Scanner Tools

YouTube Thumbnail Preview

Upload your thumbnail and see how it'll look across YouTube — home grid, mobile feed, sidebar suggestion, and search results. Catch tiny text and over-crowded designs before you publish.

Thumbnail image

YouTube shows ~70 chars before truncation. 50/100

Previews

Desktop home grid

12:34

12K views · 2 days ago

Watch-page sidebar

12:34

12K views · 2 days ago

Mobile feed

12:34

12K views · 2 days ago

Search result (desktop)

12:34

12K views · 2 days ago

A practical case study on shipping a multi-tool site quickly with TypeScript, Tailwind, and Cloudflare Pages…

Thumbnail design tips
  • Use 1280×720 (16:9) at 2 MB or under for fastest delivery.
  • Keep text big enough to read at the sidebar size (168px wide). Anything below 40-pixel text in the source will be illegible.
  • Avoid clutter — viewers scroll a feed in milliseconds, three focal points is the maximum.
  • YouTube auto-overlays the duration in the bottom-right, so don't put critical content there.
Frequently asked questions

What does this thumbnail preview show?

It places your uploaded thumbnail into four real YouTube layouts — the desktop home grid, watch-page sidebar, mobile feed, and desktop search result — so you can spot tiny text or crowded designs before publishing.

What size should a YouTube thumbnail be?

Use a 1280×720 (16:9) image, ideally 2 MB or under. The sidebar renders it as small as 168 pixels wide, so any text below roughly 40-pixel size in the source becomes illegible.

Is my thumbnail uploaded to a server?

No. The image is loaded and previewed locally in your browser and never leaves your device.

Where does the duration badge appear?

YouTube overlays the duration in the bottom-right corner of every thumbnail, which this tool simulates — so avoid putting critical content in that area.

Related tools