Choosing a great video thumbnail
A thumbnail is the first thing viewers see. Good thumbnails are sharp, well-lit and show a clear subject — often a face with a visible expression. Frames during fast motion are usually blurred, so pausing on a calm moment works best.
Find best frames samples the whole video and ranks frames by sharpness (edge detail), exposure (not too dark or bright), contrast and colourfulness. It then picks well-scored frames spread across the video so you get variety to choose from.
YouTube recommends 1280 × 720 (16:9) under 2 MB. Choose JPG for photos (smallest), PNG for screen recordings with text, or WebP for the web.
Thumbnail sizes
| Where | Size | Format |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube | 1280 × 720 (16:9) | JPG / PNG, max. 2 MB |
| Vimeo | 1920 × 1080 (16:9) | JPG / PNG |
| TikTok / Reels cover | 1080 × 1920 (9:16) | JPG |
| Instagram feed | 1080 × 1080 (1:1) | JPG |
| Blog / Open Graph | 1200 × 630 | JPG / WebP |
Tips
- Use ← / → to move one frame at a time before capturing.
- Need every frame or one per second? Use Extract Frames from Video.
- Make the image smaller for the web with the Image Compressor.
- Want a moving preview instead? Make a short GIF.