2560 × 1440
YouTube banner size and the safe area
Banners are 2560 by 1440 pixels, but only the middle 1546 by 423 is visible on every device. Everything important has to live inside that strip.
Resized in your browser with Canvas · your image is never uploaded
Why one image has three different sizes
A channel banner is displayed differently on a phone, a laptop and a television, and YouTube does not offer separate uploads for each. Instead it takes one large image and crops progressively more from the edges as the screen gets smaller.
The 2560×1440 upload is the full canvas. On a television, nearly all of it shows. On a desktop browser, you see a wide strip through the middle. On a phone, only the central 1546×423 rectangle survives.
Everything that must be seen — channel name, tagline, schedule — belongs inside that central rectangle. The area outside it is decoration that some viewers will never see.
A practical way to design it
Build the important content first at 1546×423, then expand the canvas outward to 2560×1440 and extend the background to fill the space. Working the other way around — designing the full banner then discovering the crop — is how text ends up cut in half on mobile.
For the other image every channel needs, see YouTube thumbnail size.
Common questions
What is the correct YouTube banner size?
2560 by 1440 pixels, under 6 MB, with the important content inside a central 1546 by 423 area.
Why is my banner cropped on my phone?
That is expected behaviour. Mobile shows only the central safe area.
Can I upload a smaller image?
YouTube requires a minimum of 2048×1152. Smaller uploads are rejected outright.
Does this tool upload my image?
No. It runs entirely in your browser.