YouTube Thumbnail Downloader

YouTube thumbnail sizes you can download

Every YouTube video has up to five thumbnail files, each a JPG at a fixed size. The downloader fetches all of them at once and marks any that YouTube never made for that video.

• Max resolution (HD), 1280×720 (maxresdefault.jpg). The full-size 16:9 image, and the one to download. YouTube only generates it for videos uploaded in HD or given a custom thumbnail, so some older videos have none.
• Standard definition, 640×480 (sddefault.jpg). 4:3, so a widescreen video's thumbnail arrives with black bars above and below. Missing on the same older videos the HD file is.
• High quality, 480×360 (hqdefault.jpg). 4:3 with the same black bars, but it exists for every video — the fallback when the larger sizes are missing.
• Medium quality, 320×180 (mqdefault.jpg). The smallest size that keeps the 16:9 framing, with no bars.
• Default, 120×90 (default.jpg). 4:3 and tiny: the lowest-resolution file YouTube keeps.

How to download a YouTube thumbnail

1. Copy the video's link. From the address bar or the Share button. Watch, youtu.be, Shorts, live and embed links all work, and so does the bare 11-character video ID.
2. Paste it into the box above. Every size loads straight away — there is nothing to click and no sign-up.
3. Download the size you need. It saves as a JPG named after the video ID and size. You can also copy the image's direct URL, or open it in a new tab.

Need it at another size or aspect ratio? The thumbnail resizer crops or fits any image to 1280×720 and the common social presets. Studying a thumbnail that is working? Run it through the AI thumbnail critique to see what it does right, then preview your own thumbnail beside it in a real YouTube feed before you publish. A thumbnail belongs to whoever uploaded the video, so ask them before reusing it in your own.