What size should a YouTube thumbnail be?

YouTube recommends 1280x720 pixels at a 16:9 aspect ratio, with a minimum width of 640 pixels and a file under 2MB. This tool renders at exactly 1280x720 and exports a PNG, so the output is upload-ready with no resizing.

Is my uploaded image private?

Completely. The image is read with the browser FileReader API and drawn straight onto a local canvas — it is never sent to any server. Everything happens on your device, even offline.

Why does my text get cut off on phones?

Thumbnails shrink to a tiny size in mobile feeds, so long titles become unreadable. Aim for three to five large words. The tool shows a live character count and warns when a title is likely to truncate on small screens.

Can I add an outline and drop shadow to the text?

Yes. Toggle the outline (stroke) and shadow options under Title text. An outline in a contrasting colour keeps light text legible over any background, which is the single biggest readability win for thumbnails.

Does it work for other platforms or banners?

The canvas is fixed at the 16:9 YouTube thumbnail ratio, which also suits video previews, blog hero images and presentation cards. For a different exact size you would crop or scale the exported PNG afterwards.

Will my design be saved if I close the tab?

Yes. Every setting — colours, text, badge and image — is stored in your browser localStorage, so reopening the page restores your last design. Use the Reset button to start fresh.

YouTube Thumbnail Maker

A YouTube thumbnail maker that lets you compose a complete 1280x720 thumbnail and download it as a ready-to-upload PNG — without signing up, installing anything, or sending a single byte to a server. It is built for creators who want a fast, private way to test headline ideas, swap backgrounds and ship a clean thumbnail in under a minute. You get a real layered editor: a background layer (gradient, solid colour, or your own uploaded photo with zoom and pan), a darkening overlay for legibility, a word-wrapped title with font, size, colour, outline and shadow controls, an optional subtitle, and a corner badge such as “NEW” or “GUIDE”.

How it works

Everything is drawn onto an HTML canvas sized at exactly 1280 x 720 pixels, the size YouTube recommends. The pipeline paints in layers, bottom to top: first the background fill or gradient, then your uploaded image scaled with a cover-or-contain fit plus optional zoom and pan, then a semi-transparent black scrim so text never gets lost against a noisy photo. Your headline is measured and word-wrapped to fit the canvas width, honouring any manual line breaks you add, and positioned top, middle or bottom with left, centre or right alignment. Outline and drop-shadow are applied per line so light text stays readable on any background. When you click Download PNG, the canvas is serialised with toDataURL and saved straight to your device. Because it is all client-side, the editor keeps working with no network connection, and your photo is never uploaded.

Example

Say you are publishing a tutorial. Pick the gradient background, set it to a deep blue-to-teal blend, type How To Set This Up In 5 Minutes as the title, switch the font to a bold sans, turn on the shadow, and align the text to the bottom-left. Add a small GUIDE badge in the top corner and a subtitle reading “step-by-step”. The live preview updates instantly. The result is a high-contrast, mobile-legible thumbnail exported as how-to-set-this-up-1280x720.png.

Element	Control	Tip
Background	Gradient / solid / image	Darken busy photos 20-40%
Title	Font, size, outline, shadow	3-5 big words read best
Badge	Corner pill text + colours	Use for NEW, PART 2, LIVE
Export	One-click PNG	Exactly 1280x720, upload-ready

Every pixel is rendered locally and the finished PNG downloads directly — no account, no watermark, no upload.