/ Creator

Crop a YouTube Thumbnail (1280x720)

Locked to 16:9, cropped in your browser.

A YouTube thumbnail is 1280x720 pixels, a 16:9 frame. Crop your image to this ratio so it fills the player and the suggested-videos sidebar without being letterboxed. Thumbnails are shown small, so crop tight on the face or the one object that earns the click, and leave room for any text you add later. Nothing is uploaded.

The spec

Aspect ratio16:9
Best forYouTube video thumbnails at 1280x720, where the crop has to stay legible at sidebar size.

The crop runs on a canvas in your browser. Your image never leaves your device, so this works offline and nothing is stored anywhere. The download is cut from the full resolution of your file, not the on-screen preview.

Crop to another ratio

Drop an image here

or click to choose a file. Nothing leaves your browser.

Crop box locked to 16:9.

Questions people ask

What is the correct YouTube thumbnail size?

YouTube recommends 1280x720 pixels, which is the 16:9 ratio, with a minimum width of 640 pixels. Crop your image to 16:9 and export at 1280x720 so it looks sharp in the player and the suggested-videos sidebar.

Why does my thumbnail need to work small?

Most people see a thumbnail at sidebar or mobile size, far smaller than 1280x720. Crop tight on the face or the single object that earns the click, because fine detail and small text disappear at that scale.

Is my image uploaded?

No. The crop is done in your browser on a canvas, so your thumbnail never leaves your computer and nothing is stored.