YouTube Thumbnail Maker
Design a thumbnail that reads at every size, in the shape and file size YouTube accepts.
Try before you buy.
- Free preview: your thumbnail in the editor at preview size (up to 640 pixels), with a MySmartCoPilot watermark across it.
- Locked until you unlock it: download.
- Unlock: Pro pass, ₹179 for 30 days, a one-time payment that never renews.
Ways to unlock shows how to get the full result.
Printing this result is locked in the free preview.
Thumbnail
Loading the editor…
Drag layers to move them; corners resize, the top handle turns. With the thumbnail focused: arrow keys move the selected layer (Shift for 10 px), Delete removes it, Ctrl+Z undoes, Ctrl+D duplicates, Esc deselects.
Background
It fills the frame behind everything. Your picture stays on this device.
Pick the moment to use as the background. The video is read on this device and never uploaded.
Selected layer
Select a layer on the thumbnail or in the list below.
This is the background picture. Drag it to move it and its corners to zoom; untick “Move and zoom the background” when you are done.
Layers
Locked in the free preview. Opens the ways to unlock this result.
Locked in the free preview. Batch runs unlock with a pass.
Locked in the free preview. Query results unlock with a pass.
About the YouTube Thumbnail Maker
Design a YouTube thumbnail on a 1280 × 720 canvas; with a Pro pass, or once the thumbnail is unlocked, save it at 1280 × 720 or 3840 × 2160 (4K), the size YouTube recommends. Start from a colour, a gradient, your own photo or a frame from your own video file, then add big outlined text in bold display fonts (Anton, Bebas Neue, Poppins — Hindi too, with Noto Sans and Poppins), pictures and cut-outs with an outline that follows their shape, arrows, rings, boxes and bursts, and emoji. A dashed guide shows where YouTube’s duration badge will cover the corner.
When you download an unlocked thumbnail, choose JPG or PNG and a file-size limit — under 2 MB for uploads from the YouTube app, under 50 MB from a computer, or your own — and the tool picks the best JPG quality that fits. Everything happens in your browser: your photos and videos are never uploaded.
How to use it
- Pick a background: a colour, a gradient, a picture, or a moment from your video (choose the file, slide to the frame, press Use this frame).
- Edit the text: select it and type in Text; choose a font, size, colour, outline, shadow or a box behind it — or a quick style.
- Add more with the toolbar: Text, a Picture (a cut-out PNG keeps its transparent background), a Shape or an Emoji. Drag to move, pull the corners to resize, and use the round handle to turn.
- Keep faces and words out of the dashed duration badge corner, and check the layer order in Layers.
- Choose JPG and Under 2 MB (or another size), then Download with a pass or once the thumbnail is unlocked, and upload the file in YouTube Studio under the video’s thumbnail. Without a pass, the editor shows a watermarked preview and Download shows the ways to unlock.
Examples
Video frame background · cut-out of your face with a 10 px white outline · “3 EASY WAYS” in Anton, white with a black outline
youtube-thumbnail-1280x720.jpg, under 2 MB
Size 3840 × 2160 · Under 2 MB
The best JPG quality between 40 and 95 that stays under 2,000,000 bytes
Text and shapes are drawn again at full size, so they stay sharp; photos are used at up to 3840 px.
Common uses
- Making thumbnails for every upload without installing an app or signing up.
- Turning the best moment of your video into the thumbnail background.
- Hindi, Marathi and other Devanagari titles, with fonts that include those letters.
- Making a thumbnail small enough to upload from your phone.
Sizes and limits YouTube asks for
From YouTube Help, Add video thumbnails: a custom thumbnail “should be as large as possible” — a resolution of 3840 × 2160 for videos — at least 640 pixels wide, in the 16:9 shape, as a JPG or PNG. Uploads from a phone are limited to 2 MB and uploads from a computer to 50 MB; your account must be verified to upload custom thumbnails. Because YouTube does not say whether a megabyte is 1,000,000 or 1,048,576 bytes, “Under 2 MB” here means under 2,000,000 bytes, which fits either way.
Designing for small screens
- Thumbnails are as small as about 207 pixels wide beside the player (measured on YouTube), so use a few big words — or none — and one clear subject.
- An outline or a shadow keeps text readable on busy pictures; White, black outline and Yellow, black outline are the classic looks.
- The duration badge sits in the bottom-right corner everywhere; the dashed guide shows the area it covers at the smallest size, for a length such as 10:06 (videos over an hour get a slightly wider badge).
- Check your thumbnail against YouTube’s light and dark backgrounds with the YouTube Thumbnail Preview.
- Follow YouTube’s Community Guidelines: thumbnails with nudity or sexually provocative content, hate speech, violence or harmful or dangerous content can be rejected and earn a strike, YouTube Help says.
Pictures, cut-outs and video frames
Pictures you add are kept at up to 3840 pixels on their longest side, enough for a 4K export. A PNG with a transparent background (a cut-out — make one with Remove Background) keeps its shape, and Outline around the shape draws a sticker-style border that follows it. A video frame is taken from the video file on your device at the moment you choose; MP4 (H.264) plays in every browser, while MOV or HEVC videos may need Safari or converting first. Fonts are open-licensed (SIL Open Font License) and are loaded from this site, never from a font service.
Limitations
- Projects are not saved: download the thumbnail (with a pass, or once it is unlocked) before you close the page. (Undo and redo work while the page is open.)
- Very large photos are reduced to 3840 pixels on their longest side.
- Emoji are drawn with your device’s emoji font, so they look like your phone’s or computer’s emoji.
- It makes 16:9 video thumbnails; Shorts thumbnails (9:16) are not supported yet.
- Videos your browser cannot play cannot be used for frames.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
What do I get without a pass?
Without a pass, YouTube Thumbnail Maker shows your thumbnail in the editor at preview size (up to 640 pixels), with a MySmartCoPilot watermark across it. Until you unlock it, the result can’t be downloaded. A Pro, Premium or Ultimate pass, a one-time payment that never renews, unlocks the full result. The pricing page lists the passes and their prices.
What size should a YouTube thumbnail be?
16:9, as large as possible — YouTube recommends 3840 × 2160 — and at least 640 pixels wide, as a JPG or PNG. This tool saves 1280 × 720 or 3840 × 2160.
How do I get my thumbnail under 2 MB?
Choose JPG and Under 2 MB (phone upload) before you download: the tool tries JPG qualities from 95 down and keeps the best one that fits. PNG files are usually larger; use them only when you need them.
Can I use a frame from my video?
Yes. Under Background choose Video frame, open your video file, slide to the moment you want and press Use this frame. The video is read on your device and is not uploaded.
Does it support Hindi text?
Yes. Noto Sans and Poppins include Devanagari, so Hindi, Marathi and other languages written in Devanagari are drawn correctly, including conjuncts.
Is anything uploaded?
No. It runs entirely in your browser: pictures, videos and text stay on your device, and nothing is sent to a server.
Why is the corner of my thumbnail covered on YouTube?
YouTube shows the video length in a small dark badge in the bottom-right corner. Keep text and faces out of the dashed guide area so the badge does not cover them.