YouTube Banner Size (2026): Dimensions and Safe Area

Updated October 2026. Every spec on this page comes from YouTube’s Help Center, checked October 2026.

YouTube banner size: upload 2560 x 1440 px (recommended), never smaller than 2048 x 1152 px (16:9), keep text and logos inside the centered 1235 x 338 px safe area (at the minimum size), and keep the file 6 MB or smaller.

That’s the whole answer if you’re in a hurry. The rest of this page explains where those numbers come from, what each device actually shows, how to make a banner that survives the crop, and the profile picture specs that go with it.

One thing first. If you’ve seen 1546 x 423 quoted everywhere as “the safe area,” you’re not wrong to be confused. YouTube’s Help Center now states the safe area at the minimum upload size, 1235 x 338 px, and no longer lists a per-device crop table. The two numbers describe the same box at two canvas sizes, which we’ll show below.

What are YouTube’s official banner dimensions?

Here is what YouTube’s Manage your channel branding page says, checked October 2026:

Spec	What YouTube says
Recommended size	2560 x 1440 px (“especially for TV”)
Minimum size	2048 x 1152 px, 16:9 aspect ratio
Safe area for text and logos	1235 x 338 px, at the minimum dimension
File size	6 MB or smaller
Embellishments	No shadows, borders or frames added to the file
Cropping	The image should fill larger screens but “will get cropped on certain views and devices”

Two things YouTube’s page doesn’t specify: a maximum pixel size and a list of banner file formats. JPG and PNG are the safe choices. YouTube also says the same banner image is used across computer, mobile and TV, which is the whole reason the safe area matters. You make one file, and each device cuts its own slice out of it.

Why the safe area changed from 1546 x 423 to 1235 x 338

It didn’t really change size. It changed reference point.

Most guides, including older versions of YouTube’s own template, measure the safe area on the full 2560 x 1440 canvas and get 1546 x 423 px. YouTube’s current page measures it on the 2048 x 1152 minimum canvas and gets 1235 x 338 px. Do the math and the proportions match:

• 1235 ÷ 2048 = 60.3% of the width; 1546 ÷ 2560 = 60.4%
• 338 ÷ 1152 = 29.3% of the height; 423 ÷ 1440 = 29.4%

So the rule is the same either way: keep anything important in the center 60% of the width and the center 29% of the height. Pick the pair of numbers that matches the canvas you’re designing on, and don’t mix them. A 1235 x 338 box drawn on a 2560 x 1440 canvas is smaller than it needs to be, which is safe but wastes space.

YouTube banner safe area by device

YouTube’s current page doesn’t publish a per-device breakdown, so the middle rows below come from the widely used crop sizes in YouTube’s older channel art template, measured on a 2560 x 1440 upload. Treat them as approximate. The first and last rows are what YouTube states today.

Device	What’s visible (2560 x 1440 upload)	Source
TV	The full 2560 x 1440 image	YouTube (recommended size “especially for TV”)
Desktop	Up to 2560 x 423 px, a full-width strip through the middle	Older YouTube template, common guidance
Tablet	About 1855 x 423 px	Older YouTube template, common guidance
Mobile	About 1546 x 423 px	Older YouTube template, common guidance
All devices (safe area)	1235 x 338 px at 2048 x 1152, which scales to about 1546 x 423 px at 2560 x 1440	YouTube, checked October 2026 (scaling is our math)

Desktop width also shifts with the browser window, so even the desktop row is a range, not a fixed size. The safe area is the only box you can count on.

What the safe zone looks like

Picture the banner as a wide rectangle with a horizontal stripe through its middle, and a smaller box in the center of that stripe:

+------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                            |
|            TV only (top band, ~508 px tall)                |
|                                                            |
+------------------------------------------------------------+
|  desktop  |  tablet  |    SAFE AREA     |  tablet | desktop|
|   edge    |   edge   |   1546 x 423     |   edge  |  edge  |
|           |          | (name, logo,     |         |        |
|           |          |  tagline here)   |         |        |
+------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                            |
|            TV only (bottom band, ~508 px tall)             |
|                                                            |
+------------------------------------------------------------+
                    2560 x 1440 px canvas

On a 2560 x 1440 canvas, the safe box runs from roughly x = 507 to 2053 and y = 509 to 932. On a 2048 x 1152 canvas, the 1235 x 338 box runs from roughly x = 407 to 1641 and y = 407 to 745. Draw guides at those lines before you place anything.

The top and bottom bands only show up on TV. Fill them with background that extends the design (a gradient, sky, texture, a blurred version of the center) so TV viewers don’t see an awkward cut-off, but never put words there.

YouTube profile picture size and other channel images

Your banner sits next to your profile picture, so it helps to plan them together. YouTube’s specs for each, checked October 2026 on the same channel branding page:

Image	YouTube’s spec
Profile picture	JPG, GIF, BMP or PNG (no animated GIFs), not over 15 MB, “renders at 98 X 98 px”
Banner image	2560 x 1440 recommended, 2048 x 1152 minimum, 6 MB or smaller
Video watermark	Square, at least 150 x 150 px, under 1 MB

YouTube doesn’t give an upload size for the profile picture, only the 98 x 98 display size. Upload something much larger and square (800 x 800 px is a common pick) so it stays sharp on high-density screens, and keep the face or logo in the middle because it’s shown as a circle. Thumbnails are a separate spec: 1280 x 720 is the standard recommendation, and our AI YouTube thumbnail generator guide covers making them.

How to make a YouTube banner (step by step)

You can do this in any image editor or with an AI image generator plus an editor. The process is the same.

1. Set the canvas to 2560 x 1440 px. In Canva, Adobe Express, Photoshop, Figma, GIMP or Photopea, start a custom size. If your tool has a “YouTube banner” preset, check that it’s 2560 x 1440 before you trust it.
2. Draw the safe-area guides. Add a 1546 x 423 px rectangle centered on the canvas (or the 1235 x 338 box if you’re working at 2048 x 1152). Lock it on a separate layer and hide it before export.
3. Build the background to the edges. The full canvas shows on TV, so the background must cover all of it. Photos, gradients, patterns and AI-generated scenes all work.
4. Put the essentials inside the safe box only. Channel name, a short line about what you post, and maybe an upload schedule. That’s usually enough. Keep the text big; on a phone the safe area is a small strip.
5. Design it with the profile picture in mind. The two show up together on your channel page, so match colors and keep the banner from repeating the same logo at the same size.
6. Skip borders, shadows and frames on the file. YouTube asks you not to add them, and they look broken once the crop lands.
7. Export at 2560 x 1440 under 6 MB. PNG for flat graphics and text, high-quality JPG if the PNG is too heavy.
8. Upload and preview. In YouTube Studio go to Customization, then Profile, click Change next to the banner, adjust the crop in the preview, click Done, then Publish. On the YouTube Android app it’s your profile picture, View channel, Edit, tap the banner, then Save.

Using an AI image generator for the background

AI image models are good at backgrounds and bad at exact lettering, so split the job. Generate the scene at a 16:9 aspect ratio, describing a wide composition with the interesting detail in the center and quieter edges. Most models output below 2560 x 1440, so upscale it, then bring it into an editor and add the channel name and tagline as real text. Our best AI image generator roundup compares the models, and the Nano Banana guide walks through one of them.

Check rights before you upload anything, AI-generated or not. Your banner must follow YouTube’s Community Guidelines like the rest of the channel.

YouTube banner makers: quick options

You don’t need a dedicated “banner maker.” Any tool that exports a 2560 x 1440 image works. The common choices:

• Template editors (Canva, Adobe Express). Fastest route. Both have YouTube banner templates and free tiers. Watch that template text sits inside the safe area; not every template respects it.
• Full editors (Photoshop, Affinity, Figma). Precise guides and layers. Worth it if you already use one.
• Free editors (GIMP, Photopea). Full control at no cost, more setup.
• AI image generators. Best for a custom background. Add text in one of the editors above.

YouTube banner checklist

Run through this before you hit Publish:

• Canvas is 2560 x 1440 px (never below 2048 x 1152)
• Aspect ratio is 16:9
• Channel name, logo and text sit inside the centered safe area (1546 x 423 at full size, 1235 x 338 at minimum)
• Background fills the full canvas for TV
• No borders, shadows or frames baked into the file
• Text is readable at phone size
• Banner and profile picture look like a set
• File is JPG or PNG, 6 MB or smaller
• Checked the crop preview before publishing, then viewed the live channel on a phone and a computer
• Profile picture is square, centered and works as a 98 px circle

Where TubeGen fits

TubeGen is the all-in-one YouTube platform built on the AI models creators already use. It doesn’t make banners. It makes the videos and thumbnails that the banner is selling.

A banner promises a type of content, so the uploads have to keep that promise. In TubeGen you start a project from a title and go through Script, Voiceover, Visuals, Soundtrack and Description, then finish in the Video Editor. Visuals run on image models such as GPT Image and Nano Banana 2, with your own art style from up to two reference images, which is a straightforward way to keep the look of your videos matched to your banner. Videos can run up to 2 hours: the editor opens projects up to 120 minutes and exports up to 90.

For thumbnails, the AI thumbnail generator builds them from your project’s title and script, can score each one out of 100, and lets you pick one as the video’s thumbnail when you publish to YouTube. If you’re still deciding what the channel is about, the Niche Finder shows channel and revenue data for a niche before you commit to a banner and a look.

If you’re setting up a brand-new channel, our guide to how to make a YouTube channel covers the full setup, and how to start a faceless YouTube channel covers channels where the banner, not a face, is the brand.

The short version

Upload 2560 x 1440, never below 2048 x 1152, under 6 MB. Keep every word inside the center box: 1235 x 338 on the minimum canvas, about 1546 x 423 on the full one. Fill the rest with background for TV. Then preview it on every device before you publish.