AI YouTube Thumbnail Generator
High-contrast 16:9 thumbnails with big readable text — use your own photo as the reference.
Real YouTube Thumbnails examples
Made with AI by the community. Open any image to copy its prompt or generate your own version.
What you can make
Faces with emotion
Upload a photo of yourself and generate expressive reaction shots that keep your likeness.
Readable headlines
Short, bold text that stays legible on a phone screen.
A/B variations
Generate several versions of the same idea for YouTube’s thumbnail testing.
Shorts & podcast covers
Switch to 9:16 or 1:1 for Shorts, Reels and podcast artwork.
How it works
- 1
Describe or pick a prompt
Write what you want, start from an example, or reuse a proven prompt from the library.
- 2
Generate or compare models
Run one model, or send the same prompt to up to 4 models and see the results side by side.
- 3
Refine and download
Click "Edit this image" to iterate with the result as a reference, then download in up to 4K.
Prompt tips
- Keep the headline to 3–5 words in quotes; long text gets small and hard to read.
- Ask for “high contrast”, “rim light” and “clean background” so the subject pops at small sizes.
- Generate at 2K: YouTube recommends 1280×720 minimum and 2K leaves room to crop.
FAQ
What size are the thumbnails?
The tool defaults to 16:9, which matches YouTube’s 1280×720 recommendation at any resolution you pick.
Can I put my own face on the thumbnail?
Yes. Add a clear photo of yourself as a reference image and describe the expression and scene you want.
Which model writes the best thumbnail text?
GPT Image 2.5 is the most reliable for short headlines. Nano Banana Pro is great for photoreal backgrounds; compare both in one run.
Related tools
Ready to create?
Open the full studio with this tool's presets — reference images, model compare and 4K output included.
Open the generator