YouTube Banner Safe Zone Tool

YouTube channel art is one 2560 by 1440 image cropped differently on every device. Only the central 1235 by 338 is visible everywhere, so this page draws both that strip and the 1546 by 423 tablet area over your crop before you export.

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YouTube asks for a single 2560 by 1440 image and then shows a different part of it depending on what you are looking at. A television shows the whole thing. A desktop browser shows a wide band across the middle. A phone shows a small central rectangle, 1235 by 338, and nothing else.

That is why so many channel banners have their name cut in half. The name was placed comfortably in a 2560-pixel design file, and most of the audience is looking at a strip roughly a fifth of that area.

This page holds the full 2560 by 1440 canvas and draws both safe zones over it while you position the crop — so what you approve is what a phone will actually show. The export runs in your browser.

If you stream as well as upload, the Twitch offline screen page covers the 1920 by 1080 player banner.

A 2560-pixel export can be large — the compressor will bring it under a size you name.

One image, four crops

These are the regions YouTube takes from the same file. The mobile strip is the only one guaranteed to be seen by everybody.

Device	Visible region	Note
Television	2560 × 1440	The entire image
Desktop	2560 × 423	A wide band across the middle
Tablet	1546 × 423	Narrower band, same height
Phone	1235 × 338	The smallest region — design for this one

Designing for 1235 by 338

Treat the mobile rectangle as the banner and the rest as bleed. Channel name, tagline and upload schedule all belong inside it; everything outside is background that a television viewer gets as a bonus.

The dashed rectangles on the preview mark both the mobile and the tablet areas. If your name only fits by extending past the inner one, it does not fit.

Channel name inside the 1235 × 338 rectangle, centred.
Schedule or tagline on one line, also inside it.
Social handles only if they still read at phone size — usually they do not.
Outside the safe zones: colour, texture, continuation of the artwork, nothing load-bearing.

Why a 2560-pixel canvas for a 1235-pixel message

Because the television crop is real, and a banner that stops at the safe zone leaves hard edges visible on a TV and on a very wide desktop window. The outer area exists to continue the design, not to carry information.

A gradient, a pattern or a photograph that extends naturally past the strip is what makes a banner look designed rather than cropped. The inner rectangle carries the message; the outer canvas carries the atmosphere.

File format and weight

JPEG for photographic or illustrated banners — a 2560-pixel PNG of the same image is several times larger for no visible gain. PNG for flat colour and lettering, where JPEG rings around every edge. YouTube re-encodes what it receives and has its own upload size limit, so a clean, moderately compressed source is better than a maximal one.

Frequently asked questions

What size is a YouTube banner?

2560 by 1440 pixels for the uploaded file. YouTube crops different regions from it per device, and the only area visible everywhere is the central 1235 by 338 — which is where your channel name and any text have to sit.

Why is my YouTube banner cut off on mobile?

Because the phone crop is the central 1235 by 338 region of a 2560 by 1440 image, roughly a fifth of its area. Anything outside that rectangle is simply not shown on a phone. The preview here draws it so you can place text inside it.

What is the YouTube banner safe zone?

The central 1235 by 338 region that every device displays. A second, wider 1546 by 423 area is visible on tablets. Both are drawn as dashed rectangles over the preview on this page so you can see where the message can safely go.

Should my channel name go in the middle of the banner?

Yes — inside the inner safe rectangle, centred. A name placed to one side reads fine on a television and is cropped away on a phone, which is what most of your audience is using. If the name only fits by overflowing the rectangle, it is too large.

Why upload 2560 by 1440 if only part is shown?

Because the television crop uses the whole image, and a very wide desktop window uses more of it than a tablet does. The outer area is there to continue the artwork so the banner never shows a hard edge — it just should not carry any information.

Is my banner uploaded to this site to be cropped?

No. The crop and the export are done by your browser on this page; there is no server here to receive a file. You upload the result to YouTube yourself, and the Network panel stays empty throughout.

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