YouTube Thumbnail Preview
You design thumbnails at 1280 pixels. Viewers judge them at 168. Preview yours at the real rendered sizes, in both themes, next to the competition it will actually sit beside. The image never leaves your browser.
The image is rendered locally in your browser. It is never uploaded or stored.
Desktop home feed · 360px — beside real competition
Your Video Title Goes Here and This Is What Two Lines Look Like
Your channel
just now
We Tested 14 Budget Microphones So You Don't Have To
Audio Lab
412K views · 3 weeks ago
The Editing Mistake Every Beginner Makes
Cut & Color
1.1M views · 2 months ago
Suggested sidebar · 168px — where most clicks are lost
Your Video Title Goes Here and This Is What Two Lines Look Like
Your channel
just now
At 168 pixels wide, text under about 5% of the frame height is unreadable and a second subject becomes noise. If your thumbnail fails here, it fails where the suggested-video traffic lives.
Phone feed · full width
Your Video Title Goes Here and This Is What Two Lines Look Like
Your channel
just now
The 168 pixel test
Most creators check their thumbnail once, full screen, in the editor that made it. But the suggested sidebar renders it around 168 pixels wide, and that surface carries a huge share of long-term views. The honest test is simple: at sidebar size, can you tell what the video is about in under a second, and can you read every word of overlay text? If either answer is no, simplify until both are yes. One subject, one emotion, four words or fewer.