ThumbGlance● Local processingPick one of four podcast thumbnail layouts, add your host photo and episode title, and download a 1280 × 720 episode PNG or a 1280 × 1280 square cover PNG. Everything runs in your browser; your images are never uploaded.
These CSS widths come from one computer, one measurement on October 10, 2026. YouTube may change its layouts, so your sizes can differ. See the display-size measurement table. On a narrow screen, scroll the search preview horizontally: the image remains 500 CSS px wide.
We have not measured how YouTube displays a square show cover, so no preview sizes are shown.
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For episode thumbnails, our conservative line is 2,000,000 bytes, based on the 2 MB mobile limit for video thumbnails. For square show covers, it is 10,000,000 bytes, based on the stricter 10 MB mobile limit for podcasts; the desktop limit is 50 MB for video, Shorts and podcast thumbnails. All three limits come from the YouTube Help page on custom thumbnails, checked October 16, 2026 (UTC). For both lines, the decimal versus binary boundary has not been tested. Reaching or exceeding the line is flagged. A file below it still needs a Studio upload check. JPG is available after a PNG reaches the line, at quality 0.9 and the same pixels; PNG is never automatically converted.
1280 × 720 and 1280 × 1280 are this tool's fixed outputs. 1280 × 1280 is the square show cover size on YouTube's Podcast Help page; an episode video thumbnail is a separate 16:9 image. For the current official recommendations, see the size and upload-limit guide.
An episode thumbnail is the 16:9 cover image for one video. Host + title, Two guests and Big episode number export it at 1280 × 720. A show cover represents the podcast as a whole: YouTube’s Podcast Help recommends a square 1280 × 1280 image, which is the Square show cover layout’s output here.
These are two different images. 1280 × 720 is this tool’s fixed episode output, not YouTube’s recommended resolution. Read the official thumbnail size guide for current recommendations and upload limits.
For an interview, Host + title puts a host photo in a frame on the right and a short title on the left. Two guests puts one person on each side with a title band through the middle. Big episode number puts episode text such as EP 12 beside the title for a numbered series. Square show cover centers the show name, adds a one-line subtitle and can include a circular host photo.
For your podcast thumbnail design, start with a short title and large letters. At our measured 215 px sidebar width, a long sentence becomes small type. Check that actual preview, then see more thumbnail layout ideas. These choices do not predict viewer response.
A thumbnail for podcast episodes can name the conversation or the guest without repeating the whole episode description. If your notes say “thumbnail podcast,” decide whether you mean an episode image or the square show cover before choosing a layout.
People search for best podcast thumbnails; this tool does not rank thumbnails or predict viewer response.
This editor is free of charge, needs no account and has no usage counter; export as often as you need. Your images stay in this browser. There is no template library: four layouts, edited here.
The tool does not remove backgrounds or generate images. Bring your own PNG with a transparent background, or keep a circle or rounded frame. For game screenshots, use the gaming thumbnail tool; for a different text position, use the thumbnail maker.
No. Image decoding, drawing and export happen locally; the tool does not send your image to a server.
Yes. No account, payment or usage limit is required.
This tool exports a 1280 × 720 episode image or a 1280 × 1280 square show cover. For the official recommendations and device-specific upload limits, see the size guide.
No. Use your own PNG with a transparent background, or keep the circle or rounded frame. As is preserves existing transparency; it does not remove a photo’s background.
No. Choose one of the four layouts and edit it here.
Official facts checked against YouTube Podcast Help and YouTube thumbnail Help on October 16, 2026 (UTC). The 215 px and 500 px display widths are our October 10 observations, not YouTube rules.