YouTube banner size
2560 × 1440px
Aspect ratio
16:9
Upload a YouTube banner at 2560 × 1440 px — only the central safe area (~1546 × 423 px) shows on every device.
Last verified June 2026
The YouTube channel banner is one image cropped three radically different ways: TVs show the full 2560 × 1440 px canvas, desktop shows a wide middle strip, and phones show only a slim central band. The commonly recommended text-safe area is 1546 × 423 px dead-center — some current guides cite an even stricter 1235 × 338 px zone, and keeping text inside the smaller box is the safest call. Upload at 2560 × 1440 (minimum 2048 × 1152, maximum 6 MB) and treat everything outside the safe area as background.
| Variant | Dimensions | Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Upload size (recommended) | 2560 × 1440 px | 16:9 |
| Minimum upload | 2048 × 1152 px | 16:9 |
| Text-safe area | 1546 × 423 px (centered)Commonly recommended; some current guides cite a stricter 1235 × 338 px — staying inside the smaller zone is safest. | — |
| Desktop display | wide central stripWidth varies with the browser window. | — |
| File size limit | 6 MB max | — |
Design from the inside out: channel name, tagline, upload schedule, and any logos go in the centered safe area (use the conservative 1235 × 338 px box if in doubt); supporting imagery can extend outward for desktop; and the full 2560 × 1440 canvas should still look intentional for TV viewers. YouTube Studio shows a live preview of all three crops during upload — actually use it, because the mobile crop is far tighter than most first drafts assume. Note that social-link buttons can overlay the banner’s bottom-right on desktop.
The banner is mostly seen by people deciding whether to subscribe after watching one video. The highest-converting content is a one-line promise of what the channel delivers plus a cadence cue (“new videos every Tuesday”) — placed dead-center in the safe area where every device shows it. Decoration outside the safe zone is for desktop and TV polish, not information.
Website headers are designed for one known viewport; the YouTube banner is three unknown ones. A hero image with text at the left edge loses that text entirely on mobile, where only the center band survives. Always rebuild from a 2560 × 1440 template with the safe-area guides drawn in — most design tools ship exactly this template.
Banner, profile picture, and thumbnail style are read together as one brand in the few seconds a visitor spends deciding. Using the same palette and type system across all three makes the channel page feel deliberate — and makes your videos recognizable when they surface in suggested rails next to competitors.
Upload 2560 × 1440 px (16:9); the minimum is 2048 × 1152 px and the file cap is 6 MB. Only the centered safe area — commonly cited as 1546 × 423 px, more conservatively 1235 × 338 px — is visible on every device.
Phones display only a slim central band of the full canvas. Anything near the edges is desktop/TV-only. Move text and logos into the centered safe area and re-check YouTube Studio’s device preview.
One line on what the channel delivers and for whom, plus an upload cadence if you keep one. Visitors hit the channel page right after a video convinced them to look — the banner’s job is to close the subscribe decision.
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