YouTube Thumbnail Size Design 2020

YouTube Thumbnail Size Design Guide

An important guide to the best YouTube thumbnail size, how to enable and upload custom thumbnails, and best practices.

The best size for YouTube thumbnail images is 1280 x 720 pixels. The best aspect ratio for YouTube thumbnail images is 16:9. The minimum size is 640 pixels wide as per you tube guide lines.

YouTube thumbnail size, image size & resolution Quick Guide

Here’s the quick version for the best dimensions to use for the YouTube thumbnail image.

Your YouTube custom thumbnail image should be as large as possible. It will be used as the preview image in the embedded player. YouTube recommend custom thumbnails:

Ideal Dimensions: 1280 x 720 pixels

Minimum Dimensions: 640 pixels wide

Maximum file size: 2MB

Image Files Formats: JPG, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP

Aspect ratio : Try to use a 16:9 aspect ratio as it’s the most used in YouTube players and previews.

Thumbnail policies

All YouTube custom thumbnail images must follow our Community Guidelines. The  thumbnails may be rejected and a strike on your account when it contains:

• Nudity or sexually provocative content
• Hate Speech
• Violence
• Harmful or dangerous content