YouTube thumbnail size guide
YouTube's thumbnail requirements are unusually explicit, which makes them easy to get right: 1280 × 720, 16:9, under 2 MB.
Last reviewed 2026-01-15
| Image type | Recommended size | Aspect ratio | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube thumbnail | 1280 × 720 px | 16:9 | jpg |
| YouTube channel banner | 2560 × 1440 px | 16:9 | jpg |
The requirements
Resolution 1280 × 720 with a minimum width of 640 px, aspect ratio 16:9, formats JPG, GIF or PNG, and a maximum file size of 2 MB.
Design for the smallest placement
Thumbnails appear at wildly different sizes — a full-width mobile card, a narrow sidebar suggestion, a tiny end-screen tile. Test your design at around 200 px wide; if the subject is unreadable there, simplify it.
Getting under 2 MB
A 1280 × 720 JPG at quality 0.85 is typically a few hundred kilobytes, so exceeding 2 MB usually means the file is a PNG or was exported at a much larger resolution. Resize to exactly 1280 × 720 and export JPG.
Related tools
- YouTube thumbnail resizerResize and compress images into 1280 × 720 YouTube thumbnails under the 2 MB limit. Free and browser-based.
- Compress an imageShrink JPG, PNG and WebP files in your browser. Adjust quality, see the estimated size before you download.
- Crop an image to any aspect ratioCrop photos to 1:1, 4:5, 16:9 or any custom ratio right in the browser. Drag to reposition, zoom, and download.
Related guides
Sources
- YouTube Help — add video thumbnails