YouTube thumbnail downloader at max resolution.
Grab the cover image from any YouTube video — max-res 1280 × 720 where it exists, plus the smaller sizes YouTube generates.
Every size YouTube makes
Max-res first
If the uploader supplied a full-size cover, it's the first row. Otherwise the largest that genuinely exists is.
Smaller sizes listed
High, medium and default variants are there too, for when you need a lightweight version.
No re-compression
You get YouTube's own JPG, byte for byte — not a screenshot or a re-saved copy.
Instant
Thumbnails are a direct fetch, so there's no processing queue and no progress bar to watch.
The thumbnail sizes YouTube generates
Every video gets the same set of derived images. Which ones exist depends on what the uploader supplied.
| Name | Dimensions | Typical size | Always available? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max-res | 1280 × 720 | ≈ 142 KB | Only if a large cover was uploaded |
| High | 640 × 480 | ≈ 61 KB | Yes |
| Medium | 320 × 180 | ≈ 18 KB | Yes |
| Default | 120 × 90 | ≈ 5 KB | Yes |
Thumbnail download specs
How to download a YouTube thumbnail
Copy the YouTube link
Any watch, Shorts or playlist URL — desktop address bar or the Share sheet in the app.
Paste it above
You'll see the title, length and every resolution the uploader actually published, with sizes.
Download
Pick a rung and save. No account, no watermark, no install.
Thumbnail downloader FAQ
Still stuck? Read the guides or mail us.
YouTube only generates the 1280 × 720 file when the uploader provided a large enough cover. Older or auto-thumbnailed videos may top out lower.
Not without permission — the image belongs to whoever made it. Reference and study are one thing; reuse is another.
Yes, though Shorts covers are portrait crops of the video rather than designed artwork.
JPG, exactly as YouTube stores it.