Image Tools

YouTube Banner Resize

Crops and resizes one image to a 2560×1440 YouTube channel banner, with a guide that shows the text-and-logo safe area YouTube describes. Runs in your browser.

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Output is exactly 2560×1440 px. The picture is scaled until it fills that frame and the overflow is cropped. You choose which part is kept.

How to Use

  1. 1Drop in one image, or choose it from your device.
  2. 2Drag the slider to choose which part is kept, and keep text and logos inside the dashed safe-area guide.
  3. 3Pick JPEG or PNG under File type. JPEG is usually the safer choice for the 6 MB limit.
  4. 4Click “Resize for YouTube Banner” and download the 2560×1440 file.

About this tool

Updated

What YouTube says about banner images

A minimum of 2048×1152 at 16:9, a recommended 2560×1440, a safe area of 1235×338 at the minimum size, and a 6 MB limit.

These are the figures on YouTube’s help page about channel branding. It lists a minimum dimension for upload of 2048×1152 pixels at 16:9, a recommended dimension of 2560×1440 (especially for TV), and a safe area for text and logos of 1235×338 pixels at the minimum dimension. It adds that images should accommodate the entire screen on larger devices but will be cropped on certain views and devices, asks you not to add shadows, borders or frames, and sets the file size at 6 MB or smaller. Source: YouTube Help, manage your channel branding. Checked against the platform’s own help page on 6 October 2026.

Keeping text inside the safe area

Anything outside the safe area may be cropped on some screens, so put names, logos and text inside it.

The dashed guide on this page shows the safe area at the output size. YouTube gives its dimensions but does not say in words where it sits, so the guide is drawn centred; treat it as a good approximation rather than something YouTube’s page states. The arithmetic: 1235 of 2048 is about 60% of the width and 338 of 1152 about 29% of the height, which at 2560×1440 is roughly 1544×423 pixels. Switch the guide off to see the whole frame.

Choosing what the crop keeps

A photo that is already 16:9 is not cropped. Anything else loses part of its width or height, and you choose which part.

Move the slider until the preview shows the subject where you want it. A banner can be shown on a TV, a computer and a phone, and YouTube says it is cropped on certain views and devices, so it recommends the large 2560×1440 canvas. A very small source is enlarged to fill the frame, which cannot add detail; the page warns you when that happens.

Staying under 6 MB

At 2560×1440 a detailed PNG can pass 6 MB, so JPEG is usually the safer choice for photographs.

Choose JPEG under File type unless the banner is mostly flat colour and sharp text. Check the size of the downloaded file against YouTube’s limit. If it is too large, Image Compressor or Compress Image to KB can reduce it.

Features

  • Exactly 2560×1440 pixels, the size YouTube recommends
  • Optional guide for YouTube’s safe area for text and logos
  • Live preview that matches the exported crop
  • JPEG or PNG output, or the original type
  • Runs in your browser; the image is not uploaded

FAQ

What size does YouTube want for a channel banner?

YouTube’s help page gives a minimum of 2048×1152 pixels at 16:9 and recommends 2560×1440, especially for TV. This page outputs the recommended 2560×1440.

Where is the safe area?

YouTube states the safe area for text and logos as 1235×338 pixels at the minimum 2048×1152 size. Its page does not describe the position in words, so this page draws it centred and says so. Scaled to 2560×1440 that works out to roughly 1544×423 pixels.

What is the file-size limit?

YouTube says 6 MB or smaller.

Should I add a border or a shadow?

YouTube asks you not to include extra embellishments such as shadows, borders and frames in the image.

Is my image uploaded?

No. The resize happens in your browser.

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