YouTube · free & no signup
YouTube Shorts Cover Size: 1080 × 1920
A 9:16 cover framed so it survives the square crop on your channel's Shorts shelf.
Drag the image to reposition it · scroll or pinch to zoom
Batch mode
Every image will be resized to and downloaded as one ZIP. Change the size below before you start.
Works with images up to roughly 50 MP (about 8000 × 6000 px) depending on your device's memory. WebP export is unavailable in a few older Safari versions — the option is disabled automatically when that is the case.
How it works
Three steps, no account, no watermark.
Add your image
Drag a file onto the box, click to browse, or paste straight from your clipboard with Ctrl + V. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.
Frame it
The crop box is already locked to 1080 × 1920. Drag the image to move it and scroll or pinch to zoom until it looks right.
Download
Pick PNG, JPG or WebP. The file is compressed automatically to stay under YouTube's limit — or grab every YouTube size at once as a ZIP.
About the youtube shorts cover size
A YouTube Short is a 9:16 vertical video, so its cover is 1080 × 1920 pixels — the same canvas as the video frame. Unlike the regular thumbnail, which YouTube documents precisely, the Shorts cover is a frame or an uploaded still that YouTube crops in several different ways depending on where it appears, and that is what makes it worth designing rather than picking at random.
Full screen, viewers see the whole 9:16 frame. On your channel's Shorts shelf and in search results, they see roughly the centre square pulled out of it. A title sitting near the top or bottom of a Short's cover looks perfect in the editor and vanishes completely on your channel page. Put the hook in the middle band and it survives every crop YouTube applies.
Every YouTube image size
The complete list — click any row to load that size into the tool, or use the ZIP button to export all of them at once. Official means the platform publishes that figure itself; Recommended means it is the widely used standard where the platform publishes none.
| Image | Size (px) | Max file | Source | What to know | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Video thumbnail | 1280 × 720 | 2 MB | Official | 16:9. Shown as small as 246×138 in the sidebar, so keep faces and text large. | |
| Channel banner | 2560 × 1440 | 6 MB | Official | Only the central 1235×338 safe area is visible on every device — keep text there. | |
| Profile picture | 800 × 800 | 4 MB | Official | Cropped to a circle. Leave breathing room around the edges. | |
| Video watermark | 150 × 150 | 1 MB | Official | A transparent PNG on one flat shape reads best over video. | |
| Shorts cover | 1080 × 1920 | 2 MB | Recommended | 9:16. On your channel's Shorts shelf only the centre square of it is shown. |
Tips for YouTube
What actually makes the difference once the size is right.
Put the hook in the middle
The Shorts shelf crops to roughly a square from the centre. Text near the top or bottom edge is cut off there even though it looks fine full screen.
Keep the bottom clear of the caption
Your title, channel name and the sound attribution all overlay the lower part of the screen during playback.
Do not reuse a 16:9 thumbnail
A landscape thumbnail letterboxed into 9:16 wastes most of the frame and looks like a mistake. Crop or fill the edges instead.
Make the shelf look like a set
Consistent text position and colour across covers turns a channel's Shorts shelf into something that looks planned.
Frequently asked questions
What size is a YouTube Shorts cover?
1080 × 1920 pixels, 9:16 — the same as the video frame. YouTube does not publish a separate figure for the Shorts cover, so this follows the video specification.
Why is my Shorts cover cropped on my channel page?
The Shorts shelf shows roughly the centre square of the 9:16 cover. Keep anything you need read in the middle band.
Can I upload a custom Shorts cover?
Yes, you can choose a frame or upload a still when publishing. Having the image ready at the right size makes it a quick job.
Is the Shorts cover the same as a video thumbnail?
No. A regular thumbnail is 1280 × 720 landscape at 16:9. A Shorts cover is vertical at 9:16. Both are on this site.
What is the file size limit?
The same 2 MB limit that applies to YouTube thumbnails. This tool compresses to fit automatically.
Does this tool upload my image?
No. Everything runs in your browser.
More size tools
Same tool, every other platform — all free and all local to your browser.