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Snaplytics Tools

YouTube Banner Maker

Free YouTube channel art maker at the real 2560×1440 size, safe area drawn on.

2560 × 1440 px

Drag the text to move it. Drop a photo anywhere on the banner to use it as the background. What is on the canvas is what gets written into the file — the dimmed border and the circle are guides, and are not.

On the banner

Where it goes

2560 × 1440 — YouTube channel art. A TV shows all of it, a desktop shows the middle 2560 × 423 strip, and phones show only the 1546 × 423 safe area. Keep every word inside the safe area.

Look

Colours, pattern and type styling. Your words, their size and where you put them are left alone.

Background
Pattern and shape
Logo or photo on top

A transparent PNG works best. Drag it anywhere on the banner once it is in.

The safe default. Reads as LinkedIn does, and is installed everywhere.

Save as

Lossless, and the right answer for flat colour, gradients and type. Heavier than a JPG, and still far inside LinkedIn’s 8 MB limit at this size.

How it works

How to make a YouTube banner?

  1. Pick a look, or start from the one on screen

    The tool opens on a finished banner. Flip through the eight ready-made looks — each changes the colours, pattern and accent but keeps your words where you put them.

  2. Put your channel name inside the safe area

    The dashed 1546×423 box in the middle is all a phone shows. The wider strip is what a desktop shows. Text and logos outside the box are cropped on most screens — the tool veils that region so you can see it.

  3. Drop in a photo or logo if you want one

    Drag it to reposition, zoom to reframe, blur or tint it so the type reads. Nothing is uploaded — it is drawn on your own device.

  4. Download and upload in YouTube Studio

    PNG, JPG or WebP at exactly 2560×1440, under YouTube’s 6 MB limit. Then YouTube Studio → Customization → Branding → Banner image.

The sizes

One file, three crops

WhereWhat is shownMeaning
TV2560 × 1440The whole file.
Desktop2560 × 423A full-width strip through the middle.
Phone & tablet1546 × 423The centre only — the safe area. Keep every word in here.

Features

What this one does

The real size

2560×1440, the one size YouTube accepts for channel art, with the safe area and the desktop strip drawn on.

Eight looks

Ready-made colour, pattern and accent sets that keep your own words and layout.

Photo backgrounds

Your own picture, zoomed and panned, with blur and a colour wash so text stays legible.

Draggable text

Any number of lines, four fonts, tracking, caps, alignment, shadow and a band behind the text.

Logo upload

Circle or rounded masking and a plate behind it, so a dark logo reads on a dark banner.

No upload, no watermark

Everything is drawn in your browser and downloaded at the exact pixel size. No signup.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

What size is a YouTube banner?

2560×1440 pixels, 16:9. That is the only size YouTube accepts for channel art. A TV shows the whole image, a desktop browser shows the middle 2560×423 strip, and phones and tablets show only the central 1546×423 “safe area”. Anything you need everyone to see has to sit inside that safe area.

What is the YouTube banner safe area?

The 1546×423 rectangle in the exact centre of the 2560×1440 image. It is the part visible on every device. This tool draws it as a dashed box and darkens everything outside it while you work, so you can see what gets cropped.

What is the file size limit?

YouTube refuses channel art over 6 MB. Nothing this tool draws comes close, but a large photo saved as a PNG can — the size is measured after the export and flagged if it is over. Saving as JPG fixes it.

How do I upload it?

Open YouTube Studio, go to Customization → Branding, and under “Banner image” choose Upload. YouTube shows the same TV / desktop / mobile crops before you confirm.

Is the photo uploaded anywhere?

No. The banner is drawn on a canvas in your browser and the download comes from that. Nothing leaves your device.