Create professional YouTube thumbnails (1280×720) and social preview images from any photo. Add bold text overlays with custom font, colour, size, alignment, and stroke. Add a badge/label, gradient overlay, and border frame. Live canvas preview. Download as PNG or JPEG.
Drop any JPEG, PNG or WebP photo onto the tool. It loads into the 1280×720 canvas (16:9 — the standard YouTube thumbnail size). The image is automatically scaled to fill the canvas using Cover mode. You can also start with a solid colour background.
Type your main title text. Choose font (8 options), size, colour, stroke/shadow for readability, alignment, and vertical position. Add a secondary subtitle line with separate styling. Enable a badge/label chip (e.g. "NEW", "TUTORIAL", "WATCH NOW") with custom colour. Add a gradient overlay to darken the image so text is always legible.
The live canvas updates in real time as you adjust every setting. Click Download PNG for full lossless quality (recommended for YouTube upload), or Download JPEG for a smaller file. The output is exactly 1280×720 pixels — the YouTube-recommended thumbnail size.
YouTube recommends 1280×720 pixels (HD) at a 16:9 aspect ratio. The maximum file size YouTube accepts for thumbnails is 2MB. PNG and JPEG are both accepted. This tool outputs exactly 1280×720 at full quality. YouTube displays thumbnails at various sizes across the platform — 246×138px in search results, 168×94px in the sidebar, and up to 1280×720 in video pages — so sharp, high-contrast text is important for readability at small sizes.
Research on high-CTR (click-through rate) YouTube thumbnails consistently shows: bold, large text under 6 words that states the value proposition clearly; a human face with exaggerated or clear expression in the frame (faces increase CTR by up to 38%); high contrast between text and background (use a dark overlay or stroke/shadow on text); a clear focal point with nothing competing for attention; colours that stand out in YouTube's red-and-white interface (avoid red and white as primary colours); and a title that works together with the video title rather than repeating it.
Enable the Gradient Overlay option — this adds a semi-transparent dark gradient at the bottom (or across the full image) that ensures text is always readable regardless of the photo behind it. Alternatively, enable Text Stroke which adds a 3px dark outline around letters, making them visible on both light and dark backgrounds. Both techniques are used by professional thumbnail designers.
The tool includes 8 fonts loaded from Google Fonts: Impact (classic YouTube bold), Bebas Neue (tall condensed), Oswald (medium weight condensed), Montserrat Bold (modern clean), Anton (ultra-bold display), Roboto Condensed Bold (clean readability), Bangers (comic-style), and Teko Bold (technical). Impact and Bebas Neue are the most commonly used for thumbnail title text. Montserrat and Roboto are better choices for subtitle text.
Yes — while the default canvas is 1280×720 (YouTube), you can also select preset sizes for: Blog Featured Image (1200×630), Twitter/X Post (1600×900), Facebook Post (1200×630), LinkedIn Post (1200×627), and Instagram Post (1080×1080). All the same text, badge, and gradient overlay tools work on every size.
A badge is a small coloured chip/label in the corner of the thumbnail with text like "NEW", "FREE", "PART 2", "TUTORIAL", "#1", or "WATCH NOW". Badges are a proven CTR technique because they create a sense of urgency, novelty, or category — helping viewers decide whether to click. This tool lets you set the badge text, position (top-left, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right), background colour, and text colour.
