# Thumbnail sizes for YouTube, Instagram Reels and TikTok (2026)

YouTube recommends 3840 × 2160 pixels at 16:9, with a minimum width of 640 px.
Instagram Reels covers and TikTok cover photos are both 1080 × 1920 at 9:16.
YouTube's file size limit depends on the device you upload from: 2 MB on mobile
for video thumbnails, 10 MB on mobile for podcasts, and 50 MB on desktop for
either. The older 1280 × 720 remains perfectly valid.

Figures verified against the platforms' own documentation on 26 July 2026.

## Specifications

| Platform | What it's called | Recommended | Aspect ratio | Formats | Max file size |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| YouTube | Custom video thumbnail | 3840 × 2160 px | 16:9 | JPG, GIF, PNG | 2 MB on mobile, 50 MB on desktop |
| YouTube | Podcast thumbnail | 3840 × 2160 px (1:1 for podcast playlists) | 16:9, or 1:1 for a podcast playlist | JPG, GIF, PNG | 10 MB on mobile, 50 MB on desktop |
| YouTube Shorts | Shorts cover | 1080 × 1920 px | 9:16 | JPG, PNG | As above — Shorts use the same thumbnail limits |
| Instagram Reels | Reel cover | 1080 × 1920 px | 9:16 | JPG, PNG | No published limit — covers are cropped, not rejected |
| TikTok | Video cover photo | 1080 × 1920 px | 9:16 | JPG, PNG | No published limit |

## Safe zones — where covers actually get cut

- **YouTube — The timestamp sits bottom-right.** The duration badge overlays the lower-right corner in every feed. Keep faces and text out of roughly the bottom-right 15%.
- **YouTube — Design for 210 px wide, not 1280.** A sidebar suggestion renders around 168–246 px across. If the text is unreadable when you shrink the image to thumbnail-of-a-thumbnail size, it is unreadable where it counts.
- **Instagram Reels — The profile grid crops to 4:5.** You upload 1080 × 1920 (9:16), but the grid shows 1080 × 1440. Anything above or below that centre band is invisible on your profile.
- **Instagram Reels — Keep the subject in the centre 1080 × 1080.** That square survives every crop Instagram applies across the grid, the feed and Explore.
- **Instagram Reels — Avoid the bottom ~320 px.** The caption, account name and audio ticker are drawn over it in the feed.
- **TikTok — The right rail and caption eat the edges.** Action buttons run up the right side and the caption sits across the bottom. Compose to the upper-left two thirds.

## Frequently asked questions

### What size should a YouTube thumbnail be in 2026?

YouTube recommends 3840 × 2160 pixels at a 16:9 aspect ratio, with a minimum width of 640 pixels. The long-standing 1280 × 720 is still valid and still displays correctly everywhere — it is simply no longer the recommended maximum, because thumbnails now render on 4K television screens where the extra resolution shows.

### Is the YouTube thumbnail file size limit 2 MB or 50 MB?

Both, depending on where you upload from. YouTube's limit depends on the device: 2 MB for video thumbnails uploaded on mobile, 10 MB for podcast thumbnails on mobile, and 50 MB for either on desktop. Most guides still quote a flat 2 MB, which has not been the whole picture for some time. If a large thumbnail is rejected, upload it from a desktop browser.

### Is 1280 × 720 still fine for a YouTube thumbnail?

Yes. 1280 × 720 is the same 16:9 ratio, well above the 640 px minimum width, and looks identical to a 4K file on phones and laptops. The difference appears only on large high-resolution displays. A JPG at quality 85–90 at that size lands comfortably under even the 2 MB mobile limit.

### Why does my YouTube thumbnail look blurry?

Usually one of three things: the image was under 640 px wide and got upscaled; it was saved at a low JPG quality to squeeze under the 2 MB mobile limit; or it was exported at the wrong aspect ratio and YouTube cropped and rescaled it. Export at 16:9, keep the width at 1280 px or more, and upload from desktop if the file is large.

### What size is an Instagram Reels cover?

1080 × 1920 pixels, 9:16. The catch is the profile grid, which crops that to 4:5 (1080 × 1440). Keep your subject and any text inside the centred 1080 × 1080 square so it survives every crop, and stay out of the bottom ~320 pixels where the caption and audio ticker are drawn.

### What size is a TikTok cover photo?

1080 × 1920 pixels at 9:16, the same as the video. Compose towards the upper-left: the action buttons run up the right-hand side and the caption sits across the bottom.

### Do YouTube Shorts need a separate thumbnail?

Shorts use a 9:16 cover at 1080 × 1920 rather than the 16:9 thumbnail a standard video uses. If you publish the same video in both formats you need both images, which is why generating every size in one pass is worth doing.

## Sources

- [YouTube Help — Add video thumbnails](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/72431)
- [Instagram Help — Reels](https://help.instagram.com/270447560766967)
- [TikTok Help Centre](https://support.tiktok.com/en/using-tiktok/creating-videos)