YouTube Banner Safe Zone Checker
You upload 2560×1440. A phone shows 1546×423 of it. Drop your banner in and see exactly what survives on every device.
100% free · runs in your browser · nothing is uploaded
Your banner is read straight from disk by your browser. It is never uploaded.
Your file
How it crops on each device
TV · 2560 × 1440
Only a TV shows the whole upload. Everything else takes a centred slice out of it.
Desktop · 2560 × 423
The top and bottom 508 pixels of your upload are gone.
Tablet · 1855 × 423
Another 352 pixels come off each side.
Mobile · 1546 × 423
The safe area, and the only crop guaranteed on every device. If your name or logo is not readable here, it is not readable.
Why banners get cut off
A YouTube channel banner is the only image on the platform that is cropped differently on every device. You upload one 2560×1440 file, and YouTube takes a different centred slice out of it depending on where it is being shown. Only a television ever displays the whole thing.
That is why so many banners look fine in the upload dialog and then arrive with the channel name sliced in half on a phone. This tool applies the same four crops locally so you see the damage before you publish rather than after.
The four crops, in full
- TV — 2560×1440. The entire upload. Nothing is lost.
- Desktop — 2560×423. Full width, but the top and bottom 508 pixels are discarded.
- Tablet — 1855×423. The same band, with another 352 pixels off each side.
- Mobile — 1546×423. The smallest crop, and the one every device is guaranteed to show. This is the safe area.
Every crop is centred both horizontally and vertically, and every one of them is the same 423 pixels tall. Only the width changes. That means the practical design rule is simple: your channel name, logo and any text must sit inside the centred 1546×423 box, and everything outside it is decoration for large screens only.
The specs YouTube enforces
Upload at 2560×1440 in a 16:9 ratio, and keep the file under 6 MB. JPG, PNG, GIF and BMP are accepted. If your file is over the limit, the image compressor will bring it down, and the image resizer has a 2560×1440 preset if you are starting from something the wrong shape.
Designing the thumbnail rather than the banner? The thumbnail preview tool runs the same check at the sizes thumbnails are actually seen.
Last updated August 21, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What size should a YouTube banner be?
2560×1440 pixels, a 16:9 aspect ratio, and under 6 MB. That is the size YouTube asks you to upload, and it is the size a television displays. Every other device shows a smaller centred crop of it.
What is the YouTube banner safe area?
A centred 1546×423 pixel region of your 2560×1440 upload. It is the only part visible on every device, including phones, so your channel name, logo and any text has to sit inside it. Everything outside is seen on tablets, desktops and TVs only.
Why is my YouTube banner cut off or zoomed in?
Because YouTube crops rather than scales. A phone takes a 1546×423 slice out of the middle of your 2560×1440 file, which is about 24% of the total area. Anything you placed near an edge or in a corner is discarded on the smaller surfaces. Moving the important content into the centre band fixes it.
What are the YouTube banner dimensions for each device?
TV shows the full 2560×1440. Desktop shows 2560×423. Tablet shows 1855×423. Mobile shows 1546×423. All four crops are centred, and all but the TV one are the same 423 pixels tall — only the width changes.
Is my banner uploaded anywhere to check it?
No. The image is read from your disk by your own browser and every crop is drawn locally on a canvas. It never leaves your device, so you can safely check unreleased channel art.
What is the maximum file size for YouTube channel art?
6 MB. Uploads over that are rejected. The checker flags your file size against the limit, and if you are over it, compressing to JPG at high quality almost always brings a 2560×1440 banner well under.
Stop designing thumbnails. Start generating them.
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