YouTube end screens appear in the final 5–20 seconds of a video and are one of the most powerful tools for driving viewers to your other content, playlists, or channel subscription. Getting the image dimensions exactly right ensures your end screen elements look sharp and professional — and maximizes the click-through rate on every video you publish.

YouTube End Screen Dimensions

Full canvas size: 1920×1080 px (16:9 aspect ratio). This is the full video frame. End screen elements are positioned within this canvas
Video thumbnail size: 1280×720 px minimum, 1920×1080 px recommended. Thumbnails appear as clickable elements in the end screen template
Channel profile picture: YouTube displays your channel icon in end screens at small sizes (typically 96×96 px on-screen). Your uploaded profile image should be 800×800 px for best quality across all contexts
End screen background (if using a custom template): 1920×1080 px, same as the video canvas
Aspect ratio: always 16:9 for end screen backgrounds and elements. YouTube does not support portrait end screens

YouTube Video Thumbnail Size (Shown in End Screens)

The most important image in YouTube end screens is the video thumbnail — it's what viewers click to watch your recommended video or playlist. YouTube uses your uploaded thumbnail image and displays it within the end screen template at varying sizes depending on the viewer's device.

Recommended thumbnail dimensions: 1280×720 px
Maximum thumbnail dimensions: 1920×1080 px
Minimum width: 640 px
Aspect ratio: 16:9
Maximum file size: 2 MB
Supported formats: JPG, GIF, BMP, or PNG

Recommended File Size for End Screen Images

Video thumbnails: compress to under 500 KB. YouTube accepts up to 2 MB but smaller files upload faster and the quality is identical to the viewer
Custom end screen backgrounds: compress to under 800 KB at 1920×1080 px. Use JPEG quality 85 for photographic backgrounds
Profile images: compress to under 150 KB at 800×800 px

Best Image Format for YouTube End Screen Thumbnails

JPEG: the recommended format for photographic thumbnails. JPEG at quality 85 produces sharp, vibrant thumbnails at file sizes well under 500 KB. Avoid JPEG for thumbnails with text overlays — JPEG compression creates artifacts around sharp text edges
PNG: use for thumbnails that include text overlays, graphics, or require sharp clean lines. PNG is larger than JPEG but preserves text and graphic elements perfectly
WebP: YouTube accepts WebP thumbnails. Use Image Converter to convert your JPEG/PNG thumbnails to WebP for smaller file sizes while maintaining full quality

Designing Effective End Screen Thumbnails

The technical specs matter, but the design of your end screen thumbnails determines whether viewers actually click. Here are best practices:

High contrast: end screen thumbnails are displayed at small sizes (roughly 200×112 px on desktop). High contrast between foreground and background makes them legible even when small
Bold text: if you include a title or text overlay on the thumbnail, use large, bold font with a contrasting outline or shadow for legibility
Consistent branding: use the same colors, fonts, and layout across all your thumbnails so viewers immediately recognize your content in the end screen
Face-forward composition: thumbnails with a human face looking toward the viewer consistently outperform pure graphical thumbnails in click-through rates
Avoid clutter: end screen elements are small. Simple, bold, single- subject thumbnails work better than detailed or busy compositions

How to Prepare End Screen Images Step by Step

Design at 1280×720 px: create your thumbnail at full 1280×720 px resolution in your design tool (Canva, Photoshop, Figma, etc.)
Export as JPEG or PNG: export photographic thumbnails as JPEG; graphical or text-heavy thumbnails as PNG
Compress to under 500 KB: use Image Compressor to reduce the file size. JPEG quality 85 is usually ideal for thumbnails
Upload in YouTube Studio: go to YouTube Studio → select the video → Details → Custom thumbnail → upload your prepared image
Add end screen elements: go to YouTube Studio → select the video → Editor → End Screen. Add video, playlist, and subscribe elements in the final seconds of your video

End Screen Thumbnail A/B Testing

YouTube allows you to upload multiple thumbnail options and test which performs better (available to channels in the YouTube Partner Program via the "Test & Compare" feature). When running thumbnail tests:

Test one variable at a time — color scheme, composition, or text
Run the test for at least 1,000 impressions before drawing conclusions
The thumbnail with the higher click-through rate wins — replace the low performer

Getting your YouTube end screen images right is straightforward with the right preparation. Use Image Resizer to hit exact dimensions, Image Compressorto keep file sizes under YouTube's limits, and Image Converter for format conversion — all free, all in the browser.