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YouTube thumbnail resizer
Ready to upload.

Crop or fit any image to 16:9, then download a JPG or PNG that fits YouTube's upload limit.

16:93840 × 2160 recommended, 640 px minimum widthJPG or PNGUp to 2 MB from the mobile app, 50 MB from a computerFull size guide

Drop an image here

JPG, PNG or WebP · any size · or paste with Ctrl/Cmd + V

Your image never leaves your device. Everything happens in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.

How to

Resize an image for YouTube in three steps.

01

Add your image

Drop in a JPG, PNG or WebP, choose a file, or paste one from your clipboard. Any size works. It opens in your browser and is not uploaded anywhere.

02

Crop it, or fit it on a background

Crop lets you drag and zoom to pick the 16:9 part you want. Fit keeps the whole image and fills the rest with a blurred copy or a solid colour.

03

Choose size and format, then download

Pick 1280 × 720 or larger, JPG or PNG. The tool shows the final file size and keeps it under the limit you set. Check the previews, then download.

Why 1280 × 720

The size most creators still export.

A YouTube thumbnail is a 16:9 image. 1280 × 720 pixels is 16:9, it is well above the 640 px minimum width YouTube asks for, and the file stays small.

YouTube's own help page now recommends the largest size you can make, which is 3840 × 2160 pixels for videos. Bigger images make bigger files, and there is a cap: thumbnails uploaded from the mobile app can be up to 2 MB, and from a computer up to 50 MB. A large photo saved at 3840 × 2160 can pass 2 MB. At 1280 × 720 it usually does not. That is why 1280 × 720 is the default here, and why 1920 × 1080 and 3840 × 2160 are one click away if you upload from a computer and want the most detail.

Whatever size you pick, viewers see the thumbnail small. The previews under the tool show yours at a few of the sizes YouTube uses, so you can tell whether the text still reads.

For every size, including Shorts, see the YouTube thumbnail size guide.

Numbers checked against YouTube Help in September 2026.

Questions

YouTube thumbnail resizer, answered.

What size should a YouTube thumbnail be?
A YouTube thumbnail should be 16:9. YouTube Help currently recommends 3840 × 2160 pixels for videos, with a minimum width of 640 pixels. 1280 × 720 pixels is the long-standing standard: it is 16:9, sharp on every screen, and produces a small file. This tool exports 1280 × 720, 1920 × 1080 or 3840 × 2160.
See the full size guide
How do I resize an image to 1280×720 without stretching it?
Stretching happens when the image is not 16:9 and gets forced into a 16:9 frame. Avoid it in one of two ways. Crop: drag and zoom the frame to choose which 16:9 part of the image to keep. Fit: keep the whole image, and fill the empty space beside or above it with a blurred copy of the image or a solid colour. Both keep your image at its true proportions.
How do I keep my thumbnail under 2 MB?
YouTube Help lists 2 MB as the limit for video thumbnails uploaded from the mobile app, and 50 MB from a computer. Choose the limit you need under Size limit, and export as JPG. If the file is too large, the tool lowers the JPG quality step by step until it fits, and shows you the final size in KB. If a PNG is too large, switch to JPG or pick a smaller size.
Is this tool free, and does it upload my image?
It is free, needs no account and adds no watermark. Your image is never uploaded. The cropping, resizing and compression all run inside your browser on your own device, so the file stays with you.
Should I export a JPG or a PNG?
YouTube Help lists JPG and PNG as accepted formats. JPG makes smaller files and suits photos. PNG is lossless, so it keeps the edges of text and flat graphics perfectly crisp, but the file is larger and is more likely to go over the size limit. If you are unsure, start with JPG at the default quality.
Can I use it for YouTube Shorts thumbnails?
This tool makes 16:9 thumbnails, which is the shape YouTube recommends for regular videos. For Shorts, YouTube Help recommends a 9:16 thumbnail at 2160 × 3840 pixels, so a 16:9 export is not the right shape for a Short. The size guide explains both.
See the full size guide

Want a better thumbnail, not just a resized one?

Resizing fixes the shape. It does not decide whether people click. The only real test is how a thumbnail performs on YouTube. Base.Tube's Studio makes new thumbnails in your channel's style, and the free channel audit shows real impressions and click-through rate once you connect your channel.

Make thumbnails in Studio →Run the free channel audit