How Our Thumbnail Analyzer Works

Learn about our analysis process and how to create thumbnails that drive more clicks and views.

Analyze Your Thumbnail

Our Analysis Process

Follow these simple steps to optimize your YouTube thumbnails and improve your click-through rates

1

Upload Your Thumbnail

The first thing you need to do is upload your YouTube thumbnail image by any of our easy ways:

  • Drag & Drop: Just drag your image file to the area designated for uploading
  • Browse Files: Choose an image from your computer
  • Paste URL: Provide the URL of your image or YouTube video

We support a variety of popular image formats such as JPG, PNG, and WebP with a file size limit of ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌10MB.

Upload thumbnail
2

Advanced Image Analysis

We​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ analyze your thumbnail in detail through the use of various computer vision and machine learning methods:

  • Text detection and readability assessment - Determines text size, clarity, and location
  • Color contrast and saturation analysis - Assesses attractiveness and user-friendlinessy
  • Focal point and composition evaluation - Discovers the main focus
  • Face detection and emotion recognition - Studies the human side and the facial expressions
  • File size and compression optimization - Keeps loading times short
Analysis process
3

Generate Scores & Recommendations

Initially, we create distinct scores for viewing on mobile devices and desktops based on the analysis. Each factor is, thus, given a different weight depending on its significance for the performance of a YouTube thumbnail.

You get the actionable ideas to elevate your thumbnail's CTR, along with the pinpoint instructions about what to alter and why it matters.

We base our advice on the thorough research conducted on YouTube's algorithm and the habits of ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌viewers.

Results and recommendations

What We Analyze

Our​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ deep dive is not limited to one fact only, but rather takes into account multiple factors that influence thumbnail performance

Readability

A set of factors that directly affect the legibility of text, especially when it comes to mobile devices. This also takes into account the font size, style, and the location of the text.

Weight: 20%

Contrast

An initial step in evaluating textual legibility often involves checking the color contrast of the text against the background to cover the different kinds of screens that may be used.

Weight: 15%

Focal Point

Determining the area, which is the main point of interest, and further deciding whether the point is positioned most effectively to get the viewer's attention or not.

Weight: 15%

File Size

Examines whether the image is set up for loading that is both fast and of a quality that is not compromised.

Weight: 10%

Aspect Ratio

Determines if the thumbnail followed the YouTube standard 16:9 aspect ratio.

Weight: 10%

Color Saturation

Looks at the brightness and the saturation of the colors in order to determine if the thumbnail is eye-catching enough for the YouTube Interface.Looks at the brightness and the saturation of the colors in order to determine if the thumbnail is eye-catching enough for the YouTube Interface.

Weight: 10%

Branding

Checks if your content matches the channel branding and also your familiarization factors.

Weight: 5%

Face Emotion

Recognizes emotional expressions in faces and studies the impact of those expressions on viewer engagement.

Weight: 10%

CTA Clarity

Examines the extent to which the video content is adequately represented through the ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌thumbnail.

Weight: 5%

Our Grading Scale

Understand how we evaluate and score your thumbnails

Great
80-100 points
Good
50-79 points
Poor
0-49 points

Thumbnails scoring 80+ are considered highly optimized for YouTube's platform and audience behavior.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to common questions about using our thumbnail analyzer

How accurate is the analysis? +
Our​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ analysis is supported by comprehensive research into the best practices of YouTube thumbnails and the behavior of viewers. Even though we cannot provide a specific CTR improvement in your case, thumbnails that achieve a high score in our system are, in general, those that work better according to our test results with thousands of thumbnails in different niches.
Do you store my thumbnails? +
We do our best to safeguard user privacy. For the analysis, thumbnails are only temporarily processed and are not retained on our servers unless you explicitly make a comparison and save them. You can learn more from our Privacy Policy. Privacy Policy.
Can I analyze multiple thumbnails? +
Indeed! There is no limit to how many thumbnail analyses you can perform. The majority of creators take advantage of our tool as a means to A/B test various thumbnail versions prior to the release of their videos. Testing 2-3 variations to determine the most efficient one is what we advise.
Why are mobile and web scores different? +
Thumbnails are perceived differently by mobile and desktop users due to differences in screen size, context, and viewing habits. We, however, take these differences into account in our analysis to provide you with separate recommendations for each platform. Optimization for mobile is especially necessary as more than 70% of YouTube viewing time is from mobile devices.
Is this tool completely free? +
Yes, the basic thumbnail analysis that we offer comes at no cost. We might introduce some premium features later, but the essential functionality will always be available for free. Our goal is to help creators, regardless of their size, increase their content ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌performance.