YouTube Specs

Specs and technical requirements for all YouTube content formats.

Video Thumbnail: 1280 × 720 px·Standard Upload·Video Title: 100 characters
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Image Specs

Video Thumbnail

Dimensions1280 × 720 px
Aspect Ratio16:9
Max File Size2 MB
File FormatsJPG, PNG, GIF, BMP
NotesMinimum width 640 px; 16:9 is the most common aspect ratio on YouTube

Channel Art (Banner)

Dimensions2560 × 1440 px
Max File Size6 MB
File FormatsJPG, PNG, GIF, BMP
Displayed AsSafe area: 1546 × 423 px
NotesDesign within the 1546×423 safe area — it's visible on all devices
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Video Specs

Standard Upload

Max File Size256 GB or 12 hours (whichever is less)
File FormatsMP4, MOV, AVI, WMV, FLV, MKV, WEBM
Resolution1920 × 1080 px recommended (1080p)
NotesH.264 + AAC audio recommended for best compatibility

YouTube Shorts

Aspect Ratio9:16
File FormatsMP4, MOV
Resolution1080 × 1920 px
Max DurationUp to 3 minutes
NotesVertical format required; keep text within the safe zone to avoid UI overlap

Text & Character Limits

Video Title

Character Limit100 characters
NotesTitles are truncated in search results at around 70 characters

Video Description

Character Limit5,000 characters
NotesOnly the first 2–3 lines are shown without expanding

Tags

Character Limit500 characters total across all tags

Channel Description

Character Limit1,000 characters

Channel Name

Character Limit100 characters

Comment

Character Limit10,000 characters

Playlist Title

Character Limit150 characters

Profile & Cover Assets

Channel Icon

Dimensions800 × 800 px
File FormatsJPG, PNG, GIF, BMP
Displayed As98 × 98 px on channel page
NotesDisplayed as a circle; upload at 800×800 for best quality

Channel Art / Banner

Dimensions2560 × 1440 px
Max File Size6 MB
File FormatsJPG, PNG
Displayed AsSafe area 1546 × 423 px

Ad Specs

Skippable In-Stream Ad

File FormatsMP4, MOV, AVI
Resolution1920 × 1080 px recommended
Max DurationMinimum 12 seconds; skippable after 5 seconds

Non-Skippable In-Stream Ad

File FormatsMP4, MOV
Resolution1920 × 1080 px
Max Duration15–20 seconds

Bumper Ad

File FormatsMP4, MOV
Resolution1920 × 1080 px
Max DurationMaximum 6 seconds
NotesNon-skippable

Display Ad

Dimensions300 × 250 px
File FormatsJPG, PNG, GIF

Companion Banner

Dimensions300 × 60 px
File FormatsJPG, PNG, GIF

Sources

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