YouTube Banner Size 2026: 2560 × 1440 and the Safe Area

The recommended YouTube banner size is 2560 × 1440 pixels (16:9), and the minimum is 2048 × 1152 pixels. Keep your text and logo inside the central 1235 × 338 pixel safe area, and export a file of 6 MB or less. These are the specs in YouTube's Help Center, checked on September 29, 2026.

The catch is that YouTube uses one image for every screen. TVs show the whole banner, while computers and phones show only a horizontal strip across the middle. This guide shows where that strip is, how to design for it, and the other image sizes your channel needs.

YouTube banner size at a glance

Source: YouTube Help, Manage your channel branding, checked on September 29, 2026.

The safe area: where to put your text and logo

YouTube defines the safe area on the minimum upload size: a 1235 × 338 pixel rectangle in the center of a 2048 × 1152 image. That's about 60% of the width and 29% of the height. If you design at the recommended 2560 × 1440, the same proportions give a safe area of about 1544 × 423 pixels (our calculation), still centered.

Everything inside the safe area appears on computers, phones, tablets and TVs. Everything outside it is decoration: visible in full on a TV, partly visible on wide computer screens, and cropped away on phones. In practice:

• Put the essentials in the safe area: channel name, a one-line promise, your upload schedule.
• Let the background run to the edges. A gradient, a photo or a pattern should fill the whole 16:9 canvas, so the banner never looks cut off on a TV.
• Leave a margin inside the safe area too. Text that touches its edges looks cramped on small screens.
• Skip borders, shadows and frames. YouTube asks for no extra embellishments, and a frame would be cropped anyway.

How the banner displays on TV, computers and phones

YouTube uses the same banner image on computers, phones and TVs, but each device shows a different part of it:

• TV: the full 16:9 image. That's why YouTube recommends 2560 × 1440 "especially for TV".
• Computer: a wide strip through the middle of the image. The wider the browser window, the more of the sides you see, but the top and bottom are always cropped.
• Phone and tablet: a narrower strip, close to the safe area itself.

When you upload, YouTube Studio shows a preview for each type of device. Check all of them before you publish: it's the only way to be sure nothing important falls outside the crop.

How to make a YouTube banner, step by step

1. Create a 2560 × 1440 pixel canvas in your design tool. Starting at the recommended size keeps the banner sharp on large screens.
2. Add guides for the safe area: a centered rectangle of about 1544 × 423 pixels.
3. Fill the whole canvas with your background, then place your logo, channel name and tagline inside the guides.
4. Export as JPG or PNG under 6 MB. PNG keeps text and logos crisp; a high-quality JPG is lighter for photo backgrounds.
5. Upload it in YouTube Studio: select Customization, then Profile, click Change next to the banner image, adjust the crop in the previews, click Done, then Publish.

Still looking for the name that goes on that banner? Our free YouTube name generator can help you brainstorm.

What to put on your YouTube banner

A banner has one job: tell a first-time visitor what the channel is about and why to subscribe. Banners that do this well usually include:

• The channel name or logo, so the page is recognizable at a glance.
• A short promise: what viewers get, in five to eight words.
• An upload schedule, such as "New videos every Tuesday", if you can keep it.
• A visual style that matches your thumbnails, so the banner, thumbnails and profile picture look like one brand.

Skip long lists of social handles: YouTube lets you add links to your channel profile, and those stay clickable, unlike text in an image.

Other YouTube image and video sizes

If you're active on other networks, their banners use very different shapes: 1500 × 500 on X (X header size), 1584 × 396 on LinkedIn (LinkedIn banner size) and 851 × 315 for a Facebook Page (Facebook cover photo size). Design each one on its own canvas rather than cropping the same image.

Your YouTube banner checklist

Design at 2560 × 1440, keep text and logos inside the central safe area (1235 × 338 at minimum size, about 1544 × 423 at full size), let the background fill the canvas, export under 6 MB, and check every device preview before publishing. Then keep the channel active: plan your videos and Shorts on one calendar, publish them at the best time for your viewers, and try Wavnil free for 7 days.

Sources

• YouTube Help, Manage your channel branding, checked on September 29, 2026.