This post was originally written Mar 10, 2020 and has been updated with newer information.

In 2025, custom thumbnails are still one of the most powerful ways to get noticed on YouTube.

Just as readers judge books by their covers, viewers judge videos by their thumbnails. It's unavoidable. You have just a tiny window of opportunity to grab that person's attention and draw them into your video. So let's jump into how to make custom thumbnails that do just that.

Custom Thumbnails on YouTube: Your Winning Feature

When you upload a video to YouTube, the platform automatically selects a few thumbnail options from your video. But chances are, those auto-generated frames selected will be off the mark and tell the viewer absolutely nothing about your content. 

That's why custom thumbnails remain one of the most important toolkit. With the help of a well-designed thumbnail, you can tell a much more colorful, intriguing, and direct visual story that might just earn your video an extra click.

Not sure how to enable custom thumbnails? 

minimum recommended resolution is 1280 by 720 pixels

. If you go any higher you might run into two problems. 

Shrinking down really high resolution images to thumbnail preview size can distort them and make them look a little weird. 

YouTube has a very restrictive 2MB file size limit. Keep that in mind if you intend to create really complex images. 

And finally, make sure to save your thumbnails in one of the following file formats: JPEG, GIF, BMP, or PNG.

Another advantage of creating thumbnails in 1280 X 720 resolution is that it matches the 16:9 aspect ratio of how 99.9% of your potential audience will see them. Stick to these basic YouTube thumbnail principles and you are off to a good start.

Here’s one of the most important tips in this entire guide.

When you design your thumbnail, you're looking at it full-size. Bust most viewers will see it much smaller on YouTube's homepage, especially on mobile and we like to call it the 10% rule. 

So here's the test: shrink your custom thumbnail down to 10% of its size. Can you still clearly see what's going on? Can you make out the subject, emotion, or action?

If not, simplify. Cut the clutter. Stick to a few bold elements which are usually a face, an object, and clean background.

Great Custom Thumbnails = Higher Click-Through Rates

Hopefully every YouTube content creator is aware of their 

. Every time a viewer sees one of your thumbnails, that counts as 

. Every time somebody clicks on one of those thumbnails, that is 

. And you can calculate the click-through rate from that. For example, let's say your thumbnail is shown 100 times, and it's clicked on 10 times, that's 10% click-through rate. CTR is a representation of how powerful and effective your titles and your thumbnails are together.

A question that's often asked at this point is, what is a good click-through rate? YouTube's answer is between 2% and 10%, but that depends on your niche, channel size, and your content style. 

benchmark your own CTR and aim to improve it

. Competing with yourself is way more productive and exciting as you see your CTR go up. Competing with somebody else's CTR is going to be frustrating and can lead to burnout.

Custom Thumbnails and YouTube's Safety System

Here’s a lesser known but important point: YouTube uses machine learning to scan your custom thumbnails and assess whether they’re safe for the platform.

A great tool for checking a thumbnail is safe is 

. It's free to use and unnervingly accurate. Just upload a thumbnail and it will:

Identify potentially unsafe or inappropriate content

Highlight whether your thumbnail might trigger YouTube's safety filters

So if you do create a thumbnail that is a little edgy, it might be a good idea to run it through Cloud Vision first. It is certainly an impressive glance into the world of artificial intelligence.

In a sea of videos, your custom thumbnail is your first impression. It’s your best chance to stop the scroll, spark curiosity, and earn that all-important click.

The good news? You don’t need to be a professional designer to create effective thumbnails. With tools like vidIQ’s 

, you can craft bold, high-performing thumbnails that follow all the best practices.

And keep in mind, the best thumbnails don’t work alone. A 

 working together with a great custom thumbnail grabs attention and sets clear expectations.

So don’t treat your thumbnail as an afterthought. Give it the attention it deserves, and watch what happens with your CTR.

If you want to take your YouTube channel to the next level then make sure to download vidIQ. It will help you research YouTube, analyze videos, audit your own channel, and take actionable steps 

Man pointing at YouTube custom thumbnail size limit text with vidIQ logo on blue background

Beyond the video content itself, custom thumbnails are probably the most important YouTube tool you have in your arsenal. Take a look at our essential guide and get it right every time.

How to Make Custom Thumbnails - The Essential Guide!

This post was originally written Mar 10, 2020 and has been updated with newer information

If you want to grow your channel, your custom thumbnails are one of the most important tools you have. Successful creators know this, and they never treat thumbnails as an afterthought.

We spoke to one of the best thumbnail artists in the business, 

 are the creators behind the wildly popular 

 series. Creating stand-out custom thumbnails for their content is an integral part of the process, and Vy gave us a sneak peek into what works across their YouTube channels.

Vy and her team have tested and refined the type of thumbnails that drive viewers to click through to watch. It’s a strategy that’s worked to generate millions of subscribers and billions of views across the five YouTube channels Vy manages. She gave us some exclusive insights into the use of color, graphics and text to create the perfect image.

Take a look at any of Vy and Chad’s YouTube channels and the first thing that hits you about the custom thumbnails is the extraordinary use of color. As experts in the game this is absolutely intentional, and understanding the best colors for YouTube thumbnail design is one of the keys to standing out.

Vy explains that the content they create appeals to a younger demographic who respond really well to bright and vibrant colors. In order to maximize the appeal of the thumbnails, Vy and her team play with, enhance, and even radically change the YouTube thumbnail colors on the image until they get the results they know will work.

Using just Photoshop, colors are saturated, backgrounds are blurred to make the foreground objects stand out, and drop shadows and outer glows are used to further make those objects or text pop. Vy will also separate out the background and foreground on different layers for added image clarity and depth. To break this process down further, let’s take a look at the thumbnail Vy and her team created for ‘

You can see the image-editing expertise fully in action on this thumbnail. Vy has used a fairly blurred 2 color background on one layer, with herself and the hacker on another layer. The two figures have been outlined using the outer glow tool so they stand out, drawing the viewer's attention to Vy’s bright jacket and the white mask of the hacker.

The jacket is actually blue denim but Vy changes the color for every thumbnail she wears it for based on the other colors she's using. The team members mix and match complementary colors based on the background and the objects in the thumbnail, and Vy will often change the color of the jacket so it’s the opposite to what anyone else in the thumbnail is wearing. So while it looks like Vy owns 30 denim jackets of the same design, it’s actually just the one clothing item that’s been manipulated to bring out the very best in the custom thumbnail.

Vy and the team also use colors to create a sense of consistency across their thumbnails with splashes of the same color popping up across different images. This creates a motif that runs through their thumbnails and reinforces the branding and familiarity of the channels.

Bright, high-contrast colors work well, but the best colors for YouTube thumbnails will depend on your niche, audience, and brand style.

Tip #2 Keep Text on Custom Thumbnails to an Absolute Minimum

Another thing you’ll notice from the thumbnails created across Vy’s, Chad’s and the Project Hacker YouTube channels is that text is kept to an absolute minimum, or not used at all.

Obviously this creates extra pressure on the designer who has to get the focus of the content over without spelling it out for the viewer. Vy and her team are world-class experts at this and know exactly when to use text only when necessary. When they do, it’s big and bright and it counts.

Vy confirms that a lot of rookie mistakes she sees with custom thumbnails on YouTube are trying to cram in as much text as possible. Unfortunately, it becomes almost impossible to read when you shrink the thumbnail down. When the graphic becomes too busy the viewer is going to have a hard time understanding what your video is about and they may not even click through to find out.

Vy’s team have solid rules for text use: use three words or less for any thumbnail, keep that text precise, and only ever use it if it makes the story complete. Also, think about the colors you use for the text to make it stand out. And 

don’t repeat the title in the thumbnail - ever!

Another vital component of the successful custom thumbnails that Vy and her team create is the use of emotion to draw viewers in. If just one person is in the thumbnail, they will use the face that shows the stronger emotion, and if there are two or more people, each will have a slightly different emotion to foster attention. This is incredibly important for capturing the eyeballs of the younger audiences scrolling through the YouTube feed on their mobile devices.

Another very effective way of conveying a strong emotion in a person is to actually show the whites of their eyes. Vy spends a lot of time on faces and knows how to make the most out of them. In the thumbnail for ‘

’ Vy accentuated Chad’s green iris and the whites of his eyes with Photoshop’s Saturation tool to make them really come alive. This really helps when it comes to the human connection.

But Vy goes even further to create a sense of emotion with viewers. Not only does she want to attract viewers with facial expressions, but also with a sense of action and purpose from the people featured in the image. As this is rarely achieved from someone just standing still, she makes sure that Chad, herself, or the Hacker are in some kind of motion - like running or fighting back. The aim is to create a need for the audience to find out what happens next.

Tip #4 Don’t Make the Custom Thumbnail an Afterthought

The art of the thumbnail is something Vy’s team 

. The topic of the video, and the story around it is a critical starting point for the graphic. The base image isn’t taken from a screenshot, it’s shot separately and taken from one of many images created during the photoshoot.

Vy will take multiple shots from multiple angles so she has a wide range of creative assets to work from. Thumbnails are never an afterthought for the team, and are as important as creating the main video content.

Tip #5 Keep on Testing Thumbnails - and Replace if You Need To

Vy will monitor click through rate very closely after uploading a video, and is quick to respond if she feels a thumbnail isn’t working as well as she expects. She tracks the click through rates of all of their custom thumbnails in a spreadsheet and analyses the data for performance insights. But as an expert, she’ll use her experience and instinct to 

 within the first 48 hours if the video isn’t getting the views - even before she can confirm the CTR. Talking of 

 makes it easy to generate multiple color variation and layouts, so finding your best YouTube thumbnail colors becomes fast and efficient. 

Whether you’re designing thumbnails manually or 

, the fundamentals are the same: bold colors, strong emotions, minimal text, and continuous testing.

Huge thanks to Vy for letting vidIQ in on her insights and process around creating the best custom thumbnails on YouTube. As you can see, creators who are pulling in millions of views never leave their thumbnail to chance. And you shouldn't either. 

Want To Get More YouTube Views & Subscribers?

Woman in patterned hoodie angrily confronting masked person in black with neon gloves.

We give you 5 expert tips on why creating the best YouTube custom thumbnails should NEVER be an afterthought if you want to grow views and subscribers fast.

Why YouTube Custom Thumbnails Should NEVER Be an Afterthought: 5 Expert Tips

How to Download Your Own YouTube Thumbnails

Want to get YouTube thumbnails from your own videos? Here’s the quick method:

Hover over your current thumbnail and click the three-dot menu

When you click 'download', the image may appear in a new web browser where you can do the usual right click and save. One thing to note, it doesn't matter what resolution you uploaded the thumbnail as, it will always be downloaded in 1280 X 720 resolution.

If you want to download YouTube thumbnails from any video, the easiest way is to use our free tool:

YouTube Thumbnail Downloader – HD Quality

Just paste the video URL, and our tool will instantly get YouTube thumbnails in high definition. No need to mess with URLs or search for the video ID—it’s simple, fast, and works on any public video.

You can manually download YouTube thumbnails from any public video. You'll need the 

, which you can find in the watch page URL—it’s the random collection of numbers and letters that comes after the equal symbol. So highlight all of that and copy it.

On a new browser tab, type in the following URL. Replace 

*https://img.youtube.com/vi/youtube-video-id/maxresdefault.jpg*

Once inserted, you should be able to press enter or click go and you should now see the thumbnail from that video. 

Keep in mind, thumbnails are copyrighted material. You can download YouTube thumbnails for personal use, research, or design inspiration—but get permission for commercial use, or ensure it qualifies under fair use.

Want to Mimic Popular YouTube Thumbnail Styles?

Downloading thumbnails is a great way to research what works. If you want to take it a step further, try vidIQ’s 

You’ll get ready-made templates that match popular YouTube thumbnail styles—perfect for learning proven design tactics and creating high-performing thumbnails faster.


Need to get YouTube thumbnails in high resolution? Learn how to download YouTube thumbnails manually or with our free YouTube thumbnail downloader.

How to Download a YouTube Thumbnail (Fast, Easy & Free)

This post was originally written Feb 14, 2023 and has been updated with newer information

Your Thumbnail is your first impression. No matter how great your content is, people won’t click if your thumbnail doesn’t grab their attention.

But with AI-generated images, it’s harder than ever to stand out.

, you’ll want to give directions based on proven formats from the best YouTube thumbnails.

Here are 12 thumbnail formats people still love to click on in 2025:


One way to get people interested in your thumbnail is by displaying a burning question that keeps them up at night. “Can I afford a house right now with my current income?” “Will eating organic produce transform my health?” 

Posing the right question in your thumbnail makes viewers desperate to know the answer. Especially if it speaks to their curiosity or concerns.

But with AI tools making it easy to generate titles, your thumbnail question needs to feel human, specific, and relevant to your audience.

 uses the question "Is it really that bad?", perfectly teases controversy and invites viewers to find out the truth for themselves.

It’s a great example of how the best YouTube thumbnails grab attention without giving everything away.

Thumbnail example from Peter Santenello's YouTube channel

We often say the best YouTube thumbnails draw people in with their emotional appeal. But for some viewers, facts and statistics can be enticing, too! This method works well in niches that rely on numbers and data, such as sports, science, and history.

 make videos about “NBA moments” that lead to shock, controversy, or at least a good laugh. Some of those moments include record-breaking stats for different players, so adding those numbers to the thumbnail is a way to get viewers interested in the video.

After all, it’s exciting to see a player achieved 50 points and 40 rebounds in one game!

Thumbnails that compare an object or place in its before-and-after state — a bare room or a failing garden, for example — is an instant win on YouTube. People love seeing a good make over, especially when the final form is far from the original. When you show this transformation in a thumbnail, you prove to viewers that the video is worth watching.

Take a look at this YouTube thumbnail example from Bernardo Bacalhau’s video, “

.” The before and after shots aren’t even close! With such a beautiful upgrade, you can’t help but press play and watch the journey unfold.

Before and after shots of a renovated van

Thumbnails that follow the “versus” format compare two items in the same category. For example, you might display two video games about action and fighting or two washing machines that are both energy efficient. In both cases, you’re helping viewers understand what will be compared and why they should care.

The Vox channel has some of the best YouTube Thumbnails. They did an excellent video 

 of the 1800s to the ones we ride today, and you can see the difference just by looking at the thumbnail.

A thumbnail showing rollercoasters in two different eras

If you’re going to put text on a thumbnail, consider a quote or sound bite from the video itself. That will give viewers a subtle preview of what to expect when they press play. Plus, the more interesting the sound bite is, the more enticing the video becomes.

 from Alpha Leaders is about Kobe Bryant’s incredible work ethic. The thumbnail exposes a little-known fact, claiming that he 

 to squeeze in longer, harder basketball practices. The video has 4.5 million views!

YouTube thumbnail showing a Kobe Bryant quote

Exaggerated facial expressions still work for YouTube thumbnails in 2025. Close-up faces are classic thumbnail ideas that never go out of style, and that’s why you see so many of them.

But it’s about more than showing dramatic facial expressions. To keep things interesting, most people edit around their faces to convey a unique twist in the video and get more views.

That’s what Shelby Church did for her viral video, “

” The thumbnail shows her face, but it also shows some hologram-like images projecting from her glasses. It’s more engaging than a bare headshot!

Thumbnail of a woman wearing smart glasses

Do you make action-packed videos on YouTube? If so, you want your thumbnail to give off a similar vibe. Try taking a screen capture of the most exciting scene in your video, then edit the entire image to look bold, colorful, and adventurous. This approach will make your video stand out from the competition!

 is an expert at making live-action thumbnails. That’s why so many creators look to him for inspiration for thumbnail ideas. If you like his style, you can make a similar version using our 

Three people on an island for a video challenge

Showing products in your thumbnail is a good idea if you have a tech channel, gaming channel, or like reviewing new merchandise in general. You could talk about the latest mascara, the most fragrant candles, or the best skillets for searing steak. Either way, showing a product in your thumbnail helps viewers decide whether to click or not.

As an example, take a look at the image below. Mrwhosetheboss has a table full of Nintendo consoles, and you can probably guess that he’s reviewing all of them in 

. Seeing all those consoles is exciting because you know an in-depth review is coming!

A man smiling beside a pile of gaming consoles

A funny title and thumbnail can catch viewers off guard in a good way. They might laugh, chuckle, or think, 

 It sounds insignificant at first, but this is precisely the type of reaction you want — for viewers to stop what they’re doing and think about your video. That’s the first step to making them click.

If you need inspiration, Kelly Stamps has some of the wittiest thumbnails on YouTube. Check out the one below, which she used for her video, “

The Actual Cost of Becoming an Influencer

A humorous YouTube thumbnail against the New York City skyline

Nature has a way of captivating us all, from the red rock formations in Arizona to the clear blue waters of Jamaica. People travel thousands of miles to see those wonders, so it can’t hurt to show a little nature in your YouTube thumbnails.

Here is a great YouTube thumbnail example. DownieLive has one of the best YouTube thumbnails on YouTube right now. For his video, “

,” icy mountains in Alaska meet the tropical waves of Miami.

A thumbnail showing landscapes of Alaska and Florida

If you’re planning a heartfelt video, don’t forget to add a touching moment to the thumbnail too. This is an important skill that produces great YouTube thumbnails. People love to see good deeds, random acts of kindness, or cute moments between children and animals. It proves that a bit of emotion can take you far on YouTube!

For example, check out the thumbnail below where 

A man showing his grandpa the car he bought for him

We’ll be honest: Making thumbnails for tutorials is not easy. On the one hand, you want the image to convey what will happen in the video, which is a step-by-step lesson. On the other hand, you don’t want the photo itself to be bland or boring. 

So how do you spice things up? Highlight the result, add humor, or showcase the experience.

Take a little inspiration from Rose & Anzai Country Life. Surprisingly, the thumbnail for their 

 video breaks all the rules of a traditional cooking channel. You don’t see a kitchen or anyone cooking at all. Instead, you see the family enjoying the finished meal, which appeals to the heart and not the head!

Thumbnails play a significant role in getting you more views, so be intentional about each one. Make sure the thumbnail is an accurate reflection of the video and that it is clear, relevant, and instantly communicates value.

And if you want amazing YouTube thumbnail ideas, give 

Clapperboard with YouTube play button and vidIQ logo surrounded by icons for video analysis.

Need some fresh YouTube thumbnail ideas for your channel? Explore these popular image styles to get more views on your content today!

The 12 Best YouTube Thumbnails People Love to Click On

Innovation never stops at YouTube, and there's a powerful new update on the horizon that’s tailor-made for growing your video’s international reach. YouTube is rolling out a feature that lets you 

upload different thumbnails for each dubbed version of your video

, a subtle but game-changing addition to your global content strategy. While 

 might be the first step to winning a click, ensuring it speaks the viewer’s language—literally and visually—can be the key to unlocking global growth.

This small shift is big news. It’s not just a design tweak; it’s a behavioral shift for anyone on the platform. You’re no longer designing for one audience. You’re creating for the world. We’ll explore why it matters, how it works, and how it fits into the bigger picture of reaching viewers around the world.

25 YouTube Updates that Will Affect Your Channel in 2025

What’s this Multi-Language Thumbnail Update?

As part of YouTube’s growing suite of multilingual tools, creators can now 

assign translated thumbnails to each dubbed version of a video.

 This means if you’re using YouTube’s multi-language audio or auto-dubbing features (such as through third-party services or your own dub uploads), you can pair that with a

Your original English video could be a US-style thumbnail.

The Spanish version might show translated text and culturally relevant imagery.

The Hindi version could include a familiar visual trope for the Indian audience.

The Arabic version might use right-to-left text placement.

YouTube automatically matches the thumbnail to the viewer’s 

, making sure the right image shows up for the right person. Viewers won't just hear their language—they'll see it before they ever click.

Why Multilingual Video Thumbnails are a Game Changer

1. Visual Localization = Better Engagement

We already know that thumbnails play a critical role in YouTube’s ecosystem. They're the first thing viewers notice. However, when targeting a non-English-speaking audience with a thumbnail written in English or designed with Western visual cues, creators often miss the mark.

With the help of localized thumbnails, you can:

Improve click-through rates by matching cultural expectations.

Reduce bounce by setting more accurate visual expectations.

Help videos stand out in local search or browse features.

Think about it: if you're a Spanish speaker and you see a thumbnail that uses your language and familiar visual styles, you're more likely to feel that this video was made for you. And that feeling matters.

YouTube’s dubbing tools (whether automatic or creator-uploaded) already give you a leg up in reaching global audiences. But until now, every viewer, whether in Mexico, Germany, or Indonesia, was shown the same thumbnail image. That thumbnail likely featured English text, an English-speaking creator, or design styles that aren’t universally appealing.

Now, with multilingual thumbnails, you get to present a custom front door to each audience. That unlocks better brand perception. It’s a slight shift that positions you not as a global broadcaster, but as a local storyteller, even if your content was originally recorded in English.

Creating Global Content: 4 Tips to Get YouTube Views Worldwide

Multilingual video is about more than just dubbing the audio. A truly international video experience needs to consider:

Subtitles and captions in the viewer’s language

Audio that feels native (through AI or creator dubs)

Titles and descriptions that are accurately translated

And now, thumbnails that visually speak the language of the viewer

YouTube is slowly building a full-stack solution for creators who want to go global without duplicating content. And this multilingual thumbnail fills in a critical gap, which is the first visual contact with your video.

How to Upload Multilingual Thumbnails for a Video

Here’s how it works (based on YouTube’s recent announcement and early testing):

Dub your video using YouTube’s multi-language audio tools


This can be done using Aloud (YouTube’s auto-dubbing tool), your own voice dubs, or external multi-language audio uploads.


If you do not have your thumbnail ready yet, we have you covered. 

, you can create AI-generated, upload-ready thumbnails in just minutes. Upload your video, use a reference image, or simply write what you want, and our tool will work wonders for you!

Go into YouTube Studio and assign language-specific thumbnails


In the "Video Details" section, you’ll now see an option to add alternate thumbnails for each language version of your video.

YouTube will automatically serve the right thumbnail to the viewer based on their selected language or region.

 If you’re not ready to make entirely different thumbnails for every language, start with your top 3 geographies outside your home country. Localizing just a few thumbnails can go a long way.

How to Design Language-Specific Thumbnails

YouTube’s new update lets creators add localized, language-specific thumbnails for each dubbed version of a video. Here’s how it works.


YouTube Custom Thumbnails

How to Make Custom Thumbnails - The Essential Guide!

Why YouTube Custom Thumbnails Should NEVER Be an Afterthought: 5 Expert Tips

How to Download a YouTube Thumbnail (Fast, Easy & Free)

The 12 Best YouTube Thumbnails People Love to Click On

YouTube Launches Multilingual Thumbnail Feature to Help Creators' Global Reach

Are AI Thumbnail Makers Destroying YouTube?

5 Tips for a Winning YouTube Custom Thumbnail