YouTube thumbnail tester
Drop your cover image and type the title. See them as a YouTube card next to other cards, on the home grid, in a search list and on a phone, before you upload.
- Three views
- Title length check
- Nothing uploaded
- Free
Weekend build log: the shelf that fought back
Maker Lane · 12K views · 2 days ago
Your video title goes here
Your channel · 12K views · 2 days ago
Testing every $20 microphone so you don’t have to
Studio Nine · 12K views · 2 days ago
A quiet day in the mountains, no talking
Slow Trails · 12K views · 2 days ago
How to fix the one setting everybody misses
Fix It Fast · 12K views · 2 days ago
Weekend build log: the shelf that fought back
Maker Lane · 12K views · 2 days ago
The other cards are placeholders. Nothing is uploaded; the picture stays in your browser.
How do you test a YouTube thumbnail before uploading?
Drop the 1280×720 image above and type the title. The page draws it as a YouTube card between placeholder cards in the three places a viewer meets it: the home grid, a search result list and a phone feed. Look at it small: a cover that reads at 320 pixels wide is one that works. The title counter shows where YouTube cuts long titles. Everything stays in your browser; nothing is uploaded and nothing is charged.
- Views
- Home grid, search list, phone
- Title
- Counter to 100; cut around 60–70 on most screens
- Image
- Any image up to 20 MB; 1280×720 recommended
- Cost
- Free, no account
How to preview a thumbnail
Drop the cover
A 1280×720 JPG or PNG, up to 20 MB. It is drawn into the card at the size YouTube would show it.
Type the title
The counter shows the length; YouTube shows about 60–70 characters on most screens and cuts the rest.
Switch views
Home, Search and Phone. If the cover is unreadable in the phone view, it will be unreadable to most viewers.
Thumbnail tester questions
Is this an A/B test on YouTube?
No. It is a preview on this page. YouTube's own Test & Compare, in YouTube Studio, runs a real test on viewers; this tool helps you pick which covers to put into it.
Why placeholder cards?
A thumbnail is never seen alone; it is seen next to others. The grey cards stand in for them so you judge the cover in company.
Does it score or rate the thumbnail?
No. It shows it; you judge. A score would be a number we cannot stand behind.
Is the image uploaded?
No. The picture stays in your browser; refresh the page and it is gone.
Need a cover to test?
Describe the picture and get a 1280×720 thumbnail from an image model.
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