What size should a YouTube channel banner be?

YouTube recommends 2560 × 1440 pixels for channel art (2048 × 1152 is the minimum), up to 6 MB. Only the central safe area — about 1546 × 423 pixels — is visible on every device, so keep logos and text inside it.

How do I get exactly 2560 × 1440 without stretching my photo?

Crop first, then resize. Open the crop editor, set a custom ratio of 16 : 9, position your subject and apply — the resize then lands on exactly 2560 × 1440 with no distortion. With the aspect lock on and no crop, the photo is fitted inside 2560 × 1440 instead, which keeps its proportions but won't fill the frame.

Why is my channel banner cut off on some devices?

Phones, tablets, desktops and TVs each show a different portion of the same image. Anything outside the central 1546 × 423 pixel safe area can be trimmed on some screens.

Is my image uploaded to a server?

No. The whole process runs in your browser using the Canvas API, off the main thread in a Web Worker. The file never leaves your device, so there is nothing for us to see, store or delete.

Resize Image for YouTube channel banner (2560×1440) — Free

One image, many screens

A YouTube channel banner is uploaded at 2560 × 1440 pixels with a limit of 6 MB, yet only a small strip of it is visible on most screens. The banner is shown differently on a TV, a desktop browser, a tablet and a phone, and the same image is cropped differently on each. The part that is always visible, the safe area, is a wide, short band in the centre.

Get the layout right

Drop your image on this page. The 2560 × 1440 size is already selected and the 6 MB limit is applied.
Place your name, logo and any text in the middle of the image. The edges will be cut on most devices.
Download and upload it as your channel art. Check how it looks on desktop and on a phone.

The safe area

YouTube’s own guidance describes a central safe area of about 1546 × 423 pixels that is shown on every device. Anything outside it may be cut on a phone or a desktop window, and a TV shows the whole image. Put the content that has to be seen inside that band, and treat the rest as background.

Use a simple background. It extends to the edges and should still look good when the edges are cut.
Keep text short and large. A tagline of a few words reads better than a paragraph.
Check your links. On desktop, your social links are overlaid on the bottom-right of the banner.
Start from a large, sharp original. A banner is shown on large screens, so enlarged low-resolution art looks soft.

Platforms revise these layouts, so check YouTube’s own help page if a channel is a business. For a video thumbnail, see YouTube thumbnail, and the YouTube thumbnail and banner guide for more.