YouTube Thumbnail Preview
Upload a thumbnail image and see exactly how it will appear across YouTube's interface: in the home feed, in the sidebar, and on mobile devices. Each preview is rendered at the actual pixel dimensions YouTube uses, so you can check whether your text is readable, your subject is recognizable, and your composition works at every size.
YouTube thumbnails need to work at sizes ranging from large home-feed cards down to tiny sidebar suggestions. A thumbnail that looks great at full size can become an unreadable blur at 168x94 pixels. This tool lets you catch those problems before uploading.
Everything runs in your browser. Your image is never uploaded to a server.
By The Paper Room Editorial Team — Creator Tools
Frequently asked questions
What are the preview sizes?▼
Home feed: 360x202px (the large card shown on YouTube's main page). Sidebar: 168x94px (the small thumbnail next to suggested videos). Mobile: 320x180px (the thumbnail size on YouTube's mobile app).
What size should my YouTube thumbnail be?▼
YouTube recommends 1280x720 pixels with a 16:9 aspect ratio. The minimum width is 640 pixels. Accepted formats are JPG, PNG, GIF, and BMP, with a maximum file size of 2MB.
Is my image uploaded to a server?▼
No. The image is loaded and displayed entirely in your browser. It never leaves your device.