tiffs: ChunkSource[], cutline: Cutline, maxImageSize?: number): Promise<CogBuilderMetadata> {
+  async build(tiffs: ChunkSource[], cutline: Cutline, alignedLevel?: number): Promise<CogBuilderMetadata> {
     const metadata = await this.bounds(tiffs);
     // Ensure that the projection definition is loaded
     await ProjectionLoader.load(metadata.projection);
-    const files = cutline.optimizeCovering(metadata, maxImageSize);
+    const files = cutline.optimizeCovering(metadata, alignedLevel);
     let union: Bounds | null = null;
     for (const bounds of files) {
       if (union == null) union = Bounds.fromJson(bounds);
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/cog/cog.stac.job.ts b/packages/cli/src/cog/cog.stac.job.ts
index 5ad60c0dc..ed85520dd 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/cog/cog.stac.job.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/cog/cog.stac.job.ts
@@ -73,9 +73,9 @@ export interface JobCreationContext {
     projection?: Epsg;
 
     /**
-     * Override Maximum Image Pixel Size
+     * Override Default aligned zoom level
      */
-    maxImageSize?: number;
+    alignedLevel?: number;
 
     /**
      * Resampling method
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/cog/constants.ts b/packages/cli/src/cog/constants.ts
index 318eb414f..13d7449fb 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/cog/constants.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/cog/constants.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-/** Default Maximum desired image size */
-export const MaxImagePixelWidth = 256000;
+/** Default Aligned levels between resolution zoom level and cog zoom level */
+export const AlignedLevel = 6;
 
 /** When a tile has at least this much covering merge it up to parent */
 export const CoveringFraction = 0.25;
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/cog/cutline.ts b/packages/cli/src/cog/cutline.ts
index 65ee8a089..57316edb2 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/cog/cutline.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/cog/cutline.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import {
   union,
 } from '@linzjs/geojson';
 import { FeatureCollection } from 'geojson';
-import { CoveringFraction, MaxImagePixelWidth } from './constants.js';
+import { AlignedLevel, CoveringFraction } from './constants.js';
 import { CogJob, FeatureCollectionWithCrs, SourceMetadata } from './types.js';
 
 /** Padding to always apply to image boundies */
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ export class Cutline {
    * Generate an optimized WebMercator tile cover for the supplied source images
    * @param sourceMetadata contains images bounds and projection info
    */
-  optimizeCovering(sourceMetadata: SourceMetadata, maxImageSize: number = MaxImagePixelWidth): NamedBounds[] {
+  optimizeCovering(sourceMetadata: SourceMetadata, alignedLevel: number = AlignedLevel): NamedBounds[] {
     if (this.oneCogCovering) {
       const extent = this.tileMatrix.extent.toJson();
       return [{ ...extent, name: '0-0-0' }];
@@ -164,15 +164,8 @@ export class Cutline {
 
     const { resZoom } = sourceMetadata;
 
-    // Look for the biggest tile size we are allowed to create.
-    let minZ = resZoom - 1;
-    while (
-      minZ > 0 &&
-      Projection.getImagePixelWidth(this.tileMatrix, { x: 0, y: 0, z: minZ }, resZoom) < maxImageSize
-    ) {
-      --minZ;
-    }
-    minZ = Math.max(1, minZ + 1);
+    // Fix the cog Minimum Zoom by the aligned level
+    const minZ = Math.max(0, resZoom - alignedLevel);
 
     let tiles: Tile[] = [];
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/cog/job.factory.ts b/packages/cli/src/cog/job.factory.ts
index 594be4be0..49b68ccb2 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/cog/job.factory.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/cog/job.factory.ts
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ export const CogJobFactory = {
     );
 
     const builder = new CogBuilder(ctx.tileMatrix, maxConcurrency, logger, ctx.override?.projection);
-    const metadata = await builder.build(tiffSource, cutline, ctx.override?.maxImageSize);
+    const metadata = await builder.build(tiffSource, cutline, ctx.override?.alignedLevel);
 
     if (cutline.clipPoly.length === 0) {
       // no cutline needed for this imagery set