What This Tool Does
This tool resizes images for YouTube video and Shorts thumbnails, channel banners, profile pictures, and community post images. The thumbnail, Shorts and banner presets use the sizes on YouTube's help pages.
YouTube displays thumbnails at various sizes across devices, search results, and suggested video panels. A thumbnail that looks good at full size can be hard to read when it is small, so check it at both sizes.
When to Use This Tool
- Creating a custom thumbnail for a YouTube video.
- Updating your channel banner or profile picture.
- Preparing images for YouTube community posts.
- Resizing graphics for YouTube end screens.
- Formatting images for YouTube ad campaigns.
How to Use This Tool
- Upload your image to the tool.
- Select a YouTube preset such as Thumbnail, Channel Banner, or Profile.
- Choose your preferred resize mode.
- Preview the image at the target dimensions.
- Download and upload to YouTube.
Best Practices for Images
- YouTube's help page recommends 3840×2160 for video thumbnails and 2160×3840 for Shorts. 1280×720 is a smaller option that is still 16:9 and above the 640 pixel minimum.
- Channel banners are displayed at different sizes on TV, desktop, and mobile. Keep text and logos inside the safe area, which YouTube gives as 1235×338 at the 2048×1152 minimum.
- Thumbnails appear very small in suggested video lists, so test readability at small sizes.
- Use consistent branding (colors, fonts, layout) across all thumbnails to build channel recognition.
- Avoid cluttering thumbnails with too much text. A few words are easier to read at small sizes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What size should a YouTube thumbnail be?
YouTube's help page recommends 3840×2160 pixels (16:9) for videos, with a minimum width of 640 pixels. Uploads are limited to 2 MB from a phone and 50 MB from a computer.
Why does my channel banner look different on mobile?
YouTube uses the same banner on TV, computers and phones but crops it differently on each. Its help page gives a safe area for text and logos of 1235×338 pixels at the 2048×1152 minimum size.
What is the maximum thumbnail file size?
YouTube's help page lists 2 MB for video thumbnails uploaded on mobile (10 MB for podcasts) and 50 MB on desktop. A 3840×2160 JPG can pass 2 MB, so check the size before uploading from a phone.
Can I use this for YouTube Shorts?
Yes. The Shorts Thumbnail preset uses 2160×3840 (9:16), the size YouTube's help page recommends.
Is this tool free?
Yes, completely free with no account required.