Free tool
YouTube thumbnail resizer
Drop in an image to check it against YouTube's thumbnail rules, crop or fit it to 16:9 or 9:16, and download a JPG that's under the 2 MB limit. Then see it next to your title, the way it shows up in YouTube's lists.
Loading the sample…
Drop or paste an image (Ctrl+V or ⌘V), or choose one.
The classic size: sharp everywhere, and small
Uploading from a phone
How it could look on YouTube (our drawing; YouTube cuts long titles at different points on each screen)
Your image never leaves this device: your browser resizes and compresses it, and nothing is uploaded.
How to resize a YouTube thumbnail
- 1
Add your image
Drop, paste or choose a picture or a screenshot. The checks show at once whether it's the right shape, size and format.
- 2
Crop or fit it
Pick Video (16:9) or Short (9:16) and a size. Crop to fill and slide to keep the part that matters, or fit it with blurred edges.
- 3
Preview it with your title
Type the title, channel and length to see the thumbnail on home, search and up-next style cards, with a counter for the 100-character limit.
- 4
Download and upload
Download the JPG, already under 2 MB, and upload it in YouTube Studio or the YouTube app.
YouTube thumbnail size
YouTube's thumbnail rules at a glance
From YouTube's help center. Custom thumbnails need a verified account, and Shorts thumbnails can only be added in YouTube Studio on a computer.
| Videos | Shorts | |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | 16:9 | 9:16 |
| Recommended size | 3840 × 2160 (or as large as you can) | 2160 × 3840 |
| Common sizes | 1280 × 720, 1920 × 1080 | 720 × 1280, 1080 × 1920 |
| Minimum | 640 px wide | 640 px tall |
| Format | JPG or PNG | JPG or PNG |
| File size | 2 MB from a phone, 50 MB from a computer | 50 MB (computer only) |
| Title | Up to 100 characters | Up to 100 characters |
Tips for thumbnails that get clicked
Most people see your thumbnail at the size of a stamp. These habits make it work there.
Three or four words, big
Thumbnails are mostly seen small. A few large words you can read on a phone beat a sentence nobody can.
Keep the corners clear
YouTube puts the video's length in the bottom-right corner. Keep faces, words and logos away from it.
Show the result, not the menu
For a software tutorial, the finished thing (the report, the chart, the published page) says more than a settings screen.
Polish the screenshot first
A screenshot on a clean background with a window frame reads better at thumbnail size. The browser mockup generator does it in your browser; then bring the result back here.
From app to video
Making software tutorials? Let SayScreen make them
SayScreen makes narrated tutorials of your web app from a short prompt. The AI drives a real browser, writes and voices the narration, and edits in zooms, a gliding cursor and captions.
For YouTube, every finished video gets three title options, a description with hashtags and a thumbnail made from the video, which you can edit and download.
Frequently asked questions
16:9, at least 640 pixels wide. 1280×720 is the long-standing standard and looks sharp everywhere; YouTube now recommends going as large as you can, up to 3840×2160. For Shorts, use 9:16, at least 640 pixels tall, such as 1080×1920.
2 MB when you upload from the YouTube app on a phone, and 50 MB from a computer. Keep it under 2 MB and it works from anywhere. A 1280×720 JPG is usually a few hundred KB; this tool lowers the JPG quality step by step until the file fits the limit you pick.
Both work on YouTube. JPG files are much smaller, which matters for the 2 MB limit, and look the same for photos and screenshots. PNG keeps flat colors and small text perfectly crisp but can run several MB at 1920×1080 or larger.
Crop it or fit it, never stretch it. Crop to fill trims the edges that don't fit, and the slider picks what stays: left, center or right (or top to bottom). Fit, blurred edges keeps the whole image and fills the gaps with a blurred copy of it.
YouTube mostly shows thumbnails small, especially in the up-next list and on phones. It also draws the video's length over the bottom-right corner, and for a vertical video with a 16:9 thumbnail, it shows an automatic 4:5 one on the home, explore and subscription pages. Keep the words big and the important part away from the corners.
Up to 100 characters. Lists usually show about two lines and cut the rest, and where they cut depends on the screen, so put the words that matter first. The preview here shows two lines; treat it as a guide, not YouTube's exact layout.
Uploading your own thumbnail needs a verified YouTube account; otherwise you pick from the ones YouTube suggests. Custom thumbnails for Shorts can only be added in YouTube Studio on a computer, so the 50 MB limit applies to them.
No. Your browser crops, resizes and compresses it with its own canvas, and the download is made on your device. Nothing leaves the page.
Something missing or not working? hey@sayscreen.com
Skip the recording. Describe the lesson instead.
Point SayScreen at your app, say what to teach, and get a narrated, edited video back.
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