How to resize images for YouTube
Thumbnails: 1280 × 720, under 2 MB. Banners: 2560 × 1440 with a safe area in the middle.
Updated September 1, 2026
YouTube has two image sizes that matter and one limit that trips people up. Thumbnails are 1280 × 720 at 16:9 and must be under 2 MB — a high-quality PNG export of a busy thumbnail overshoots that easily.
Channel banners are more awkward: the full image is 2560 × 1440, but only the middle 1546 × 423 is guaranteed visible on every device. Anything important outside that gets cropped on mobile.
Steps
- 1
Thumbnail — 1280 × 720
16:9, and the size YouTube actually displays. Larger uploads are downscaled, so there is nothing to gain from exceeding it.
- 2
Stay under 2 MB
Export as JPEG rather than PNG. If it is still too big, lower the quality slider until the reported size is comfortably under the limit.
- 3
Make the text readable at thumbnail size
Thumbnails are viewed at roughly 210 × 118 in the sidebar. Use large, heavy type with a 3–5px dark outline. Anything subtle disappears entirely.
- 4
Banner — 2560 × 1440 with a 1546 × 423 safe area
Keep your logo and any text inside the central safe area. Treat the rest as decorative background that may be cropped away.
Design for the small size
Preview your thumbnail scaled down to about 210px wide. If you cannot read it there, it does not work.
High contrast wins
Thumbnails compete on a busy page. Strong contrast between subject and background matters more than detail.