Resize Image for YouTube Thumbnail
YouTube recommends thumbnails of 1,280 x 720 pixels (a 16:9 shape) with a width of at least 640 pixels. JPG, PNG and GIF are accepted. Large photos are scaled down on upload, and a file that is too heavy is rejected, so a thumbnail of the right size and weight uploads quickly and looks sharp on every screen.
Sizes at a glance
| Size | Pixels | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Thumbnail | 1,280 x 720 | 16:9, minimum width 640 |
| Full HD thumbnail | 1,920 x 1,080 | 16:9 |
| Channel banner | 2,560 x 1,440 | Keep key content in the central safe area |
| Channel picture | 800 x 800 | Shown as a circle |
How to use this page
- Add your photo.
- Choose a size in the Preset size list. The width, height and unit are filled in.
- Look at the result. If the crop cuts something you need, change Aspect ratio to Fit with padding.
- Download the file.
Tips
- Make faces and text large. Thumbnails are shown very small in lists and on phones.
- Keep important parts away from the bottom right corner, where the video length is drawn.
- Check the current file size limit in YouTube Studio. It has changed over time. If the file is too large, compress it: compress to 2 MB.
- A 16:9 crop of a vertical photo cuts a lot. Consider padding with a colour that matches your brand instead.
Other sizes and purposes
Purposes: Passport photo, Visa photo, Instagram, WhatsApp, Ecommerce. File sizes: 100 KB, 200 KB, 500 KB. See also the guide to resizing images.