YouTube Thumbnail Preview
Upload your thumbnail and see how it looks in a home feed, search results and the suggested sidebar, on desktop and mobile, in light and dark.
Runs in your browser. Your image is not uploaded and nothing is fetched from YouTube.
A neighbouring video with a fairly long title for comparison
Another channel
24K views · 2 days ago
Your video title goes here
Your channel
24K views · 2 days ago
Another video competing for the same click
Another channel
24K views · 2 days ago
One more video in the feed
Another channel
24K views · 2 days ago
A fourth video further down
Another channel
24K views · 2 days ago
Choose an image above to place it in the second position. Until then a grey block stands in for it.
What to look for
Switch to mobile first: that is where most thumbnails are seen, and where they are smallest. Can you read the text without leaning in? Is the subject clear in under a second? Then try the dark theme, because a thumbnail with dark edges can melt into a dark background.
In the suggested sidebar a thumbnail is at its smallest, so fine detail disappears entirely. If the idea still reads there, it will read everywhere. The duration badge in the bottom-right corner covers whatever you put under it.
This is a mock-up for judging size and readability. It cannot tell you how a thumbnail will perform: that depends on your audience, your title and the video itself.
Need a thumbnail to go with it?
Describe your video and the AI thumbnail maker designs one for you.
Questions
Is my image uploaded anywhere?
No. The preview is built in your browser from the file you choose. Nothing is sent to our server.
Does the preview use real YouTube data?
No. It is a mock-up with placeholder videos around yours. It shows relative size and readability, not how YouTube will rank or place your video.
Why check a thumbnail at small size?
Most viewers first see a thumbnail small, on a phone, next to other videos. Text and faces that read well full-size can become unreadable there.
Can I preview a Shorts cover?
This preview uses the wide 16:9 shape of regular videos. A vertical image is shown cropped to that shape.
More free thumbnail tools
- YouTube Thumbnail Size GuideThe current YouTube thumbnail size, aspect ratio, file formats and file-size limits for videos and Shorts, with blank canvases to download.
- Thumbnail Safe Zone CheckerUpload your thumbnail and see which parts are covered by the duration badge, progress bar and hover buttons.