What size should a YouTube thumbnail be?

YouTube recommends 1280×720 pixels (16:9 ratio) with a minimum width of 640 pixels. File size should be under 2MB.

How do I make a clickable thumbnail?

Use high contrast, large text, expressive faces, and bright colors. This tool lets you preview how it looks against real YouTube results.

Can I test mobile appearance?

Yes! The tool shows your thumbnail in desktop search, suggested sidebar, and mobile feed layouts.

What is the YouTube thumbnail safe zone?

The safe zone is the area not covered by YouTube UI. Avoid the bottom-right corner (timestamp) and very bottom edge (progress bar).

Does the timestamp box size change with video length?

Yes. Shorter durations produce a narrower box (~44px) while longer formats like 1:23:45 produce a wider box (~62px).

How do I make my thumbnail text readable on mobile?

Use large, bold text with high contrast. Test with our Blur Test - if readable through 3px blur, it works on mobile.

What size should my YouTube thumbnail be?

1280x720 pixels (16:9) minimum 640px wide, under 2MB in JPG, GIF, or PNG format.

YouTube Thumbnail Previewer & Safe Zone Checker

Upload your thumbnail and see exactly how YouTube's timestamp, progress bar, and play button cover it - across Home Feed, Mobile, and Sidebar views. No images are uploaded to any server.

Home Feed Preview

Upload your thumbnail or drag & drop here

12:34

My Awesome Video Title Here

Channel Name 123K views 2 days ago

No images are uploaded - everything is processed in your browser.

Upload Thumbnail

Video Title

Channel Name

Video Duration

Watched Progress

Mobile Feed

12:34

My Awesome Video Title Here

Channel Name 123K views 2 days ago

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YouTube Thumbnail Previewer & Safe Zone Checker

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