Yes. Each video uses one extraction from the free quota: 2 per day without an account and 5 per day with one, no card.

Why don't I get 1280×720?

Because that video has no HD thumbnail. It happens with old videos or low-quality uploads: YouTube does not generate one and no tool can invent it. We give you the largest that exists.

Can I use the thumbnail in my video or on my site?

To look at it or as a reference, yes. To publish it as yours or put it in another video you need the channel's permission, because the image is theirs. If you embed that same video on your site, the YouTube player already shows it.

Does it work with Shorts?

Yes, paste the Short's link as is (youtube.com/shorts/...). An unlisted video works too if you have the link; a private one cannot be read.

YouTube thumbnail viewer and grabber

Paste the link of any public YouTube video and we show you its thumbnail, the cover image, at the highest resolution that video has. YouTube stores every thumbnail in several sizes: we ask the official YouTube API for the list and give you the largest, 1280×720 when it exists, otherwise 640×480, otherwise 480×360. Then you open it full size and save it.

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Try with:

No account, no card · YouTube · Vimeo · Dailymotion · WordPress · OpenGraph · nearly 70 players

What it shows

The largest thumbnail available, with its size in pixels.
A link to open the image full size in a new tab and save it from there.
The video's title and duration, so you know it is the right one.
Paste several links and get one thumbnail per video, to compare them.

Good to know

The thumbnail belongs to the channel that uploaded the video. Viewing it or saving it as a reference is fine; using it in another video, in ads or as your own needs the owner's permission. Old thumbnails a channel replaced cannot be seen either: YouTube only publishes the current one.

What it is for

See a successful video's thumbnail up close to study how it is built: text, colors, faces, framing.
Recover the thumbnail of one of your own videos when you lost the original file.
Use the right cover image when you add a video to your site or catalog.
Compare the thumbnails of several videos on the same topic, one link per line.

How to use it

Copy the video link (watch?v=, youtu.be and shorts all work).
Paste it in the box above and press Extract.
Tap “Open full size” and save the image with a right click, or a long press on your phone.

YouTube thumbnail sizes

Every video has the same image in several sizes. The small ones always exist; 640×480 and 1280×720 depend on the quality the video was uploaded in. If an old or low-quality video has no HD version, we show you the largest one there is: upscaling it afterwards only makes it blurry.

The 4:3 sizes (640×480 and 480×360) come with black bars at the top and bottom when the video is 16:9. If you need a cover image, look for the 1280×720 one.

Name	Size	Always there?
maxresdefault	1280×720	Only if the video was uploaded in HD
sddefault	640×480	Not always
hqdefault	480×360	Yes
mqdefault	320×180	Yes
default	120×90	Yes

Thumbnails for a whole playlist?

With the Basic plan you paste a playlist or channel link and get every entry at once, each with its largest thumbnail, in a CSV with a column for the image.

See plans

Frequently asked questions

Is it free?: Yes. Each video uses one extraction from the free quota: 2 per day without an account and 5 per day with one, no card.
Why don't I get 1280×720?: Because that video has no HD thumbnail. It happens with old videos or low-quality uploads: YouTube does not generate one and no tool can invent it. We give you the largest that exists.
Can I use the thumbnail in my video or on my site?: To look at it or as a reference, yes. To publish it as yours or put it in another video you need the channel's permission, because the image is theirs. If you embed that same video on your site, the YouTube player already shows it.
Does it work with Shorts?: Yes, paste the Short's link as is (youtube.com/shorts/...). An unlisted video works too if you have the link; a private one cannot be read.