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YouTube Shorts Thumbnail Maker

A YouTube Shorts thumbnail maker that starts from the Short itself: paste its link, read the brief, and get a 9:16 cover with the words kept clear of the title and the buttons.

Plans from $12 a month for 40 thumbnails. Cancel anytime.

Already signed in? Open Create in 9:16.

Real covers from the generator

  • AI-generated Shorts cover: a blocky green monster face fills a torch-lit cave, with DON'T LOOK BACK
  • AI-generated Shorts cover: a teenager fakes sleep with one eye open as a feather creeps in, with FAKE SLEEP PRANK
  • AI-generated Shorts cover: two sisters hold up a yellow bag and a pink bag, with COLOUR CHALLENGE
  • AI-generated Shorts cover: a woman holds a frog-stand balance in cyan light, with no text

The words sit in the middle band; the last cover has none, like many Shorts covers.

What a Shorts cover needs

From the Short's link

Paste a youtube.com/shorts link and the brief is written from its title, the channel, the current thumbnail and the description: what the cover shows and the few words it says.

Composed for 9:16

A 1080 × 1920 cover, or 2160 × 3840 in 4K, the size YouTube recommends, built vertical from the start instead of cropped from a landscape image.

Clear of the Shorts overlays

The face and the words stay out of the bottom quarter, where the Shorts title and channel sit, and the right edge, where the like and comment buttons are.

The Shorts version of a thumbnail

Made a 16:9 thumbnail for the long video? One click sets up the Shorts version of the same idea, and Batch has a 9:16 tab for a week of Shorts.

Shorts thumbnail FAQ

Comparing tools first?

The best YouTube Shorts thumbnail makers are compared side by side, and the thumbnail size guide has every Shorts number.

Make a Shorts cover