Key takeaways
- YouTube recommends a 3840×2160px video thumbnail and a 2560×1440px channel banner.
- Platforms recompress and crop images after upload — sizing correctly upfront avoids an unwanted crop.
YouTube image size by placement
- Video thumbnail: 3840 × 2160px (16:9; Shorts 2160 × 3840, 9:16), JPG or PNG, 50MB maximum from a computer and 2MB from the mobile app
- Channel banner: 2560 × 1440px, though only a smaller centered "safe area" displays on every device
- Profile picture: 800 × 800px
Why the channel banner needs a safe area
A 2560×1440 banner displays differently on TV, desktop and mobile — YouTube crops it to fit each screen, so keep logos and text within the smaller centered safe area rather than near the edges.
image sizesreference
FAQ
- What size should a YouTube thumbnail be?
- 3840×2160px (16:9), as a JPG or PNG up to 50MB from a computer, or 2MB from the YouTube mobile app.
- What size should a YouTube channel banner be?
- 2560×1440px, though only a smaller centered safe area displays consistently across TV, desktop and mobile.
- What is the recommended YouTube profile picture size?
- 800×800px.