YouTube Thumbnail Preview & Tester
Check how your thumbnail and title will look on YouTube before you publish. See them in the home grid, search results, the suggested sidebar, on a phone and on a TV, in light and dark mode, next to the videos you're up against.
Your video
or drop it here, or paste it (JPG or PNG, 1280×720)
Channel avatar (optional)
Leave empty for no badge.
Compare with other videos
Their thumbnails load straight from YouTube. Titles can't be read without signing in to YouTube's API, so type them below if you want them in the mock.
Layout
Theme
A look-alike of YouTube's layouts for checking your thumbnail and title, not a copy: sizes are close, but YouTube changes its design often and differs between screen sizes.
Your thumbnail never leaves your device: everything happens in your browser.
How to preview your YouTube thumbnail
Add your thumbnail
Choose, drop or paste the image. You'll see a note if it isn't 16:9, is under 1280×720 or is too big to upload.
Type your title and channel
Add the view count, age and duration you want to show, and your channel avatar if you like.
Add the competition
Paste links to up to five videos you'll appear next to, then press Shuffle to see your thumbnail in different positions.
Switch layouts and save
Flip through the six layouts in light and dark, then download the one you want to share as a PNG.
What the preview shows, and what it doesn't
The mock-ups are drawn in your browser with the sizes YouTube uses on common screens: about 360 px wide on the desktop home page, 168 px in the suggested sidebar, full width on a phone. Titles are cut after two lines with an ellipsis, as YouTube does, and the tool tells you roughly how many characters of your title make it into each layout, so you can put the important words first.
These are look-alikes, not copies: there's no YouTube logo or real interface, and YouTube changes its design often and differs between devices. Treat the result as a close guide for judging readability and contrast, not as a pixel-perfect screenshot.
Your thumbnail and avatar never leave your device. The other videos' thumbnails load straight from YouTube's image server using the video ID in the link. YouTube doesn't let a page read a video's title without its API, so you type those in yourself.
Features
Six layouts
Desktop home grid, search results, suggested sidebar, phone feed, phone search and a TV-style row.
Light and dark
Most viewers use dark mode on some device. Check that your thumbnail's edges don't vanish into either.
Title cut-off
Truncated like YouTube, plus the number of characters visible in every layout.
Stand out test
Put your thumbnail between up to five real competitors and shuffle the order.
Small size and greyscale
See it at 168 and 120 px wide, and in black and white, to check text and contrast.
Share as PNG
Download the mock-up to send to your editor, designer or client.
Frequently asked questions
What size should a YouTube thumbnail be?
16:9 and at least 640 px wide. 1280×720 is the usual size; YouTube now recommends going up to 3840×2160. Use JPG or PNG. From a computer you can upload up to 50 MB; the YouTube app on a phone takes 2 MB at most.
How long can a YouTube title be before it's cut off?
YouTube allows 100 characters, but most places show only two lines, so long titles are cut well before that, and earlier in the suggested sidebar and on phones than on the home page. Wide letters and capitals take more room, so the tool measures your own title in each layout.
Is this exactly what YouTube will show?
It's close, not exact. The layouts use YouTube's typical sizes and fonts, but YouTube changes its design, runs tests, and varies by device and screen size.
Why can't it fetch the other videos' titles?
Video titles are only available through YouTube's API, which needs a key and sends your request to Google. Thumbnails are public images at a fixed address, so they load without one.
Is my thumbnail uploaded anywhere?
No. Everything, including the PNG export, happens in your browser.