Thumbnl, answered plainly.

What size should a YouTube thumbnail be?

1280 by 720 pixels, a 16:9 ratio, at least 640 pixels wide, under 2 MB, as a JPG, PNG or GIF. Thumbnl exports 1920 by 1080, which YouTube accepts and resizes. What matters more is how it reads at about 200 by 113 pixels, the size it shows in a phone feed.

More detail in the YouTube thumbnail size guide.

What size is a YouTube Shorts thumbnail, and can I set a custom one?

A Shorts thumbnail is 1080 by 1920 pixels, vertical 9:16. In July 2026 YouTube opened custom Shorts thumbnails to channels in the Partner Program, set from YouTube Studio on a computer. Thumbnl makes a 9:16 version of every design alongside the 16:9 one.

Step by step in the Shorts thumbnail guide.

What does Thumbnl actually do?

You drop in your own video, pick a frame or let Thumbnl pick the clearest one, and type three or four words. In about ten seconds you get three finished thumbnails: the subject cut out of the background, your words on top, colors taken from your footage, each in 16:9 and 9:16, each scored at phone feed size.

Is Thumbnl an AI image generator? Does it make fake faces?

No. Thumbnl never generates faces, people or scenes. Every thumbnail starts from a real frame of your own video. It uses automatic tools to cut out the subject and pick a sharp frame, then lays out your words and colors, but the person in the thumbnail is always the real one from your footage.

Does it work on my phone?

Yes, in the phone's web browser. There is no App Store or Google Play app; Thumbnl is a web app at thumbnl.nohumannearby.com and works the same on a phone or a computer. You sign in with a Google account.

What video formats can I use?

MP4, MOV, M4V and WebM are usually read right in your browser. If your browser cannot play the file, for example MKV, AVI, WMV, ProRes MOV, HEVC on some machines, MPEG-TS or 3GP, Thumbnl uploads it and reads the frames on the server. Files up to 3 GB.

What happens to my video?

Normally it never leaves your device: the browser reads the frames and only the one frame you pick is sent. If your browser cannot play the file, the upload is deleted after 3 hours. Thumbnl keeps the chosen frame, your words and your thumbnails so they appear in your history, and never uses them to train anything.

Full details on the privacy page.

How does the thumbnail score work?

Each thumbnail is scored out of 100 at the size YouTube shows it in a phone feed, about 200 by 113 pixels. It checks five things: the subject fills at least a third of the frame, a face is visible with one clear expression, the subject separates from the background, the image is not too busy, and there is enough contrast when shrunk. It does not read the words and it is not a prediction of views or click-through rate.

Score any thumbnail free with the thumbnail checker.

Is there a free thumbnail checker?

Yes. The checker at thumbnl.nohumannearby.com/check is free with no signup. Drop any JPG or PNG up to 10 MB and see it at phone feed size and desktop size, with a score and specific fixes. Nothing is saved.

How much does Thumbnl cost?

Two plans. Creator is $39 a month or $279 a year, for 30 videos a month. Studio is $79 a month or $569 a year, for 150 videos a month, every look, unlimited extra deals and your own colors, font and logo. There is no ongoing free tier, but your first video is free.

Can I try it for free?

Yes, two ways. Try it on the home page without signing in: pick the sample clip or your own video and see three watermarked looks. Or sign in with Google and your first video is free, watermarked, with both sizes to download, so you can judge it on your own footage before paying.

Try it now, no sign-in.

Can I get a refund?

All subscription payments are final and non-refundable, which is why the first video is free. You can cancel any time from the Billing button in the app and keep access until the end of the period you paid for. In rare cases the founder may approve an exception; ask through the contact form.

See the terms and the contact form.

Why three thumbnails?

YouTube Test and Compare, the built-in test in YouTube Studio, runs up to three thumbnails on one video and picks a winner by watch time share, not clicks. Thumbnl gives you three different designs from the same moment, ready to load into that test.

How the test works: Test and Compare guide.

Can I change the words or the design after it is built?

Yes, free. Under each thumbnail you can flip the subject, try the next color, switch the font and make the text smaller or bigger. You can change the words any time, and deal three new looks for the same frame: 2 extra deals per video on Creator, unlimited on Studio.

Is there a partner or affiliate program?

Yes. Partners earn 25% of every payment a referred customer makes in their first 12 months, and 30% after bringing in 10 paying customers. A signup counts if it happens within 60 days of clicking your link. Payouts go out monthly by PayPal once you pass $20.

Details on the partner page.