Formats & Specs
16:9 Aspect Ratio
16:9 is a frame 16 units wide for every 9 tall, about 1.78 to 1. It is the shape of a YouTube video and of its thumbnail.
By Aymane Senhaji · checked against YouTube's own help pages ·
What is the 16:9 aspect ratio?
16:9 is an aspect ratio: for every 16 units of width, the frame is 9 units tall. As a single number that is about 1.78 to 1. It is the shape of almost every video made for a screen, of YouTube's player, and of a YouTube video thumbnail. YouTube's help asks for thumbnails at 16:9 and recommends 3840 × 2160 pixels, with a minimum width of 640.
How to calculate a 16:9 size
The ratio fixes the shape, not the size. Any width works as long as the height follows it:
height = width × 9 ÷ 16
A worked example: an image 1280 pixels wide must be 720 pixels tall to be 16:9, because 1280 × 9 ÷ 16 = 720.
Common 16:9 sizes
| Size | Name | For a YouTube thumbnail |
|---|---|---|
| 3840 × 2160 | 4K | The size YouTube now recommends |
| 1920 × 1080 | Full HD | Accepted |
| 1280 × 720 | HD | Accepted, the long-standing default |
| 640 × 360 | The minimum width YouTube allows |
The file limits are separate from the shape: under 2 MB when uploading from the phone app, 10 MB for podcasts, and under 50 MB from a desktop browser, in JPG or PNG.
16:9 vs 9:16
| 16:9 | 9:16 | |
|---|---|---|
| Orientation | Landscape | Portrait |
| Ratio | About 1.78 to 1 | About 0.56 to 1 |
| On YouTube | Videos and their thumbnails | Shorts and their thumbnails |
| Recommended thumbnail | 3840 × 2160 | 2160 × 3840 |
Why 16:9 matters for thumbnails
A thumbnail designed at another shape and cropped to 16:9 afterwards loses whatever sat at the edges, and that is usually the text. The most common sizing mistake is not the wrong number, it is designing at one shape and cropping to another after the fact.
Start the canvas at 16:9, keep the subject away from the bottom-right corner where the duration badge goes, and export at 3840 × 2160 when the source image allows it.
Questions about 16:9 Aspect Ratio
Is 1280 × 720 still fine for a YouTube thumbnail?
Yes. It is 16:9 and above the 640-pixel minimum width, so YouTube accepts it. YouTube now recommends 3840 × 2160, the same shape at three times the width, which keeps more detail when the image is shown large.
What happens if my thumbnail is not 16:9?
It gets fitted into a 16:9 frame, and the part you cared about can end up cropped. Make the image 16:9 before upload rather than relying on how YouTube fits it.
How do I get the height of a 16:9 image?
Multiply the width by 9 and divide by 16. A 1920-pixel-wide image is 1080 pixels tall; a 3840-pixel-wide one is 2160.
Sources
Make the thumbnail
Paste your video's link: the brief is written for you, the text is read back and the image is checked at feed size. 60 free credits, no card.