YouTube thumbnail downloader
Paste the link to a video and see its cover image in every size YouTube serves. Save the HD one, or the smaller ones, with one click.
- 1280 × 720 HD
- Shorts and youtu.be links
- No account
- Free
How do you download a YouTube thumbnail?
Paste the video's link above and press the button. YouTube keeps every video's cover image at fixed addresses in up to four sizes: 1280×720 (maxres), 640×480, 480×360 and 320×180. This page shows the ones that exist for that video and lets you save each as a JPG. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is charged. The picture belongs to the channel that made it: use it for reference, for your own videos, or with permission.
- Sizes
- 1280×720, 640×480, 480×360, 320×180
- Links
- watch, Shorts, youtu.be, embed
- Cost
- Free, no account
- Not every video
- Older uploads have no 1280×720 copy
How to save a thumbnail in HD
Copy the video link
From the address bar or the Share button. A Shorts link or a youtu.be short link works the same.
Paste it here
The cover appears in every size YouTube has for that video. A size YouTube never made is simply not shown.
Download
Press Download under the size you want; the JPG is saved with the video id in its name.
The four sizes, and which to pick
YouTube stores each cover as JPG files at i.ytimg.com/vi/<video id>/<name>.jpg. These are the ones this page fetches, as the code lists them.
- HD · maxresdefault.jpg
- 1280 × 720, 16:9The cover at full size: the channel's custom thumbnail if it set one, otherwise a frame YouTube picked. Made only when the upload was large enough, so older videos often lack it.
- SD · sddefault.jpg
- 640 × 480, 4:3The 16:9 picture shrunk into a 4:3 frame, with black bars above and below. Missing on many videos.
- HQ · hqdefault.jpg
- 480 × 360, 4:3Also letterboxed in 4:3. The size you are most likely to find for any video, old or new.
- MQ · mqdefault.jpg
- 320 × 180, 16:9Small and without bars: close to how big a cover looks in a phone feed, which makes it the honest size for judging whether a cover reads.
Last checked 2026-10-29
Thumbnail downloader questions
Why do the 640×480 and 480×360 pictures have black bars?
Those two sizes are 4:3 frames, and a 16:9 cover is fitted inside them with bars above and below. For a clean 16:9 picture take 1280×720, or 320×180 if small is enough.
Why is there no HD size for some videos?
YouTube makes the 1280×720 copy only when the upload was large enough; many older or low-resolution videos have only 480×360. The page shows what exists.
Can I download my own channel's thumbnails in bulk?
Not here: one video at a time. YouTube Studio keeps your own thumbnails; this page is for a quick grab from a link.
Can I use another channel's thumbnail?
It is the channel's picture. Save it for reference, to study what works, or with the owner's permission; do not reuse it as your own cover.
Does it work for Shorts?
Yes. A Shorts link carries the same video id, and YouTube serves the same cover sizes for it.
Is anything uploaded or tracked?
No. The pictures load from YouTube's own image host; the download passes through this site only so your browser can save a file. Nothing is kept.
Make your own thumbnail
Write what the cover should show and get a 1280×720 picture from an image model.
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