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YouTube thumbnail resizer

Your files never leave your device

Drop images here

or paste with Ctrl V · JPG, PNG or WebPJPG, PNG or WebP, as many as you like

Each image comes out as a 1280 × 720 JPG, cropped from the center to fill 16:9. Use Crop image first to choose the part that stays.

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How to make a YouTube thumbnail

  1. Drop your pictures on the box, choose them, or paste them with Ctrl V.
  2. Oli crops each one from the center to fill 16:9 and saves it as a 1280 × 720 JPG.
  3. Download the thumbnail, or the ZIP when you made several, and add it in YouTube Studio.

The thumbnail size

What the YouTube thumbnail preset makes and the rules it follows
DetailWhat Oli does
Size1280 × 720 pixels, a 16:9 picture.
FormatAlways a JPG, saved to stay under 2 MB, the limit for custom thumbnails added from a phone.
Picture that is not 16:9It is cropped from the center to fill the frame, and a line on the result says so. The shape of the picture is never distorted.
A different part of the pictureCrop the image first with Crop image to choose the part that stays, then bring it here.
TransparencyTransparent areas turn white, because JPG has no transparency.
What YouTube asksYouTube Help, Add custom thumbnails (support.google.com/youtube/answer/72431, checked on October 31, 2026): 16:9, at least 640 pixels wide, JPG or PNG, and a recommended 3840 × 2160 for videos. FileOrca makes 1280 × 720, which is within those rules.
Photo dataExif, XMP, IPTC and GPS are left out of every thumbnail.

Questions about thumbnails

What size is a YouTube thumbnail?

YouTube Help (support.google.com/youtube/answer/72431, checked on October 31, 2026) asks for a 16:9 image at least 640 pixels wide, as a JPG or PNG, and recommends 3840 × 2160 for videos. FileOrca makes 1280 × 720, which is within those rules and keeps the file light.

Why does YouTube say my thumbnail is too big?

The usual cause is the file size: YouTube Help gives 2 MB for a custom thumbnail added from a phone, and a 1280 × 720 PNG can pass that. This preset saves a JPG, which stays far below it.

What happens if my picture is not 16:9?

Oli crops it from the center to fill the frame, so the edges are cut and the shape of the picture is never distorted. If the important part is off-center, use Crop image first to choose the part, then bring the result here.

Why does my thumbnail look blurry?

A thumbnail looks blurry when the picture it starts from is small, because there are too few pixels to look sharp at 1280 × 720. A picture smaller than 1280 × 720 is enlarged to fill the frame, the result says so, and it may look softer. Start from a picture at least 1280 pixels wide.

Can I use a PNG for the thumbnail?

YouTube accepts PNG, but this preset saves a JPG, which keeps the file light. JPG has no transparency, so transparent areas turn white.

Should I use 1280 × 720 or 3840 × 2160?

Both are 16:9, so both fit. YouTube Help recommends 3840 × 2160 for videos, and this preset makes 1280 × 720, a size that loads fast and stays far below the 2 MB phone limit.

Privacy

Your pictures are turned into thumbnails on your device and never sent to a server. The new files leave out the photo metadata, including the GPS location.