YouTube Thumbnail Bigger Than 2MB
Get under the phone upload limit without losing quality you can see.
The Short Answer
When you upload a thumbnail from a phone, YouTube only accepts files up to 2 MB. Designs exported as PNG, especially at the 3840×2160 size YouTube now recommends, are often several times that.
Save the thumbnail as a JPG at 80% quality. It keeps the full size and looks the same on screen, and it's usually well under 2 MB.
Shrink your thumbnail →YouTube's Thumbnail Limits
| From a phone | From a computer | |
|---|---|---|
| Video thumbnail | 2 MB | 50 MB |
| Podcast thumbnail | 10 MB | 50 MB |
| File type | JPG or PNG | |
| Recommended size | 3840×2160 (Shorts: 2160×3840), at least 640 pixels wide | |
These are the figures on YouTube's own help page. The limits have changed before, which is why many older articles still say 2 MB everywhere.
Get Under 2 MB in a Minute
- Open the Image Compressor on your phone and select your thumbnail.
- Leave Quality at 80% and tap Compress.
- Check the new size and the preview. If it's still over 2 MB, lower the quality to 60 or 70% and compress again.
- Tap Download and upload the JPG to YouTube.
In our test, a busy 3840×2160 PNG of 16.5 MB came out at 1.5 MB at 80% quality and 0.8 MB at 60%. Simpler designs shrink even more. The width and height don't change, so the thumbnail still meets YouTube's recommended size.
The compressor runs in your browser, so an unreleased thumbnail isn't uploaded anywhere before you publish it.
Why PNG Thumbnails Are So Big
PNG stores every pixel exactly, which is ideal for logos and screenshots but wasteful for a thumbnail with a photo, gradients or textures. JPG throws away detail your eye doesn't notice, so the same image is a fraction of the size. At thumbnail viewing size, a JPG at 80% quality is effectively indistinguishable from the PNG.
If your design app has an export setting, choosing JPG at high quality instead of PNG avoids the problem next time.
If It Still Won't Upload
- The custom thumbnail option is missing. YouTube only allows custom thumbnails on verified accounts. Verify your account in YouTube Studio.
- The image is the wrong shape. A thumbnail that isn't 16:9 gets black bars or is cropped. Check it with the aspect ratio calculator.
- You're near a computer. Upload from YouTube Studio in a computer browser, where the limit is 50 MB.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the YouTube thumbnail size limit?
It depends on where you upload from. YouTube's help page says thumbnails uploaded from a phone can be up to 2 MB for videos (10 MB for podcasts), and thumbnails uploaded from a computer up to 50 MB. Thumbnails must be JPG or PNG images.
What size should a YouTube thumbnail be?
YouTube now recommends 3840 by 2160 pixels for video thumbnails, a 16:9 shape, with a minimum width of 640 pixels. For Shorts it recommends 2160 by 3840, a 9:16 shape.
How do I make my thumbnail smaller than 2 MB?
Save it as a JPG instead of a PNG. Open the Fair Toolbox Image Compressor, select the thumbnail, leave the quality at 80% and tap Compress. The tool shows the new size, usually well under 2 MB, and you download the JPG and upload that. If it's still over, lower the quality to 60 or 70% and compress again.
Will compressing make my thumbnail look worse?
At 80% quality the difference is very hard to see, especially at the size thumbnails are shown on screen. Compression shows first as slight blurring around sharp text edges, so check the preview before you download and raise the quality if the text looks soft.
Why can't I upload a custom thumbnail at all?
YouTube only allows custom thumbnails on verified accounts. If the option to upload one is missing, verify your account in YouTube Studio first. That's a different problem from the file being too large.
Can I just upload from a computer instead?
Yes. From a computer browser the limit is 50 MB, so the same file usually goes through. Compressing is still worth it if you're working from your phone.