YouTube Thumbnail Size and Requirements

These are the values YouTube lists on its help page for custom thumbnails. They apply to standard, horizontal videos.

The thumbnail also serves as the preview image in the embedded player, which is why YouTube asks for an image that is as large as possible.

For most channels, 1280×720 px is the sensible choice. It has the 16:9 shape YouTube wants, it is sharp on phones and laptops, and a JPG at that size stays far below the 2 MB limit, so you can upload it from any device.

Choose a larger file when your audience watches on big screens or you want the embedded player preview to stay crisp. A 1920×1080 px or 3840×2160 px file is fine, but check the file weight. Detailed images can pass 2 MB quickly, and then you can only upload them from a computer.

Never export below 1280×720 px just to save space. A small image is stretched on large screens and looks soft, and text is the first thing to suffer.

Other formats have their own shape. Use the one that matches where the content appears.

YouTube notes that a vertical video with a 16:9 custom thumbnail gets an auto-generated 4:5 thumbnail on the home, explore and subscription pages. If most of your viewers watch on a phone, plan for that crop.

YouTube places the video length in the bottom-right corner of the thumbnail in most views. Keep text and faces out of that corner or the badge will cover them. The same corner is a good place for nothing important at all.

Thumbnails also appear very small in suggested videos and on phones. Look at your design at a fraction of its size before you upload. If the headline cannot be read at that size, shorten it or make it larger.

• Keep the headline to a few words and place it away from the bottom-right corner.
• Use strong contrast between the text and the background.
• Leave a margin around the edges so nothing is trimmed on small screens.

• The file is rejected on mobile: the image is over 2 MB. Export a smaller JPG or upload from a computer, where the limit is 50 MB.
• The upload option is missing: custom thumbnails need a verified YouTube account.
• Black bars appear: the image is not 16:9. Crop or recreate it at 1280×720 px.
• The image looks blurry: it was smaller than 1280×720 px or was saved with heavy compression.
• The thumbnail is removed or rejected: it breaks the Community Guidelines, for example by showing nudity, violence or hate speech.

There is also a daily limit on custom thumbnails per channel. If you see a "Daily custom thumbnail limit reached" error, try again after 24 hours.

The YouTube Thumbnail Maker exports a 1280×720 px JPG that stays under 2 MB, so it uploads from a phone or a computer, plus a 1920×1080 px version for large screens. It keeps text and faces out of the bottom-right corner where YouTube shows the video length.

For tips on text, contrast and composition, read the guide to YouTube thumbnail best practices.