YouTube Channel Banner specification
| Dimensions | 2560 × 1440 pixels |
|---|---|
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 |
| Orientation | Landscape |
| Platform | YouTube |
| Best format | JPG for photographs, PNG for flat graphics and text |
| Dimension basis | Exact dimensions stated by the linked primary source |
| Primary source | YouTube Help ↗ |
| Last verified |
Why 2560 × 1440?
Channel art is uploaded at 2560 x 1440 and then cropped differently on TV, desktop and mobile. The full canvas is what a television displays. YouTube's minimum upload is 2048 × 1152, also 16:9, and the banner file must be 6 MB or smaller. Because this canvas is 16:9, a 1920 × 1080 screenshot or video frame needs no cropping at all, but it is enlarged by a third to reach 2560 × 1440 without any warning, so fine text in it can soften. A 4032 × 3024 phone photo, at 4:3, is scaled to 2560 × 1920 under Crop to fill, the default here, and loses 240 pixels from the top and 240 from the bottom.
Before you upload
Only the central 1546 x 423 area is guaranteed visible on every device. Keep your channel name and logo inside it. That safe strip spans about 60 per cent of the width but under 30 per cent of the height, centred both ways. This page also crops from the exact centre, so a subject centred in the original stays inside the strip, while anything near the top or bottom of a photo goes missing on phones and computers. A ready-made 1500 × 500 X header fitted whole becomes a 2560 × 853 band with about 293 pixels of background colour above and below it, and the safe strip then shows roughly the middle half of its height. A photo exported as JPG at the default quality of 82 normally stays well under 6 MB at this size, but a detailed PNG can exceed it, so read the file size in the result line before you upload.
Source and verification
YouTube recommends 2560 by 1440 pixels for channel banners and documents device-specific cropping. Check the YouTube Help guidance ↗.
Last verified: . Platform requirements and visible crops can change, so check the linked primary guidance before a time-sensitive upload.
How to resize an image to 2560 × 1440
- Choose a JPG, PNG or WebP image.
- Pick whether to crop to fill the frame or fit the whole image inside it.
- Resize and download the result at exactly 2560 × 1440 pixels.
Frequently asked questions
What size is youtube channel banner?
2560 × 1440 pixels, an aspect ratio of 16:9. Add an image above and it is resized to exactly that in your browser.
What aspect ratio is youtube channel banner?
16:9. It is landscape, so this page starts on Crop to fill, which trims the top and bottom of a taller-shaped original; Fit whole image keeps all of it and pads the sides. Crops are always taken from the centre.
Which file format should I use for a YouTube channel banner?
JPG is the safest choice for photographs, and most platforms recompress uploads anyway. Use PNG for crisp flat graphics and text, and WebP when file size matters more than compatibility. No format keeps transparency here, because the resizer paints the background colour, white by default, behind every image.
Other image sizes
Need a size that isn't listed? Use the social media image resizer, or resize to any exact pixel size.