A free YouTube thumbnail preview that shows your thumbnail and title in YouTube's feeds, next to your competitors, before you post.
This free YouTube thumbnail preview shows your thumbnail and title in YouTube's home feed, search results, the sidebar beside a video and the phone feed, next to the videos you compete with.
Upload a thumbnail, paste a few links from your niche, and see what a viewer sees before you publish. The glance test blurs and shrinks the feed, so you see what stands out first.
Here's what YouTube asks of a thumbnail, how to test one, and where your title gets cut.
TL;DRKey takeaways
What is a YouTube thumbnail preview?
A YouTube thumbnail preview shows your thumbnail and title the way YouTube will, before you upload them.
This one draws YouTube's own card sizes, measured on youtube.com, in 4 places and both themes, and puts your video among real ones you paste.
YouTube thumbnail size and rules
These are the rules from YouTube Help, and the generator checks your file against each one:
| Rule | What YouTube asks |
|---|---|
| Size | 3840 x 2160 pixels recommended, at least 640 wide |
| Shape | 16:9 for videos, 9:16 for Shorts |
| Format | JPG or PNG |
| File size | Under 2 MB from a phone, 50 MB from a computer |
| Account | A verified account to upload a custom thumbnail |
A thumbnail under 1280 x 720 looks soft on big screens, and YouTube's A/B test drops every version to 854 x 480 when one is that small.
How to test a thumbnail before you publish
Test it where viewers will see it, at the size they'll see it:
Press Try an example to see my most-viewed video among 7 of my others.
Where YouTube cuts your title
YouTube cuts long titles with "…", and each place shows a different amount:
- Lines shown
- 2
- Title size
- 16 px
- Lines shown
- 2
- Title size
- 18 px
- Lines shown
- 3
- Title size
- 14 px
- Lines shown
- 2
- Title size
- 14 px
The tool shows exactly where your title is cut in each place, measured with YouTube's own font. Put the words that matter in the first half.
What makes a thumbnail stand out
A thumbnail competes with 8 or more others in a feed, so judge it there:
Readable at its smallest
Check it at sidebar size, about 168 pixels wide
One idea with the title
The image shows it, the title adds what the image can't
Different from the feed
Colors and faces that stand out from the videos around it
A clear bottom-right corner
The video's length covers it in every view
The glance test shows you which of these your thumbnail gets right.
How to A/B test thumbnails on YouTube
YouTube Studio can test up to 3 titles, 3 thumbnails, or both, and shows every viewer the version with the most watch time once the test ends.
Make the versions clearly different, so YouTube can pick a winner within the test's 2 weeks. Preview each version here first.
Who is the YouTube thumbnail preview for?
The YouTube thumbnail preview is for anyone who publishes on YouTube, and it works well with my other YouTube tools:
- YouTube thumbnail downloader – for saving any video's thumbnail to study it
- YouTube outliers – for the videos beating their channel's usual views right now
- YouTube keyword tool – for the words people search before you title a video
Your thumbnail stays in your browser. Only the links you paste are read from YouTube.
Plan your thumbnail with your AI
Run the thumbnail prompts in
FAQs about the YouTube thumbnail preview
Questions about YouTube thumbnails? Here's what to know.
A YouTube thumbnail preview shows your thumbnail and title the way YouTube will, in its feeds, before you upload them.
YouTube recommends 3840 x 2160 pixels, at least 640 pixels wide, in a 16:9 shape.
Shorts thumbnails are 9:16.
The limit is 2 MB when you upload from a phone and 50 MB from a computer, in JPG or PNG.
Upload it here with your title, paste a few videos from your niche, and switch between Home, Search, Sidebar and Phone.
YouTube allows 100 characters.
The home feed, search and phones show 2 lines, and the sidebar shows 3, so long titles get cut.
Only if it's readable at the smallest size YouTube shows.
Check it at sidebar size, and keep it clear of the bottom-right corner.
Yes.
YouTube Studio tests up to 3 thumbnails, titles or both, and picks the version with the most watch time.
It's probably under 1280 x 720 pixels.
YouTube recommends 3840 x 2160 for a sharp thumbnail on every screen.
No.
Your thumbnail stays in your browser.
Only the YouTube links you paste are read, to show those videos.
Yes.
It's free, with no account and no watermark on the PNG.
I did.
I'm Navid Moazzez, and I made the YouTube thumbnail preview as one of my free tools on navid.me.
More about me.
Navid Moazzez
AI business strategist & AI OS builder
Navid Moazzez helps creators and founders master AI and build their own AI Operating System (AI OS) to automate their business and life.
Navid.me is reader-supported. When you buy through links on this site, I may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.
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