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YouTube Banner Resizer — TV / Desktop / Tablet / Mobile

Drop one 2560×1440 source, get all four YouTube banner crops YouTube serves at runtime: TV (2560×1440), desktop (2560×423), tablet (1855×423), mobile (1546×423). Mobile crop is the universal safe zone — flagged in the UI.

One source in, four YouTube device crops out. Safe-zone math built in.

The four YouTube banner crops, and why they exist

YouTube uploads one banner file but renders four different crops at runtime, one per device class. TV shows the full 2560×1440 image — landscape, 16:9, safe for big-screen YouTube apps on Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, smart TV browsers. Desktop renders a 2560×423 horizontal band pulled from the vertical center. Tablet pulls a slightly narrower 1855×423 band from the same center. Mobile takes 1546×423 — the smallest crop, and the universal safe zone. The cropper above generates all four from one upload.

Why the 1546×423 safe zone matters

The mobile crop is a strict subset of every other crop. Anything that fits inside 1546×423 is visible on every device YouTube serves. Anything OUTSIDE the safe zone gets clipped on at least mobile, and possibly tablet. Channel name, channel logo, social handles, and any "subscribe" call-to-action belong inside the safe zone. Decorative elements — gradients, art-direction backdrops, edge ornaments — can extend outside; they will only show on tablet and desktop. YouTube's banner uploader displays a transparent safe-zone overlay during preview, but only AFTER you upload — designing inside the safe zone from the start saves the re-export.

2048×1152 vs 2560×1440 — which to design at

Both work. 2048×1152 is the minimum YouTube accepts; uploads below this size fail. 2560×1440 is YouTube's recommended size and the master canvas for high-DPR / TV apps. Designing at 2560×1440 gives you headroom across the per-device crops YouTube generates server-side. The file-size cap is 6 MB regardless of dimensions, so designing larger doesn't cost you upload budget — JPG at quality 92 comfortably fits 2560×1440 inside 2 MB.

What about subscribe buttons and clickable links

YouTube doesn't bake clickable areas into the banner image itself — the buttons are rendered by YouTube's UI on top of the banner. Up to 5 social links are configured in YouTube Studio (Customisation → Basic info → Links) and appear as small circular icons in the bottom-right corner of the rendered banner. Plan for those icons to overlay your design's bottom-right region; don't put critical pixels there. The big round subscribe button is fixed in the bottom-right of the YouTube channel page itself, not the banner — it does NOT overlay the banner image.

When to update your banner (and what changes)

Quarterly works for most channels. Tie updates to schedule changes, milestones (10K / 100K / 1M subscribers), content drops, sponsor announcements, or platform launches. Visual continuity between the banner and the most-recent upload's thumbnail palette helps a cold viewer connect "this is the same channel" before reading the channel name. For Twitch, the equivalent size guide and cropper is at /free-twitch-panel-size; for Discord server and profile banners, see /free-discord-banner-size. The Streamrise cross-platform earnings comparator answers the deeper question — for a given audience size, where does the same content earn more.

Frequently asked

What is the YouTube banner size in 2026?
YouTube recommends 2560×1440 pixels for the banner upload, with a minimum accepted size of 2048×1152. The single uploaded file is then cropped automatically by YouTube into four device-specific crops: TV (2560×1440), desktop (2560×423), tablet (1855×423), and mobile (1546×423). All four crops use the same vertical center band of the source. Maximum file size is 6 MB; supported formats are JPG, PNG, GIF (non-animated), and BMP.
What is the YouTube banner safe zone?
The safe zone is 1546×423 pixels, centered on the source image. Anything inside this rectangle is guaranteed to render on every device including narrow mobile screens. Anything outside it gets clipped on at least one viewport size. The cropper above always emits the four canonical sizes; place your channel name, logo, and any clickable links well within the central 1546×423 region of your source.
What are 1024×576 and 2048×1152 in the YouTube banner context?
These are legacy minimum upload sizes. 1024×576 was the absolute minimum YouTube accepted before 2018; 2048×1152 has been the floor since then and remains the floor as of 2026. Anything below 2048×1152 fails the upload check. Designing at 2560×1440 gives you headroom for high-DPR displays; 2048×1152 still works but the larger canvas produces sharper output on TV / retina rendering.
Why does YouTube crop my banner differently on mobile?
YouTube serves a different viewport-adapted crop per device. The TV crop (2560×1440) shows the full image; desktop, tablet, and mobile each render only a 423-pixel-tall horizontal band from the source's vertical center. The bands also narrow horizontally — 2560 desktop, 1855 tablet, 1546 mobile — but always pull from the same vertical center line. Designs that only work full-bleed will lose 70%+ of their visual on mobile.
What format and file size should my YouTube banner be?
JPG keeps file sizes well under YouTube's 6 MB cap and is the default for photographic banners. PNG preserves transparency and sharp edges but doubles or triples file size. GIF is accepted but only static (no animation). BMP is technically supported but produces enormous files — skip it. For a 2560×1440 banner with detailed gradients, JPG at quality 92 typically lands at 800 KB - 2 MB, well inside the cap.
How do I include a subscribe button or social handles in the safe zone?
Lock all interactive content into the central 1546×423 safe zone. The most-trafficked layout pattern: channel name (centered, 36-48% of safe zone width), tagline below (60-80 chars), social handles in the bottom-right of the safe zone, and a "subscribe" call-to-action centered. YouTube's clickable banner links — up to 5 social URLs — are added in Studio and overlay the bottom-right of the rendered banner; design accordingly.
What happens if my banner is exactly 1546×423?
YouTube rejects the upload. The banner uploader requires the minimum 2048×1152 spec; you can't upload just the safe zone. The 1546×423 number is the visible rendering area on mobile, not an accepted upload size. The cropper above generates all four sizes from a single source — keep your design at 2560×1440 from the design tool, drop it here, and download whichever crop your platform needs.
Does this cropper save my image to a server?
No. The entire crop pipeline runs in your browser via canvas. The source image and the four crops never leave your tab. Closing the page clears all four output blobs. This applies to every Streamrise free tool — none of the tools upload, log, or persist the files you process. The deterministic share URL only encodes the cropper settings (X / Y / zoom / format / tint), never the image itself.

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