Download YouTube thumbnails in HD and smaller sizes
Paste a YouTube link and you get the thumbnail sizes YouTube has for that video, with a preview: 1280×720 when YouTube has an HD copy, and usually 640×480 and 480×360. It saves the image only, never the video. No sign-up.
- 1280×720, 640×480, 480×360
- Preview before you save
- Shorts, live and youtu.be links
What YouTube actually stores
- 1280×72016:9. Not there for every video
maxresdefault.jpgYou get - 640×4804:3. Usually there, with black bars on 16:9 images
sddefault.jpg - 480×3604:3. Usually there, with black bars on 16:9 images
hqdefault.jpg - 4K / 1920×1080Not published by YouTube
Thumbnail sizes, formats and what is left out
| Sizes | 1280×720 (maxresdefault, only if YouTube made one), 640×480 (sddefault, usually) and 480×360 (hqdefault) |
|---|---|
| Format | JPG, the file YouTube serves, untouched |
| Links | youtube.com/watch?v=, youtu.be/, /shorts/, /live/, /embed/, music.youtube.com |
| Works with | Public and unlisted videos, Shorts and live streams that have a link |
| Not included | The video and its audio: isaveall doesn't download YouTube videos |
The three thumbnail sizes we check
YouTube keeps a small set of images for every video, at fixed sizes. The largest is 1280×720, a file YouTube calls maxresdefault, and it doesn't exist for every video. Below it come 640×480 (sddefault, usually) and 480×360 (hqdefault), which YouTube makes for most videos, even when it picked a frame on its own.
When you paste a link, we ask YouTube for each of those files and list the ones that exist, with the pixel size on each row and a preview of the image. If the HD file isn't there, it isn't listed. Other tools sometimes show it anyway and hand you a gray placeholder; here, a size you see is a size that exists.
The two smaller files are 4:3, so a normal 16:9 thumbnail inside them comes with black bars. For a clean image, take 1280×720. For a quick preview or a slide, 480×360 is often enough.
Choosing which thumbnail size to save
Copy the video link
In the YouTube app tap Share, then Copy link. On a computer, copy the address bar. Watch, Shorts, live, youtu.be and YouTube Music links all carry the same 11-character video id, and that id is all we read.
Paste it and see the sizes
Paste the link in the box above. We ask YouTube for its three thumbnail files and list only the ones that exist, each with its size in pixels, so a missing HD version never shows up as a gray placeholder.
Save the size you want
Tap Download JPG on a size and the image opens at full size. On a phone, press and hold it and choose Save to Photos or Download image. On a computer, right-click and choose Save image as.
Video, Shorts, live and youtu.be links
Every YouTube address carries the same 11-character video id: youtube.com/watch?v=, the youtu.be short link the app shares, youtube.com/shorts/, /live/, /embed/ and music.youtube.com links. We read that id and nothing else, so the link can come from the app, from a browser or from a page that embeds the video.
Shorts are vertical on screen, but the files YouTube publishes for them use the same three sizes as any other video. Live streams have thumbnails too, before, during and after the broadcast, as long as the link is public.
Why there is no 4K or 1080p thumbnail
Whatever size the channel uploads, 1280×720 at 16:9 is the largest thumbnail file YouTube publishes. Searches for a 4K or 1080p thumbnail lead to tools that take that image and stretch it to a bigger canvas. The file gets heavier and the picture doesn't get sharper.
If you design thumbnails, the useful check is the opposite one: save your own at 1280×720, then look at it at 480×360 or smaller, the way a phone feed shows it. Text that reads at full size can disappear in a small card.
YouTube on isaveall: the thumbnail, not the video
isaveall doesn't download YouTube videos or their audio, on this page or anywhere else on the site. If you paste a YouTube link into any download box here, you get this same set of thumbnails and a short note, not an error. The image comes straight from YouTube's servers to your device; we don't keep a copy.
Saving a thumbnail on iPhone, Android and PC
- On iPhone
- Use Safari. Tap Download JPG and the image opens; press and hold it and choose Save to Photos. Thumbnails are images, so they go straight to Photos, not to Files.
- On Android
- Tap Download JPG, then press and hold the image and choose Download image. Chrome puts it in the Download folder and your gallery shows it.
- On PC and Mac
- Click Download JPG and the image opens in a new tab. Right-click it and choose Save image as. YouTube names the file maxresdefault, sddefault or hqdefault; rename it to the youtube_ name shown in the result if you save several.
Thumbnail questions
Why is there no 1280×720 option for my video?
YouTube doesn't publish the 1280×720 file for every video. Older videos and thumbnails YouTube picked from a frame often exist only at 640×480 and 480×360. We check each size before listing it, so what you see is what YouTube has.
Can I download a 4K or 1080p YouTube thumbnail?
No. The largest thumbnail file YouTube publishes for a video is 1280×720, so that is the biggest size we can list. A 4K thumbnail from another site is that same image enlarged: more pixels, no extra detail.
Why do the smaller sizes have black bars?
640×480 and 480×360 are 4:3 frames. A 16:9 thumbnail placed inside them gets black bars at the top and bottom. Take the 1280×720 version when it's listed: it has no bars.
Does it work with Shorts and live streams?
Yes. Paste the youtube.com/shorts/ link the app copies, or the link of a live stream or its replay. They get the same set of sizes as a regular video.
How do I save a YouTube thumbnail on iPhone?
Copy the link from Share in the YouTube app, paste it here in Safari and tap Download JPG. Press and hold the image that opens and choose Save to Photos.
Can I get the thumbnail of a private or deleted video?
Usually not. If YouTube still serves an image for that video, it shows up in the list; if it doesn't, there is nothing to fetch. Unlisted videos work, because their link is public.
Can I use someone else's thumbnail?
Saving it to review a design, compare it with your own or keep a reference is fine. Reusing it on your own videos, products or ads needs the channel's permission: the image belongs to whoever made it.