YouTube Thumbnail Size Guide

Your YouTube thumbnail is the most important image you will ever make for your channel. It is the first thing people see in search results, suggestions, and their subscription feed. A custom thumbnail that pops will consistently outperform auto-generated options.

Thumbnails should be exactly 1280 x 720 pixels at 16:9 aspect ratio. This matches standard video resolution and displays correctly everywhere from TV apps to mobile feeds. Keep file sizes under 2MB - JPG usually works better than PNG for photographic content.

The channel banner has complex requirements because it displays differently on every device. The full image is 2560 x 1440 pixels, but only the center 1546 x 423 pixels shows on all devices. Design your banner so critical content stays in this safe zone.

Profile pictures follow the circle crop pattern at 800 x 800 pixels. Your channel icon appears next to every video, in comments, and throughout the platform, so it needs to be recognizable even at small sizes. Simple logos or clear headshots work best.

End screens are often overlooked but matter for driving subscriptions and video views. They use the last 5-20 seconds of your video and can include clickable elements. Design them at 1920 x 1080 to match standard video resolution.

The channel watermark is a 150 x 150 pixel transparent PNG that appears as a subscribe button overlay on your videos. Keep it simple and subtle - complex watermarks distract from the content.