Video Thumbnail Maker
Choose your own picture or a plain color, add a title of one or two lines, and download a 1280 × 720 or 3840 × 2160 thumbnail as a JPG or PNG.
Use a picture you took yourself or have the right to use, such as a still from your own video. This tool comes with no pictures: you bring your own.
Background
It also shows around a picture that doesn’t fill the frame.
Drop your picture here, or
JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, GIF or BMP · one picture, up to 50 MB and 40 megapixels
Title
At 1280 × 720 the JPG is made under 2 MB, at the highest quality that fits. At 3840 × 2160 the same thumbnail is drawn three times as large, and the page says whether the file is under 2 MB, for YouTube’s phone app, or needs a computer, where its help gives 50 MB. Each PNG’s size is shown. Neither carries the original picture’s metadata.
Your picture is opened on this device. Nothing is uploaded, sent or saved.
A thumbnail at the right size, from your own picture
A thumbnail is the picture people see before they press play. YouTube’s help asks for a 16:9 picture at least 640 pixels wide, as a JPG or PNG, and recommends 3840 × 2160. This tool makes one at that size or at 1280 × 720 from a picture of your own or a plain color, with a title in large, outlined letters.
How to use it
- Choose a background: a plain color, or a picture you drop on the box or choose.
- With a picture, pick Fill the frame or Show the whole picture, and move it with the two sliders.
- Type the title on one or two lines, then choose its font, size, colors, outline and place.
- Choose 1280 × 720 or 3840 × 2160, then download a JPG or a PNG, with its size shown.
Use pictures you have the right to use
Use a still from your own video, a photo you took, or one you have permission to use. The tool comes with no pictures and fetches none.
Making it readable
- Keep the title short. Thumbnails are often seen small, so a few big words beat a sentence.
- Use the outline. A thick outline keeps light letters readable on a busy picture; on a light picture, try dark letters with a light outline.
- Long lines shrink. If a line is too wide for the frame at the size you chose, the whole title is made smaller so it fits, and the page says so.
- Mind the corners. Video lists often show the length over the bottom right corner, so keep words clear of it.
Good to know
- Fonts: the title uses this site’s own fonts, Inter, Fraunces or JetBrains Mono, at a bold weight.
- Sizes: 3840 × 2160 is the same thumbnail at three times the size, so a small picture is enlarged; use a large one for the sharpest result. YouTube takes up to 2 MB from its phone app and 50 MB from a computer.
- JPG or PNG: JPG makes a smaller file for photos; PNG keeps flat colors and text crisp. Each says if it’s over the limit.
- Private: the picture is opened in this page, on your device. Nothing is uploaded, sent or saved, and the page isn’t connected to YouTube or any other site.
- Other jobs: the Meme Maker puts captions on a picture at its own size, and the LinkedIn Banner Resizer makes a 1584 × 396 profile background; this tool makes a video thumbnail.