What size should a YouTube thumbnail be?

YouTube thumbnails should be 1280 × 720 pixels (16:9), at least 640 pixels wide, in JPG, PNG or GIF. Under 2 MB is the long-standing limit and works everywhere, so this page applies both the size and the 2 MB cap in one pass.

How do I get exactly 1280 × 720 without stretching my photo?

Crop first, then resize. Open the crop editor, set a custom ratio of 16 : 9, position your subject and apply — the resize then lands on exactly 1280 × 720 with no distortion. With the aspect lock on and no crop, the photo is fitted inside 1280 × 720 instead, which keeps its proportions but won't fill the frame.

What if my thumbnail is over 2 MB?

That's what the size cap is for — it's already switched on at 2 MB here. The tool lowers quality only as far as it must to fit, and shrinks the dimensions only if quality alone can't get there.

Is my image uploaded to a server?

No. The whole process runs in your browser using the Canvas API, off the main thread in a Web Worker. The file never leaves your device, so there is nothing for us to see, store or delete.

Resize Image for YouTube thumbnail (1280×720) — Free

The thumbnail is the first impression

A YouTube thumbnail is 1280 × 720 pixels, a 16:9 shape, with a limit of 2 MB. It is the picture that decides whether someone clicks, and it is displayed everywhere from a full-width card on a TV to a tiny square on a phone. A thumbnail has to read at a very small size, which shapes how you design it.

Preparing one

Drop your image on this page. The 1280 × 720 size is already selected and the 2 MB limit is applied.
Crop to 16:9, placing your subject and any text inside the frame.
Download it and upload as the video’s custom thumbnail.

What works at thumbnail size

One clear subject. A face with an expression, or one strong object, reads better than a crowded scene.
Big, short text. Three or four words at most. Small type disappears on a phone.
High contrast. The thumbnail sits next to others, so it should stand out from them.
Keep the corner free. The video’s duration is shown over the bottom-right corner, so do not put anything important there.
Test it small. Shrink the image to about the size of a postage stamp and check that it is still clear.

Staying under 2 MB

A 1280 × 720 image is rarely over 2 MB as a JPG, but a PNG with lots of detail can be. If the upload is refused, convert it to JPG or compress it to a target size. See compress to 500 KB for a size that is comfortably small.

For a channel banner, see YouTube channel banner. The YouTube thumbnail and banner guide covers the details of both.