Pro

YouTube thumbnail maker

Turn a frame or design into a thumbnail YouTube accepts from desktop and mobile: 16:9, JPG or PNG, under 2 MB. You choose the crop.

Workspace On this device

Drop a file here

JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, AVIF, BMP, up to 40 MB each. Processed on this device.

No file to hand? Try a free sample photo:

How to use it

  1. Add your image. A 16:9 frame shows what will be kept.
  2. Drag the crop position until the face or title sits where you want it.
  3. Pick a size. 1920 × 1080 is the default; YouTube recommends 3840 × 2160.
  4. Export. PixelPilot lowers JPEG quality only as far as needed to stay under 2 MB.

Formats and limits

Opens
JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF (first frame), AVIF where your browser decodes it, BMP
Saves
JPG or PNG
  • PixelPilot does not add text or graphics; it sizes, crops and compresses the image you bring.
  • PNG cannot be squeezed by quality, so large PNG thumbnails may miss the 2 MB target. Use JPG then.

Platform requirements

  • 16:9 aspect ratio for videos.
  • Minimum width 640 px; YouTube recommends 3840 × 2160.
  • JPG or PNG.
  • Up to 50 MB from a desktop browser, 2 MB from the mobile app. We target 2 MB so one file works for both.

Source: YouTube Help: Add video thumbnails, checked 2026-10-23. Platforms change their rules; check before relying on them.

YouTube thumbnail questions

  • YouTube’s help page asks for 16:9, at least 640 px wide, and recommends 3840 × 2160. Uploads from desktop can be up to 50 MB; from the mobile app, 2 MB. We checked this on 23 October 2026.