YouTube thumbnail size: 1280 × 720
YouTube asks for 1280 × 720 pixels, a 16:9 shape, at least 640 px wide and under 2 MB. This cropper exports exactly that and keeps the file under the limit automatically.
Showing a sample photo. Choose your own to start.
Write alt text & a caption for this crop
YouTube image sizes
| Use | Size | Ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video thumbnail | 1280 × 720 | 16:9 | Min. 640 px wide; JPG, PNG or GIF; max 2 MB. |
| Channel banner | 2560 × 1440 | 16:9 | Min. 2048 × 1152; safe area 1546 × 423; max 6 MB. |
| Profile picture | 800 × 800 | 1:1 (circle) | Shown as small as 98 × 98. |
Source: YouTube Help: “Add video thumbnails” and “Manage your channel branding”. Platforms change sizes without notice, so check if something looks off.
How to do it
- Choose a still, a screenshot or a photo.
- Keep the YouTube thumbnail preset selected (1280 × 720).
- Drag the frame so faces and text avoid the bottom-right corner, where the video length appears.
- Download. Large files are recompressed until they are under 2 MB.
What makes a thumbnail readable
Thumbnails are mostly seen at around 360 px wide on phones and even smaller in the sidebar. Crop tighter than feels natural: one face, one object, and room for three or four big words. Anything that sits in the bottom-right corner competes with the duration stamp.
Upload at 1280 × 720 even if your source is 4K. YouTube stores smaller copies from it; starting at the right shape means none of your framing is lost.
Questions
What size should a YouTube thumbnail be?
1280 × 720 pixels (16:9), at least 640 px wide, under 2 MB, as JPG, PNG or GIF.
Why is my thumbnail upload failing?
Usually the file is over 2 MB. Download it from here and it will be compressed below the limit, or switch the format to JPG.
Can I use a vertical image as a thumbnail?
Normal videos show thumbnails at 16:9, so a vertical image gets black bars. Crop the part you want to 16:9 instead. Shorts use a frame from the video in the Shorts feed.