YouTube Banner Size and Safe Area
Upload a 2560 × 1440 px image (16:9) under 6 MB. TVs show all of it, but phones show only a strip across the middle, so keep your channel name, logo and faces inside the centre 1546 × 423 px.
Checked against each platform's help pages on .
The short answer
- Recommended upload
- 2560 × 1440 px (16:9)
- Minimum upload
- 2048 × 1152 px
- Safe area (every device)
- 1546 × 423 px, centred
- Official safe area
- 1235 × 338 px on a 2048 × 1152 px image
- Maximum file size
- 6 MB
- Shown in full
- Only on TVs
The YouTube banner size
YouTube asks for at least 2048 × 1152 px at 16:9 and recommends 2560 × 1440 px, especially for TVs. Uploading at 2560 × 1440 px costs nothing and keeps the banner sharp on big screens.
The file must be 6 MB or smaller. A JPEG at high quality is usually well under that; a PNG photo at this size can go over.
| Requirement | Figure |
|---|---|
| Recommended size | 2560 × 1440 px |
| Minimum size | 2048 × 1152 px |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 |
| Safe area for text and logos | 1235 × 338 px at the minimum size (1546 × 423 px at 2560 × 1440 px) |
| File size | 6 MB or smaller |
| Borders, shadows, frames | Leave them out (YouTube asks you not to add them) |
The safe area every device shows
YouTube gives the safe area for text and logos as 1235 × 338 px on a 2048 × 1152 px banner. Scaled up to 2560 × 1440 px, that is about 1544 × 423 px, centred.
Most guides, and our Banner Maker, use 1546 × 423 px: the phone crop from YouTube's older channel art template. It is the same box, about 2 pixels wider. That is 18% of the image. Everything else is decoration that some screens cut off.
Put your channel name, logo, upload schedule and any faces inside this box. Use the rest for background that can be cropped without losing anything.
| Banner size | Safe area | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| 2048 × 1152 px | 1235 × 338 px | Centred |
| 2560 × 1440 px | 1546 × 423 px (official figure scaled: 1544 × 423 px) | Centred: 507 px in from each side, 509 px down from the top |
What TVs, computers, tablets and phones show
YouTube uses the same image everywhere but crops it to a different shape on each kind of screen. Only TVs show the whole thing. Computers show a wide strip across the middle, and tablets and phones cut that strip down further from the sides.
| Device | Visible area | Share of the image |
|---|---|---|
| TV | 2560 × 1440 px, centred | 100% |
| Desktop | 2560 × 423 px, centred | 29% |
| Tablet | 1855 × 423 px, centred | 21% |
| Mobile | 1546 × 423 px, centred | 18% |
Where the profile picture and buttons sit
On computers and in the phone app, nothing sits on top of the banner any more. Your profile picture, channel name, handle, description, links and Subscribe button are all laid out below it. Older guides tell you to keep the bottom right clear for link icons and the left for the profile picture; that no longer applies on these screens.
TVs are different. Since YouTube redesigned TV channel pages in 2024, the banner is a large background that fills most of the screen, with your avatar, channel name and subscriber count on the left and the Subscribe button close by. That only affects the area outside the 1546 × 423 px middle box, but avoid putting key detail on the left of the full image.
YouTube doesn't publish exact positions for any of this, so it can change. Check your channel on a phone, a computer and, if you can, a TV after uploading.
Common mistakes
- Text outside the safe area. Anything outside the middle 1546 × 423 px is cut off on phones, where most people see your channel. A name that looks centred on your monitor can lose its first and last letters.
- Text that is too small. On a phone the whole safe area is shown only a few hundred pixels wide, so a subtitle that reads fine in your editor becomes a smudge. Keep text short and large: the channel name and, at most, one line under it.
- Designing for the full 16:9 frame. The 2560 × 1440 px canvas looks like a poster in your editor, but only TVs show it. Treat the middle strip as the banner and the rest as bleed.
- A file over 6 MB. Save as a high-quality JPEG rather than a PNG if YouTube rejects the upload.
- Uploading below 2048 × 1152 px. YouTube won't take it. Scaling a small image up to size also makes it soft, so start from a large photo.
- Adding borders, frames or drop shadows around the edge. YouTube asks you not to, and the crops cut through them anyway.
Frequently asked questions
What size is a YouTube banner?
2560 × 1440 px at 16:9 is the recommended size, and 2048 × 1152 px is the smallest YouTube accepts. The file must be 6 MB or smaller.
What is the YouTube banner safe area?
The middle 1546 × 423 px of a 2560 × 1440 px banner. YouTube's help page gives it as 1235 × 338 px on a 2048 × 1152 px image, which is the same box at the smaller size. It is the only part every device shows.
Why is my YouTube banner cut off on mobile?
Phones show only the middle 1546 × 423 px of the image, about 18% of it. Anything outside that box is cropped. Move text and logos into the centre and use the edges for background.
What is the maximum file size for a YouTube banner?
6 MB. A 2560 × 1440 px JPEG saved at high quality usually fits easily; a PNG of a photo may not.
Does the profile picture cover the YouTube banner?
Not on computers or phones: the profile picture, name and Subscribe button sit below the banner. On TVs the banner fills the background and the channel details sit over its left side.
Can I use the same image for my banner and my thumbnails?
They are both 16:9, but a banner is cropped to a thin strip on most screens. Design the banner around the middle 1546 × 423 px, and use a separate image built for thumbnails.