YouTube image sizes
| Use | Size (px) | Ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video thumbnail | 3840 × 2160 | 16:9 | Recommended size. Minimum width 640 px. JPG or PNG, up to 50 MB from desktop or 2 MB from mobile. |
| Shorts thumbnail | 2160 × 3840 | 9:16 | Minimum height 640 px. Vertical videos with 16:9 custom thumbnails get an auto-generated 4:5 thumbnail on some surfaces. |
| Channel banner | 2560 × 1440 | 16:9 | Recommended size, especially for TV. Minimum upload 2048x1152, where the safe area for text and logos is 1235x338. 6 MB or smaller. |
| Profile picture | 800 × 800 | 1:1 | Officially it renders at 98x98, and can be JPG, GIF, BMP or PNG (no animated GIFs) up to 15 MB. The 800x800 size is Hootsuite's recommendation. |
Which size to use
YouTube recommends 3840 × 2160 for video thumbnails, a 16:9 image at 4K, with a minimum width of 640 pixels. Thumbnails can be JPG or PNG, up to 50 MB from a desktop or 2 MB from a phone. If you upload from your phone, the 1920 × 1080 preset saved as JPG makes a much lighter file at the same ratio.
Shorts thumbnails are vertical: 2160 × 3840 (9:16), at least 640 pixels tall. On some surfaces, a vertical video with a 16:9 custom thumbnail gets an auto-generated 4:5 thumbnail instead.
The channel banner is 2560 × 1440 (16:9), the size YouTube recommends with TVs in mind. The minimum upload is 2048 × 1152, and on that size the safe area for text and logos is the central 1235 × 338. Banners must be 6 MB or smaller. Profile pictures render at just 98 × 98, but an 800 × 800 upload stays sharp.
YouTube video limits
The resizer handles still images. For video, these are the limits to plan around.
| Use | Max length | Max file size | Ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long-form video | 12 hours | 256 GB | Native ratio (16:9 typical), with no letterboxing or pillarboxing | The limit is 256 GB or 12 hours, whichever comes first. Unverified accounts can upload only up to 15 minutes. The player frames each video automatically. |
| Short | 3 minutes | Not stated | 9:16 or 1:1 | Up to 3 minutes, square or vertical. Up to 15 Shorts can be selected per upload from YouTube Studio. |
Tips for YouTube images
- Download thumbnails as JPG. Photos make much smaller JPG files than PNG ones.
- Check your thumbnail at a small size too, since that is how most people first see it.
- Use Fit with background to build a banner from a square logo, with your brand color filling the sides.
- Profile pictures can be JPG, GIF, BMP or PNG up to 15 MB, but not animated GIFs.
Schedule YouTube videos with Postocial
Postocial publishes YouTube videos and Shorts with a custom thumbnail you upload in the composer. Schedule the video with its title and description, or set a pre-recorded video to go out as a livestream.
See how Postocial works with YouTube.
Sources
The YouTube sizes on this page come from these pages. Where a network publishes no size of its own, we say whose recommendation it is. Researched on . Networks change their limits without notice, so check the official pages before a big launch.
- YouTube Help: edit video settings
- YouTube Help: find videos using hashtags
- YouTube Help: upload videos longer than 15 minutes
- YouTube Help: get started creating YouTube Shorts
- YouTube Help: upload YouTube Shorts
- YouTube Help: add custom thumbnails
- YouTube Help: manage your channel branding
- YouTube Help: learn about YouTube handles
- YouTube Help: video and audio formatting specifications
- YouTube Data API: channels
- YouTube Data API: videos
- Influencer Marketing Hub: YouTube character limits
- Hootsuite: social media image sizes guide