YouTube thumbnail preview: see it at every size
Drop in one thumbnail and a title. See it the way viewers will: mobile home feed, search results and the suggested sidebar. Nothing leaves your browser.
Preview only. Your image never leaves this page.
Phone home feed
Your video title goes here
Your channel · 2 days ago
Search results
Your video title goes here
Your channel
Suggested sidebar
Your video title goes here
Your channel
How it works
One image, every placement
A thumbnail doesn't live at full size. It shows up in a handful of places, each smaller and noisier than the last. The preview lays them all out at once.
- +Add your thumbnail and type your title
- +See the mobile home feed, search results and suggested sidebar
- +Change the title and watch how it wraps and cuts off
- +Fix it, drop it in again, repeat
Why small sizes matter
Full screen lies to you
In your editor the thumbnail is huge and sharp. In the sidebar it's a few hundred pixels wide. Thin text, small faces and busy backgrounds turn to noise at that size.
- +Small text is gone on a phone
- +A face has to read as a face from arm's length
- +Low contrast between subject and background blurs together
- +Corner details can be covered by the video length badge
Private by design
It stays in your browser
The preview runs locally. Your image isn't uploaded, stored or sent to us, so it's safe to check an unreleased thumbnail.
Before you publish
A quick pass that catches the obvious
Run the preview last, after the design is done and before you publish. If it still reads at the smallest size, you're in good shape.
- +Check the title and thumbnail aren't saying the same words
- +Make sure the title isn't cut off before the key word
- +Confirm the image is 16:9 so nothing gets cropped
Creator reviews
18,000+ creators have signed up and made 30,000+ thumbnails. Real reviews, collected through Senja.
"Good quality and fast. Does the job in seconds."
"I used to spend 1 hour on thumbnails. Now with LaunchLens it takes 10 minutes. I love it. I recommend it for small creators just starting out."
"I used to pay for these on Fiverr. LaunchLens is way cooler."
Questions, answered straight.
How do I preview a YouTube thumbnail?+
Drop your image and a title into the tool above. It shows the thumbnail in the mobile home feed, search results and suggested sidebar, the way viewers will see it.
Is my thumbnail uploaded anywhere?+
No. The preview runs in your browser, and the image stays on your device.
What sizes does YouTube show thumbnails at?+
It varies by placement and device. The home feed, search results and the suggested sidebar each use a different display size, which is why the preview shows all three.
What's the best YouTube thumbnail size?+
YouTube Help recommends 3840 x 2160 pixels at 16:9, with a minimum width of 640 pixels, in JPG or PNG. Files must be under 2 MB from mobile or 50 MB from desktop.
Does the preview rate my thumbnail?+
No. It only shows you how it looks at each size. To get a critique, use the thumbnail checker on a live video link.
Can I compare two versions?+
Yes. The thumbnail tester shows two versions side by side in a mock feed, search row and sidebar.
Make one that reads at every size.
Build the thumbnail from your title, export at 16:9, and preview it here. Sign up and start with free credits.
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