Formats & Specs
9:16 Aspect Ratio
9:16 is a vertical frame 9 units wide for every 16 tall, about 0.56 to 1. It is the shape of YouTube Shorts and of their thumbnails.
By Aymane Senhaji · checked against YouTube's own help pages ·
What is the 9:16 aspect ratio?
9:16 is a vertical aspect ratio: for every 9 units of width, the frame is 16 units tall, about 0.56 to 1. It is 16:9 turned on its side, the shape of a phone held upright, of YouTube Shorts and of a Shorts thumbnail. YouTube's help asks for Shorts thumbnails at 9:16 and recommends 2160 × 3840 pixels, with a minimum height of 640.
How to calculate a 9:16 size
In a vertical frame it is easier to start from the height:
width = height × 9 ÷ 16
A worked example: a frame 1920 pixels tall must be 1080 pixels wide, because 1920 × 9 ÷ 16 = 1080.
Common 9:16 sizes
| Size | For a Shorts thumbnail |
|---|---|
| 2160 × 3840 | The size YouTube recommends |
| 1080 × 1920 | Common, the Full HD vertical frame |
| 720 × 1280 | Common for phone-shot video |
| 360 × 640 | The minimum height YouTube allows |
The file rules follow the video ones: JPG or PNG, and under 50 MB from a desktop browser, with a smaller limit for uploads from the phone app.
9:16 vs 16:9
| 9:16 | 16:9 | |
|---|---|---|
| Orientation | Portrait | Landscape |
| On YouTube | Shorts | Videos |
| Where the subject goes | Centre and upper middle | Centre or left, away from the bottom-right corner |
| Recommended thumbnail | 2160 × 3840 | 3840 × 2160 |
Why 9:16 matters for thumbnails
A Short and a video are different shapes, so they need different thumbnails, not one image cropped twice. A landscape thumbnail squeezed into a vertical frame loses its sides, and a vertical one placed in a landscape frame leaves most of it empty.
Compose the Shorts thumbnail vertical from the start: one subject filling the upper middle, large text if any, nothing important at the very edges.
Questions about 9:16 Aspect Ratio
What size should a YouTube Shorts thumbnail be?
YouTube's help recommends 2160 × 3840 pixels for Shorts, in 9:16, with a minimum height of 640 pixels. 1080 × 1920 is the same shape at half the size.
Can I use a 16:9 thumbnail for a Short?
YouTube asks for 9:16 on Shorts. A landscape image does not fill a vertical frame, so make the Shorts version vertical rather than reusing the video one.
Is 9:16 the same as 16:9 turned sideways?
Yes, the same proportions rotated a quarter turn. The numbers swap: 1920 × 1080 in 16:9 becomes 1080 × 1920 in 9:16.
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.