How to make a YouTube thumbnail in GIMP
Make a free YouTube thumbnail in GIMP. Start a 1280 × 720 image, open your photo as a layer, add a short line, export a JPG, and upload it in YouTube Studio.
4 min read ThumbnailsYouTubeGuidesStudioGIMP is the free option if you don't want to pay for Canva or Photoshop. You get layers, text, and JPG export on Windows, macOS, or Linux. There's no phone version, and GIMP can't put the image on your video, so you export a JPG and upload it yourself in YouTube Studio.
This post sticks to the GIMP clicks. If you want the thinking behind a good thumbnail first, [how to make a YouTube thumbnail](/blog/how-to-make-a-youtube-thumbnail) covers it. Prefer another editor? Try [how to make a YouTube thumbnail in Photoshop](/blog/how-to-make-a-youtube-thumbnail-in-photoshop), [Photopea](/blog/how-to-make-a-youtube-thumbnail-in-photopea), [Canva](/blog/how-to-make-a-youtube-thumbnail-in-canva), or [Figma](/blog/how-to-make-a-youtube-thumbnail-in-figma).
Start with a 1280 × 720 image
Open the **File** menu and choose **New**, or press **Ctrl + N**. The **Create a New Image** dialog opens. Type **1280** into **Width** and **720** into **Height**, with the units set to pixels.
Click the small triangle at the bottom of the dialog to show **Advanced Options**. Check that **Color space** says **RGB color**. **Fill with** sets the background color, and you can paint over it later.
1280 × 720 at 16:9 is the safe pick. The full spec is in [YouTube thumbnail size](/blog/youtube-thumbnail-size), and [how to resize a YouTube thumbnail](/blog/how-to-resize-youtube-thumbnail) helps if you already made one at the wrong size.
Add your photo as a layer
Open the **File** menu and choose **Open as Layers**, or press **Ctrl + Alt + O**. Pick your photo, and GIMP adds it on top of the layer stack.
Layers stack like paper. The bottom one is the background, and anything above it sits in front. If you don't see the **Layers** dialog, open the **Windows** menu, then **Dockable Dialogs**, then **Layers**.
Use one subject and make it big. A face or one clear object reads at phone size, while two or three fight each other. Keep it out of the bottom right corner, where YouTube shows the video length. [YouTube thumbnail safe zones](/blog/youtube-thumbnail-safe-zones) shows everything YouTube puts over the image.
Add a 3 to 5 word line
Press **T**, or open the **Tools** menu and choose **Text**. Click on the image and type one short line. GIMP puts the text on its own layer.
Set the font and size in **Tool Options**. If you drag out a box before you type, the text wraps to fit it. Say something the title doesn't, so the two work together instead of repeating each other.
Finish the words before you rotate or reshape the text. If you change a text layer with another tool and then edit the words, GIMP redraws the layer and undoes that change. It warns you first and offers to make a new text layer instead.
Make it big, bold, and high contrast. [How to add text to a YouTube thumbnail](/blog/how-to-add-text-to-youtube-thumbnail) covers fonts, size, and contrast.
Check it at small size
Most people see your thumbnail at phone size, so look at it small before you export. Zoom out until the image is about as small as a thumbnail in the feed. If the words or the face stop reading, make them bigger.
Then save your work with **File** and **Save**. That writes a GIMP XCF file, which keeps all your layers and editable text.
Export a JPG
Open the **File** menu and choose **Export As**, or press **Shift + Ctrl + E**. Change the name to end in **.jpg**, or pick JPEG under **Select File Type**, then click **Export**. A second window opens with the JPEG options.
**Quality** runs from 0 to 100 and starts at 85. GIMP's docs say values above 90 rarely help and make the file much bigger. Click **Export** again to write the file.
YouTube takes JPG or PNG. The size limit is 2 MB when you upload from a phone and 50 MB from desktop YouTube Studio, so aim under 2 MB and it works either way. PNG keeps flat graphics crisp but gets heavy with photos. The rest of the spec is in [YouTube thumbnail file size](/blog/youtube-thumbnail-file-size), and [how to compress a YouTube thumbnail](/blog/how-to-compress-youtube-thumbnail) helps if the file is too big.
Export from your XCF each time. Opening a JPG and saving it again and again softens text and faces a little more each round.
Upload it in YouTube Studio
Sign in to YouTube Studio and select **Content** in the left menu, then click the video's title or thumbnail to open **Details**. Under **Thumbnail**, click **Upload file**, pick your JPG, and click **SAVE**.
Don't see **Upload file**? Your channel probably needs verification first, and [how to enable custom YouTube thumbnails](/blog/how-to-enable-custom-youtube-thumbnails) walks through it. To swap a thumbnail later, see [how to change a YouTube thumbnail](/blog/how-to-change-youtube-thumbnail).
One more look before you publish
Before you upload, run the JPG through Thumbly Score and watch the **Clarity** number. Clarity is whether someone gets the idea at a glance, which is exactly what one subject and a short line are for. [How to use Thumbly Score](/blog/how-to-use-thumbly-score) explains the numbers, or [open Thumbly Score](/thumbly-score) and drop the file in.
