Resize any image to the YouTube thumbnail size: 1280 × 720, or 4K at 3840 × 2160. Get the file under 2 MB, check how it looks small, and save it as JPG or PNG. You can also make Shorts, square and custom sizes. It's free, and your image never leaves your browser.
A YouTube thumbnail should be 1280 × 720 pixels (16:9) as a JPG or PNG under 2 MB, which uploads from any device. YouTube Help now recommends 3840 × 2160 (4K) for computer uploads, with files up to 50 MB and a minimum width of 640 pixels. This free tool resizes any image to either size in your browser, keeps the file small and also makes custom sizes for Shorts, square posts and banners.
Last updated November 2026. Source: YouTube Help, Add video thumbnails.
These are the sizes people ask about most. The tool above can make every one of them: keep the YouTube 1280×720 option for the standard size, or choose Custom size for the rest.
| Use | Size (px) | Ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard thumbnail | 1280 × 720 | 16:9 | Works everywhere. Under 2 MB, so it uploads from a phone too. |
| 4K thumbnail | 3840 × 2160 | 16:9 | The size YouTube Help recommends now. Computer uploads can be up to 50 MB; phone uploads stay at 2 MB. |
| Shorts (vertical) | 2160 × 3840 | 9:16 | YouTube Help lists this size for vertical thumbnails. Smaller 9:16 sizes such as 1080 × 1920 also work. |
| Channel banner | 2560 × 1440 | 16:9 | Minimum 2048 × 1152. Keep text and logos inside the central safe area of about 1546 × 423 px. File up to 6 MB. |
| Profile picture | 800 × 800 | 1:1 | YouTube shows it as a circle, so keep the subject centred with room around the edges. |
For every thumbnail: minimum width 640 pixels, JPG or PNG file. YouTube changes these numbers now and then, so confirm them on YouTube Help when it matters.
Photos and busy graphics can easily pass 2 MB at full size. Saving as JPG is the fix, because JPG can trade a little quality for a much smaller file. The tool does this for you. It starts at high quality and lowers it step by step until the file fits, so you keep as much detail as possible. The result panel shows the final size and the quality it used. A PNG keeps every pixel but can't be shrunk like this, so use JPG when a PNG comes out too large.
Both are 16:9, so nothing is cropped when you switch. 1280 × 720 gives a small file that uploads from any device, which makes it the safe choice. 3840 × 2160 holds more detail and looks crisper on large screens and TVs, but the file is bigger, and uploads from a phone are still capped at 2 MB. If you upload from a computer and care about sharpness, choose Custom size and tap YouTube 4K thumbnail. If you ever need it smaller, tick the size limit box and enter 2000 KB.
A phone photo is often 4:3, and a screenshot can be almost any shape. To fill a 16:9 frame you have to lose something. Cropping trims the edges and keeps the picture natural. Bars keep every pixel of the original but leave empty bands on the sides or top and bottom. Stretching fills the frame without losing anything, but faces and text get squashed, so use it rarely.
For YouTube, use JPG or PNG, since those are the types it lists. JPG gives the smallest files and is right for photos. PNG stays perfectly sharp, which suits flat graphics and text, but the files are larger. WebP and BMP are under More formats for other uses, such as a website image, and are not meant for YouTube uploads.
Most viewers see your thumbnail as a small image in search results, a sidebar or a phone feed. Text that looks fine at full size can turn to mush there. The previews under your result show the thumbnail at a few smaller sizes. YouTube also puts the video length in the bottom-right corner, so the badge toggle helps you keep important text out of that spot.
The same tool works as a free image resizer. Choose Custom size, type the width and height in pixels, and download. Your photo stays on your device the whole time. People use it to:
What it doesn't do yet: resize by percentage, use centimetres or inches, or process many images at once.
Choose Custom size to enter any width and height from 16 to 4000 pixels, or tap a ready-made shape: Shorts, Reels and TikTok vertical, square and portrait posts, Facebook and LinkedIn link previews, a YouTube channel banner or a profile picture. Each card previews your own image in that shape before you download.
To save a video's thumbnail in HD first, paste its link into the YouTube Thumbnail Downloader, then bring the file here if you need to resize it.
The classic size is 1280 × 720 pixels at 16:9, and it still works everywhere. YouTube Help now recommends 3840 × 2160 (4K) at the same 16:9 ratio. The minimum width is 640 pixels, and the file must be a JPG or PNG. Pick 1280 × 720 for safe, small files or 4K for the sharpest result on big screens.
Uploads from a phone are limited to 2 MB, and uploads from a computer can be larger (up to 50 MB according to YouTube Help). Keeping the file under 2 MB works on every device, which is why this tool defaults to that.
Resize it to 1280 × 720 and save it as a JPG. This tool lowers the JPG quality step by step until the file fits, and it shows you the final size. A PNG cannot be shrunk that way, so switch to JPG if a PNG is too big.
Drop your image into the tool and keep the YouTube 1280×720 option selected. Choose Crop to fill, Fit with bars or Stretch if the picture isn't 16:9, then download the result.
The usual causes are a file over the limit for your device, a picture narrower than 640 pixels, or a file type other than JPG or PNG. Resizing to 1280 × 720 and saving a JPG under 2 MB clears up almost all of these.
Shorts are vertical at 9:16. YouTube Help lists 2160 × 3840 as the recommended size, and 1080 × 1920 is a common smaller size. Choose Custom size here and tap a Shorts option to make either one. What you can set for Shorts inside YouTube Studio can change, so check there too.
No. The resizing happens in your browser on your own device, and the picture isn't sent to our server. That makes it fine for thumbnails of videos you haven't published yet.
Crop to fill is the best choice for photos, especially with faces, because nothing gets stretched. Choose Fit with bars when you can't lose any part of the image, and use Stretch only when a small distortion doesn't matter.
Making an image smaller keeps it sharp. Making a small image bigger can make it look soft, because the tool has to invent pixels. If your image is narrower than the output size, the tool tells you so.
Yes to both. It runs in any modern mobile browser, there is no sign-up and no watermark. Some iPhone HEIC photos won't open in every browser, so convert those to JPG first.
Yes. Choose Custom size, type any width and height from 16 to 4000 pixels, and download a JPG, PNG, WebP or BMP. You can crop, add bars or stretch, and set a file-size limit for JPG and WebP. It works for website images, social posts, store photos and forms that ask for a certain size.
Choose Custom size, tick Keep the file under a size limit, enter the number of KB (for example 100), and pick JPG or WebP. The tool lowers the quality until the file fits. If a very large photo still won't fit, make its width and height smaller as well, because fewer pixels means a smaller file.
2560 × 1440 pixels, with a minimum of 2048 × 1152 and a file size up to 6 MB. Only the middle part (about 1546 × 423 pixels) is visible on every device, so keep text and logos inside it.
YouTube shows different parts of the banner on phones, tablets, computers and TVs. Anything outside the central safe area of about 1546 × 423 pixels can be cropped. Resize to 2560 × 1440 and keep important content in the middle.
800 × 800 pixels is the recommended size. YouTube displays it as a circle, so keep the face or logo in the centre. Pick the 800 × 800 profile picture card under Custom size.
Yes. YouTube asks you to verify your account (usually with a phone number) before you can upload custom thumbnails. You can do it in YouTube Studio.
Not at the moment. The tool handles one image at a time. Drop in the next image when you finish the first.
YouTube scales thumbnails down for different screens, but it doesn't fix the shape for you. A picture that isn't 16:9 can end up cropped or surrounded by bars, so it is better to fit it yourself before uploading.
Yes. Save it with the YouTube Thumbnail Downloader, then drop the file here. Keep in mind that other people's thumbnails belong to their creators, so ask before reusing one.
