YouTube Shorts Thumbnail Size and How Covers Work
Shorts are vertical videos, so many creators assume the cover image must be vertical too. In practice the rules are a little different.
The video size versus the cover size
The Short itself should be 1080 × 1920 pixels (9:16). The stored preview image, however, is the same 16:9 file that every YouTube video has. When a vertical frame is placed inside it, you often see black bars at the sides.
How the cover is chosen
By default YouTube picks a frame from your Short. You can change it while uploading in the mobile app by dragging the frame selector, or add a custom image from your gallery.
Where the cover is actually seen
- On your channel's Shorts tab, where covers appear as vertical tiles.
- In search results and some suggestions, where the 16:9 version may be used.
- On the Shorts shelf of the home feed, which usually plays the video instead of showing a still.
Design tips
Put the subject in the middle of the frame so it survives both crops. Use short text of one to three words and keep it away from the edges. Avoid tiny captions; most people see Shorts on a phone.
Checking an existing Short
Paste the link in our Shorts thumbnail downloader to see exactly what image YouTube stores for it.