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YouTube thumbnail size: 1280×720

YouTube requires thumbnails at 1280×720 pixels, a 16:9 ratio, saved under 2MB — anything bigger gets rejected at upload. This YouTube thumbnail size resizer fits any photo to exactly 1280×720 and compresses it under that 2MB cap automatically, all inside your browser.

  • No upload — files stay on your device
  • Works offline once loaded
  • Free forever, no signup, no watermark

Target for this placement: {{ width }}×{{ height }} px ({{ label }})

Drop a photo here, or tap to choose JPG, PNG or WebP — nothing is uploaded
Fit mode
Output format
Padding
Quality
Rendering {{ width }}×{{ height }}…
Live preview
  • Original {{ sourceSizeLabel }}
  • Output size {{ resultSizeLabel }}
  • Output pixels {{ width }}×{{ height }}

Under the {{ maxKbLabel }} limit for this placement.

Quality was lowered automatically to fit the size limit.

{{ hint }}

How to use this tool

  1. Drop your photo

    Add any JPG, PNG or WebP photo — drag it onto the box or tap it to choose one from your device.

  2. Pick a fit mode

    Choose Cover to crop and fill the frame, or Contain to keep the whole photo and pad the edges with a colour or a blurred copy of the image.

  3. Download the exact size

    Check the live preview and file size, then download — the image is already the exact pixel size this placement needs.

Questions people ask

What is the exact YouTube thumbnail size?

1280×720 pixels at a 16:9 aspect ratio is the size YouTube recommends and displays at. YouTube accepts a minimum width of 640 pixels, but anything smaller than 1280×720 gets upscaled by YouTube and looks soft.

Why does YouTube reject my thumbnail upload?

The two common reasons are the file being over the 2MB limit and the channel not yet being phone-verified — custom thumbnails only unlock after phone verification in YouTube Studio. This tool handles the size limit; verification happens in your account settings.

Does YouTube crop my thumbnail?

YouTube shows thumbnails at slightly different crops across search results, suggested videos and the mobile app, all close to 16:9. Keeping your subject and any text out of the outer 5-10% of the frame stops it getting clipped in any of those placements.

Is my photo uploaded anywhere?

No. Resizing happens entirely inside your browser using the Canvas API — this site has no upload endpoint, and the tool keeps working if you disconnect from the internet after the page loads.

What is the difference between Cover and Contain?

Cover scales your photo up until it completely fills the target frame and crops away whatever does not fit, so the result is nothing but photo, no padding. Contain scales the photo down until the whole thing is visible, then pads the leftover space with a colour or a blurred, zoomed-in copy of the same photo so it still looks intentional.

Do social media image sizes change over time?

Yes — platforms adjust these specs every year or two without much notice. The dimensions on this page were last verified in August 2026; if a placement changes after that, the pixel size and any file-size limit shown above may be out of date, so it is worth a quick check against the platform's current help page before a high-stakes upload.

Related tools

Free because it costs us nothing to run: your browser does the work, not our servers. Made by Dynamb Technologies — we build software for businesses.