Resize and crop images to the exact YouTube sizes, the 1280 x 720 thumbnail, the 2560 x 1440 channel banner with a device safe-area preview, the profile picture, Shorts, end screens, community posts, and watermarks, right in your browser. Batch-friendly, and nothing is uploaded.
Banner safe-area preview
Phones only ever show the dashed safe area; desktop widens it sideways and TVs show the whole 2560 x 1440 canvas. Keep the channel name, faces, and text inside the safe area. Change Crop focus above to move the image under the overlay; the first image is previewed, and every result gets the same crop.
YouTube image sizes (2026)
| Use | Size (px) | Aspect ratio | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video thumbnail | 1280 x 720 | 16:9 | The standard thumbnail size (the maxres file). YouTube's help page now recommends up to 3840 x 2160, but 1280 x 720 remains the size most creators upload and displays identically; minimum width 640, JPG or PNG, 2 MB on mobile / 50 MB on desktop. |
| Video thumbnail (4K) | 3840 x 2160 | 16:9 | The resolution YouTube's help page currently recommends for thumbnails. Only use it when the source image is genuinely large; upscaling a small photo adds no sharpness. |
| Channel banner | 2560 x 1440 | 16:9 | Channel art. Minimum 2048 x 1152, under 6 MB. TVs show all of it, desktop shows a centre strip, and phones only ever show the 1546 x 423 safe area; the preview draws all three. |
| Profile picture | 800 x 800 | 1:1 | Rendered as a circle at about 98 px in most places, so keep the subject centred; the corners are cropped away. Under 4 MB. |
| Shorts / vertical video | 1080 x 1920 | 9:16 | The full-screen vertical size for Shorts and vertical video. Shorts thumbnails are 9:16 too (the help page recommends 2160 x 3840, minimum height 640, 10 MB on mobile). |
| Video frame (Full HD) | 1920 x 1080 | 16:9 | A 1080p video frame, for title cards, slides, and stills dropped into an editor. The player is 16:9; other shapes get bars added around them. |
| End screen | 1280 x 720 | 16:9 | A full-frame background for the last 5 to 20 seconds where end-screen elements sit; same shape as a thumbnail. |
| Community post | 1080 x 1080 | 1:1 | Square renders best in the Community tab and feed; landscape and portrait are accepted but shown smaller. |
| Video watermark | 150 x 150 | 1:1 | The small branding watermark in the player corner, set in YouTube Studio; under 1 MB, and simple high-contrast marks survive the tiny render. |
| Video | 1920 x 1080 up to 3840 x 2160 | 16:9 | 1280 x 720 is the floor for an HD badge; uploads run up to 12 hours or 256 GB on verified accounts. Not resized here. |
| Shorts video | 1080 x 1920 | 9:16 | Up to 3 minutes. Vertical 9:16 fills the phone screen; square also plays as a Short. |
Thumbnails: JPG or PNG, 2 MB on mobile / 50 MB on desktop; banner under 6 MB; profile picture under 4 MB; watermark under 1 MB. Thumbnail numbers re-checked against YouTube's help pages in 2026; YouTube revises specs, so confirm in YouTube Studio before a big campaign.
How it works
Pick the YouTube size you are making, drop in one or more images, and each is resized to that exact size in your browser. Crop to fill (the default) scales the image to cover the frame and trims the overflow, with a Crop focus menu to keep the top, bottom, left, or right; Fit with padding keeps the whole image and fills the rest with a colour or transparency; Stretch forces the size.
With the Channel banner preset, the safe-area preview draws your resized banner under the three device crops YouTube applies: the full 2560 x 1440 canvas TVs show, the centre strip desktop shows, and the 1546 x 423 safe area that is the only part phones ever display, so you can move the crop until the important part sits inside the dashed rectangle. Output defaults to JPG at 90% quality, right for photos; choose PNG for logos and graphics with text so the edges stay crisp (and for transparent padding). Each result shows the original and new dimensions and file size, and downloads with the preset and size in the file name. A result is never larger than the original file.
Everything runs locally. Your images are never uploaded, there is no signup, and re-encoding strips EXIF metadata. Animated GIFs export as a single still frame. For an existing video, the YouTube Thumbnail Downloader grabs the current thumbnail so you can rework it here, and the YouTube Thumbnail Tester previews your new one at real feed sizes before you upload it.
What you will see
- YouTube size
- The preset that sets the exact output width and height; the table above lists what each one is for.
- Fit
- How an image whose shape differs from the preset is handled: crop to fill, fit with padding, or stretch.
- Crop focus
- Which part of the image survives a crop-to-fill: centre, top, bottom, left, or right.
- Padding colour
- The fill used around a padded image: white, black, a custom colour, or transparent for PNG and WebP.
- Banner safe-area preview
- Your resized banner under the TV / desktop / phone crop zones; the dashed 1546 x 423 rectangle is the part every device shows.
- Output format and Quality
- JPG (photos), PNG (lossless, no quality slider; logos and text), WebP, or keep the original format. Quality applies to JPG and WebP.
- Result cards
- One per image with a preview, the before and after dimensions and file sizes, and a Download button; Download all saves them all.
Frequently asked questions
What size is a YouTube banner (channel art)?
2560 x 1440 pixels (16:9), with a minimum of 2048 x 1152 and a file under 6 MB. Devices crop it differently: TVs show the full image, the desktop site shows a wide centre strip, and phones only ever show the centre 1546 x 423 safe area, so anything that matters (name, faces, text) must sit inside that band. The Channel banner preset makes the file and the safe-area preview draws all three zones over your image.
What size is a YouTube thumbnail?
1280 x 720 (16:9) is the standard size and what most creators upload; YouTube's help page now recommends up to 3840 x 2160 for maximum quality. The minimum width is 640 pixels, formats are JPG or PNG, and the upload limit is 2 MB on mobile and 50 MB on desktop. Shorts thumbnails are vertical 9:16 (recommended 2160 x 3840, 10 MB on mobile). Both presets are in the menu, and the YouTube Thumbnail Downloader grabs any video's existing thumbnail.
What size is a YouTube profile picture?
Upload 800 x 800 pixels; YouTube renders it as a circle at about 98 px in most surfaces, and the file must be under 4 MB (JPG, PNG, BMP, or a non-animated GIF). Because the circle crops the corners, keep the face or logo centred with some margin, and check it still reads at a small size, which is how nearly everyone sees it.
What are the YouTube Shorts dimensions?
1080 x 1920 pixels, a 9:16 vertical frame that fills a phone screen, and a Short can now run up to 3 minutes. The Shorts preset crops any image to that shape. Note that vertical videos with a 16:9 custom thumbnail get an auto-generated 4:5 crop on the home and subscriptions feeds, so a purpose-made vertical image works better.
What are the best YouTube video dimensions?
The player is 16:9, so the standard resolutions are 1920 x 1080 (Full HD), 2560 x 1440, and 3840 x 2160 (4K), with 1280 x 720 as the floor for an HD badge. A video in any other shape still plays; YouTube adds bars around it. The Video frame preset makes 16:9 stills for title cards and slides; the tool resizes images, not video files.
What is the banner safe area, exactly?
The centre 1546 x 423 region of the 2560 x 1440 banner. It is the only part of the image that every device shows: phones show just that band, desktop widens it sideways, and TVs show the entire 2560 x 1440 canvas. Design the banner as a full-bleed background whose message lives entirely inside the safe area, and use the preview's overlay toggle to check yours before uploading.
What is the difference between crop to fill and fit with padding?
Crop to fill scales the image until it covers the whole target size and trims whatever overflows, so nothing is padded but the edges may be cut; use the Crop focus menu to keep the top, bottom, left, or right instead of the centre. Fit with padding scales the image to fit inside the frame and fills the rest with a colour (or transparency for PNG and WebP), so nothing is cut. Stretch forces the exact size and distorts the image.
Are my images uploaded anywhere?
No. All resizing and cropping happens locally in your browser, so your images never leave your device. There is no signup and no watermark, re-encoding strips EXIF metadata such as GPS location, and you can drop in many files at once; each downloads with the preset and size in its name, like photo-banner-2560x1440.jpg, and a result is never larger than the original file.