YouTube banner size and safe area
Get YouTube's official banner specs: 2560×1440 recommended, 2048×1152 minimum, a 1235×338 safe area at minimum size, and a 6 MB limit.
Design at 2560×1440, but protect the center.
YouTube recommends a 2560×1440 image and requires at least 2048×1152 in a 16:9 ratio. Its documented text-and-logo safe area is 1235×338 on that minimum canvas, centered. Keep the file at 6 MB or less and expect the outer image to crop differently across phones, computers, and televisions.
01 · QUICK SPECS
The recommended canvas, minimum canvas, and safe area are different measurements
The working canvas YouTube recommends, especially for television displays.
The smallest accepted upload. The required aspect ratio is 16:9.
The centered area YouTube documents for text and logos at minimum size.
The maximum banner file size listed in YouTube's branding guidance.
02 · THE SAFE AREA
Use the safe-area guide that matches your canvas
Start with the canvas you are editing. YouTube documents a 1235×338 text-and-logo safe area at its 2048×1152 minimum size. If you scale that entire layout to 2560×1440, scale the working guide with it: 2560 ÷ 2048 = 1440 ÷ 1152 = 1.25. Your background can fill the canvas; keep essential text and logos comfortably inside the corresponding guide.
| Measurement | Minimum canvas | Recommended canvas | What the numbers mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canvas | 2048 × 1152 | 2560 × 1440 | Official minimum and recommended dimensions |
| Text-and-logo box | 1235 × 338 | 1543.75 × 422.5 | Official at minimum size; multiplied by 1.25 for the larger working guide |
| Centered guide: left / top offset | 406.5 / 407 px | 508.125 / 508.75 px | Calculated as (canvas − guide) ÷ 2, not measured device crops |
YouTube Help: manage channel branding
CALCULATED LAYOUT · NOT A SCREENSHOT
Light canvas: 2560×1440, officially recommended. Dark center: 1543.75×422.5, calculated—not a separate official YouTube specification. Keep essential text and logos inside this working guide with extra breathing room.
To recreate the dark box, multiply the official minimum-canvas 1235×338 area by 1.25. Center it at left 508.125 px and top 508.75 px. The diagram shows proportions, not a device preview. If your editor only accepts whole pixels, use the inward-rounded example in the design workflow, then inspect YouTube's upload preview.
| Element | Where to place it | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Channel name and short promise | Inside the centered safe area | They must survive the narrow mobile crop. |
| Logo or recognisable mark | Inside the safe area with breathing room | Edges and overlays vary by device and view. |
| Photography, texture, ambient color | Across the full recommended canvas | The outer region gives wider screens a complete composition. |
| Nonessential detail | Outside the safe area is acceptable | It may disappear without breaking the message. |
03 · DEVICE CROPPING
The same file is a flexible background, not one fixed rectangle
YouTube says banners appear differently across computer, mobile, and TV displays and may crop in some views. The exact visible outer region depends on the screen and layout. That is why a “desktop-perfect” screenshot cannot prove the banner is safe everywhere.
Mobile shows the narrowest message window
Protect the center first. A beautiful off-center headline is still broken if the phone crop removes half of it.
Desktop reveals more horizontal context
Use the extra width for atmosphere or supporting imagery, not information a viewer must read.
TV can expose the full canvas
The recommended 2560×1440 size gives large displays enough resolution without changing the safe-area rule.
04 · DESIGN WORKFLOW
Build from the center out, then test the actual crop
- 01
Create a 2560×1440, 16:9 working file
That gives you YouTube's recommended canvas and enough resolution for wider television presentation.
- 02
Add a centered proportional safe-area guide
Use YouTube's official 1235×338 box on a 2048×1152 canvas, or the calculated 1543.75×422.5 guide on a 2560×1440 canvas. If your editor needs whole pixels, one conservative example is a centered 1542×422 box: 509 px from the left and 509 px from the top. This inward-rounded box is a design example, not a new YouTube specification.
- 03
Keep the message short and inside the box
One name, one promise, and at most one supporting detail will survive device changes better than a poster full of copy.
- 04
Upload and inspect YouTube's preview
Do not rely only on the design app. YouTube's uploader is the final check for how the current platform crops your file.
Repeat the actual-file check
- REQUEST
Record what you asked for
Copy the public channel URL and note the selected request width. In the September 6 sample, those were @YouTube and 2560 px. The selector describes the request, not a measurement of the image.
- MEASURE
Inspect the exact file you will use
Open the returned image in a new tab or inspect the saved file in an image viewer. Read its pixel dimensions in image information or properties; do not measure its on-screen display size. If you save a different download variant, inspect that file separately.
- DECIDE
Separate a size check from an upload check
Record the actual width and height beside the requested width. The observed 2048×1152 response matched the minimum canvas dimensions, but did not prove file-size compliance, safe text placement, upload acceptance, or permission to reuse the design. If the tool returns no image, there is no file to measure—do not substitute the selected width as the result.
05 · BEFORE YOU UPLOAD
A six-point banner check
- Canvas: 2560×1440 recommended; never below 2048×1152.
- Ratio: 16:9.
- Message: centered inside the safe area.
- Outer crop: no essential text, logos, or faces at risk.
- File: 6 MB or less.
- Preview: inspected in YouTube before saving the channel update.
YouTube Help: manage channel brandingYouTube Data API: channelBanners.insert
06 · SOURCE LEDGER
Official YouTube banner sources
Study a real channel banner before you revise your own.
Look at how a public channel uses the available banner widths, then apply the safe-area rules to your own original design. Public access is useful for research; it is not permission to copy another creator's brand.