Loading…
Loading…
Free tools · THUMBNAILS
Resize any image to a YouTube thumbnail — 16:9 or 9:16, under the size limit — in your browser.
16:9, under 2 MB — uploads from a phone or a computer
Runs in your browser. Your image is never uploaded or stored.
This YouTube thumbnail resizer turns any image into a thumbnail YouTube will accept. Choose a picture, pick a size — 1280 × 720, 1920 × 1080, YouTube's recommended 3840 × 2160, or 1080 × 1920 for a Short — and it crops or fits the image to 16:9 or 9:16 and compresses it under the file-size limit before you download it.
Everything happens in your browser. The image is never uploaded, so it works for unreleased videos and private drafts, and there is no watermark or account.
● HOW IT WORKS
Choose an image from your device — it stays on your device.
Pick an output size: 1280 × 720, 1920 × 1080, 3840 × 2160, or 1080 × 1920 for a Short.
Crop to fill or fit with bars, then download a JPG that is already under YouTube's size limit.
Free, with no sign-up. It runs in your browser; nothing you paste or upload is sent to VidMyth or stored. Next: Design a thumbnail with AI.
YouTube asks for a 16:9 image for videos (9:16 for Shorts), at least 640 pixels wide, as a JPG or PNG. It recommends 3840 × 2160. The file limit depends on where you upload: 2 MB from a phone, 50 MB from a computer (YouTube Help).
The resizer keeps the 1280 × 720, 1920 × 1080 and Shorts outputs under 2 MB, so they upload from anywhere, and the 3840 × 2160 output under 50 MB for computer uploads. It lowers the JPEG quality step by step until the file fits, and tells you when it had to.
Crop to fill scales the image until it covers the frame and trims the edges — the right choice for photos and artwork, as long as nothing important sits at the edge. Fit with bars keeps the whole image and fills the leftover space with a colour, which suits screenshots, slides and logos you can't crop.
If the source image is smaller than the output, it is scaled up and will look soft. Start from the largest version of the image you have, and check the preview before downloading.
Most people see a thumbnail at a fraction of its real size — in a phone's feed, beside a video in suggestions, in search results. After resizing, shrink the preview in your mind to the size of a matchbox: can you still read the words and tell what the picture is? If not, use fewer words, bigger type and one clear subject.
Strong contrast between the subject and the background, and between the text and whatever is behind it, survives shrinking far better than detail does. A thumbnail that looks busy at full size usually looks like noise at feed size.
A thumbnail and a title decide whether anyone watches the video at all. If you need a new thumbnail rather than a resized one, the YouTube thumbnail maker plans three ideas and draws the one you pick at full resolution. The thumbnail size guide covers the rest of YouTube's rules and what makes a thumbnail work.
● QUESTIONS
Choose the image, pick 1280 × 720 (or another size), choose crop or fit, and download. The resizer outputs a 16:9 JPG that is already under YouTube's file limit.
YouTube recommends 3840 × 2160 in 16:9. 1280 × 720 is still accepted everywhere and stays under the 2 MB limit for phone uploads easily.
Pick a 2 MB-safe output such as 1280 × 720. The resizer lowers the JPEG quality step by step until the file fits under 2 MB, and tells you if it had to.
Yes. Choose the 1080 × 1920 output for a 9:16 Shorts thumbnail. Custom Shorts thumbnails are available to verified channels; YouTube recommends 2160 × 3840.
No. The resizing and compression happen in your browser; the image never leaves your device and nothing is stored.
● KEEP GOING
A YouTube thumbnail maker that plans before it draws: three ideas in three formats, then a spelling-checked 1280x720 image from each one you pick.
The recommended YouTube thumbnail size is 3840 × 2160 pixels for a video and 2160 × 3840 for a Short, in 16:9 and 9:16.
Paste a YouTube link and save its thumbnail in every size YouTube keeps.
Paste a script and see how long it runs when read aloud — and whether it fits a Short.