Free tools YouTube thumbnail preview

Test your thumbnail before you publish.

Drop in a thumbnail and see it next to your title on the home feed, in search, in the sidebar and on a phone — at the size people actually see it.

100% free
No sign-up
Runs in your browser

Title77/100Channel name

Thumbnail

Home feedshows in full
Searchshows in full
Suggestedshows in full
Phoneshows in full

Home feed

1280 × 72012:34

I Tried Every Productivity App So You Don’t Have To (The Winner Surprised Me)Your Channel48K views · 2 days ago

1280 × 72012:34I Tried Every Productivity App So You Don’t Have To (The Winner Surprised Me)48K views · 2 days ago Your Channel

Suggested

1280 × 72012:34I Tried Every Productivity App So You Don’t Have To (The Winner Surprised Me)Your Channel48K views · 2 days ago

Phone

1280 × 72012:34

I Tried Every Productivity App So You Don’t Have To (The Winner Surprised Me)Your Channel · 48K views · 2 days ago

How it works

Three steps, a few seconds.

01Add your thumbnailDrag in an image. It never leaves your browser.
02Add the titleSo you judge them together, the way viewers do.
03Check it smallLight and dark, desktop and phone. If it reads in the sidebar, it reads anywhere.

The right size for a YouTube thumbnail

Upload at 1280×720 pixels (16:9), with a width of at least 640. A smaller image works but looks soft on big screens.

Design for the smallest place it appears

In the sidebar and on phones, a thumbnail is only a couple of hundred pixels wide. Three words or fewer, one face, strong contrast. If you have to squint at the small preview, so will everyone else.

Keep text away from the bottom-right corner: that’s where YouTube puts the video length.

FAQ

Good to know.

Is my thumbnail uploaded anywhere?

No. The preview runs entirely in your browser.

What size should a YouTube thumbnail be?

1280×720 pixels, a 16:9 ratio, with a minimum width of 640 pixels.

Does it show dark mode?

Yes — switch between light and dark to check your colours hold up on both.

More toolsAll tools

YouTube outlier finder FreePaste any YouTube channel and see which of its latest videos beat its usual views, and by how much. Free, no sign-up.YouTube title checker FreeCheck your YouTube title length and see exactly where it gets cut off on the home feed, search, suggested videos and mobile. Free, no sign-up.YouTube thumbnail downloader FreePaste a YouTube video or Shorts link and download its thumbnail in every size, up to 1280×720 HD. Free, no sign-up.Thumbnail maker Describe the video and get four thumbnails in your style — with your own face, bold text and the contrast that gets the click.

Your next viral post starts here.

Connect your accounts in two minutes and post everywhere today.

Get started See how it works

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