Aprilynne Alter built a channel teaching YouTube packaging: titles, thumbnails, the psychology of the click. We ran two of her own thumbnails through Thumbly Score to see how the teacher scores.
Cleo Abram sells optimistic tech journalism with her face next to the thing she found. We scored two live thumbs through Thumbly Score, applied the fixes, and re-scored. Ocean went 73 to 77. Diamonds jumped 68 to 77 once the lab stopped competing.
Colin & Samir are the thinking creator's creators: restrained, editorial, no MrBeast theatrics. We ran two of their thumbnails through Thumbly Score to see whether good taste actually wins, or just feels nice.
ElectroBOOM packages Mehdi reacting to the thing that's about to hurt him. We scored two long-form thumbs through Thumbly Score, applied the fixes, and re-scored. Plasma Globe is a Shocking Fire Hazard went 71 to 77. Rage-Fixing the Power Washer stayed at 82.
Johnny Harris packages himself big, in the middle, with almost no text. We scored two of his thumbs through Thumbly Score, made edits, and re-scored. The $100 bill went 65 to 72. The fur hood went 70 to 69.
Kurzgesagt packages one illustrated image under two or three big words. We scored two thumbs through Thumbly Score, applied the fixes, and re-scored. LOST FOREVER went 68 to 77. WE LOST CONTROL slipped from 78 to 76.
Linus Tech Tips sells chaotic energy: face first, prop stack second. We scored two live thumbs through Thumbly Score, applied the fixes, and re-scored. BEST PC went 72 to 76. The wife-phone duo held at 75 because the joke was already the packaging.
Mark Rober sells playful engineer spectacle: face first, then the giant prop or revenge trap. We scored two live thumbs through Thumbly Score, applied the fixes, and re-scored. The Ronaldo goalie robot went 78 to 84. Glitterbomb 6.0 went 74 to 77, with clarity dipping while idea climbed.
MKBHD's brand is clean product photography and almost no clickbait. We ran his Humane AI Pin thumbnail and a near-textless iPhone 17 shot through Thumbly Score to see where minimalism wins, and where it leaves emotion on the table.
MrBeast spends millions getting thumbnails right. We scored two of his biggest ones with Thumbly, applied the fixes it suggested, and re-scored. Here's what held up, what we'd change, and what you can steal.
Everyone copies MrBeast's face. Few copy the system. Five 2026 patterns still showing up in his thumbnails, what changed, and how to steal the playbook on a normal budget.
Mrwhosetheboss sells polished UK tech spectacle: bright face, one hero gadget, a curiosity line that lands at feed size. We scored two live thumbs through Thumbly Score, applied the fixes, and re-scored. THINNEST Tech went 66 to 76. The iPhone Duo hands-on went 72 to 80.
NileRed packages one lab result plus a short label. We scored two long-form thumbs through Thumbly Score, applied the fixes, and re-scored. Making purple gold went 71 to 79. Making nasty soap went 73 to 76.
Ryan Trahan's rule is a subtle face, a clean background, and whatever is going on. We ran two of his thumbnails through Thumbly Score, applied the fixes, and re-scored.
SmarterEveryDay packages Destin plus one physical thing. We scored two long-form thumbs through Thumbly Score, applied the fixes, and re-scored. INSIDE a Nuclear Reactor Core went 60 to 67. Why Do Spinning Things Do This? went 73 to 74.
Stuff Made Here packages Shane plus one ridiculous one-job machine. We scored two long-form thumbs through Thumbly Score, applied the fixes, and re-scored. A simple human task that's insanely hard for a robot went 68 to 71. I made an apple peel itself went 68 to 80.
Tom Scott packages himself next to the place, split by a red diagonal line, with no text. We scored two of his thumbs through Thumbly Score, applied the fixes, and re-scored. The swimming pool whistle went 56 to 65. Tiddlywinks went 54 to 62.
Veritasium puts the impossible thing in the frame. We scored two live thumbnails from his channel, applied Thumbly's one-click fixes, and ran Score again.
Vsauce packages one idea and almost nothing else. We scored two long-form thumbs through Thumbly Score, applied the fixes, and re-scored. How To Count Past Infinity went 63 to 61. Illusions of Time went 51 to 58.
