YouTube Thumbnail Resizer
Turn any image into a YouTube thumbnail. Drop it in and get it back at 1280 × 720, at 4K, or as a 1080 × 1920 Shorts cover. It also tells you what YouTube will object to before you upload: too narrow, wrong shape, too heavy for the phone app.
Drop an image here
It never leaves your browser: the resizing happens on your own device, and nothing is uploaded.
Already know the numbers you need? The full breakdown of YouTube thumbnail sizes covers standard, 4K, Shorts and the file-size limits.
What size and file limits does YouTube accept?
| What | Value |
|---|---|
| Recommended size, videos | 3840 × 2160 pixels (16:9) |
| Minimum width, videos | 640 pixels |
| Still accepted | 1280 × 720 pixels (16:9) |
| Recommended size, Shorts | 2160 × 3840 pixels (9:16) |
| Minimum height, Shorts | 640 pixels |
| File limit — mobile app | 2 MB for a video, 10 MB for a podcast |
| File limit — desktop | 50 MB (video, Shorts and podcast) |
| Formats | JPG or PNG |
Sourced from YouTube's own custom thumbnails help page. The reasoning behind each number is in our breakdown of YouTube thumbnail sizes.
Questions about resizing YouTube thumbnails
What size should a YouTube thumbnail be?
3840 × 2160 pixels in 16:9, with a minimum width of 640 pixels: that is YouTube's Help page as of October 2026. For years the recommendation was 1280 × 720, and that size is still accepted; it is the same shape at twice the minimum. Bigger is better because YouTube shrinks the same image for search results, suggested videos, the mobile feed and TV screens, and a large source keeps more of its detail. The file must be a JPG or PNG under 2 MB if you upload from the phone app (10 MB for a podcast), or under 50 MB from a desktop browser. Keep the shape exact: an image that is not 16:9 is cropped to fit, and the part you cared about can end up outside the frame. Shorts take the same rules turned upright, 2160 × 3840 in 9:16. This tool exports 1280 × 720, 3840 × 2160 and the Shorts cover, and checks the limits before you download.
Why is my thumbnail rejected or blurry after uploading?
Three causes, in the order you should check them. The file is over the limit for where you uploaded from: 2 MB from the mobile app (10 MB for a podcast thumbnail from the app), 50 MB from desktop for videos, Shorts and podcasts alike. The image is under 640 pixels wide, so YouTube has to enlarge it. Or the shape is not 16:9, so YouTube crops it and the part you cared about ends up outside the frame. This tool checks all three against your file before you upload, and keeps its exports under 2 MB so the phone app accepts them too.
What size is a YouTube Shorts thumbnail?
YouTube recommends 2160 × 3840 pixels, vertical 9:16, with a minimum height of 640 pixels, and custom Shorts thumbnails can only be added in YouTube Studio on a computer. This tool's Shorts output is 1080 × 1920: the same 9:16 shape, well above the minimum. It is a different frame entirely, not a crop of a landscape thumbnail. Taking a 1280 × 720 image and cutting it to vertical throws away two thirds of the width, which is usually where the subject and any text were. Choose the Shorts output above to work from your original image instead, and use "Fit whole image" if you would rather pad the sides than lose them.
Can I use a 1920 × 1080 image as a YouTube thumbnail?
Yes. 1920 × 1080 is 16:9, the shape YouTube wants, and it sits between the 1280 × 720 that is still accepted and the 3840 × 2160 YouTube now recommends, so it is uploaded as is and shrunk for the feed. The only check that matters is the file size: a 1920 × 1080 JPG is usually under 2 MB, a PNG of a photo often is not, and 2 MB is the limit from the phone app. This tool keeps the shape and exports at 1280 × 720 or 3840 × 2160, under 2 MB as JPG.
Does my image get uploaded anywhere?
No. The resizing happens in your browser, on your own device, using the canvas your browser already has. The file is never sent to our servers, there is no account, no sign-up and no queue — and it keeps working if you go offline after the page has loaded.
Should I export as JPG or PNG?
JPG for photographs and anything with a face, which is most thumbnails: it is far smaller at the same visible quality, and staying under the 2 MB mobile ceiling matters more than the difference you cannot see. PNG for flat colour, sharp text or screenshots, where JPG compression shows around hard edges. YouTube's Help page names both.
Resized it? See how it reads at 168 pixels in the free thumbnail tester before uploading. Need to add text to it as well? The free thumbnail text editor does that in the browser too, or pull an existing video's thumbnail to see how another channel handled the same subject.