Create professional, eye-catching YouTube thumbnails in minutes. Add custom text, images, shapes, and effects to make your videos stand out. Perfect 1280×720 resolution for YouTube.
Select an element to edit its properties, or use the toolbar to add text, images, and shapes
Keep text large (minimum 72px) and readable on mobile devices. Limit to 3-5 words maximum for impact. Use our text tools for animated content too.
Use contrasting colors for text and background. White text with black outline works on any background. Check contrast with our contrast checker.
Thumbnails with expressive faces get 38% more clicks. Show emotion and make eye contact with the viewer.
Use consistent colors and style across your thumbnails. This builds recognition and makes your channel look professional. Create a custom color palette.
YouTube recommends 1280×720 pixels with a 16:9 aspect ratio. This is exactly what our tool creates. The minimum width is 640 pixels, but always use the maximum resolution for best quality across all devices.
Use PNG if your thumbnail has text or graphics with sharp edges - it preserves quality better. Use JPG for photo-heavy thumbnails to keep file size under YouTube's 2MB limit. You can use our JPG compressor if needed.
First, remove the background from your image using our background remover tool. Then add it as an image layer in the thumbnail maker. The transparency will be preserved.
Yes! The 1280×720 (16:9) format works great for YouTube, Facebook video thumbnails, and Twitter video previews. For other sizes, use our image resizer to adjust dimensions.
Yes, our YouTube Thumbnail Maker is 100% free with no watermarks, no registration required, and unlimited downloads. All processing happens in your browser for privacy.
Bold, thick fonts like Anton, Bebas Neue, Impact, and Bungee work best. They're readable even at small sizes. Always add an outline to make text pop against any background.