Thumbnail Rater
Upload up to four thumbnails and get each scored for click-through potential, with a winner, the reason it wins, and specific changes to make.
Upload up to four thumbnails. Each is scored for click-through potential, and with two or more you get a winner and the reason it wins.
Add up to four. With two or more, they are ranked against each other and a winner is picked.
About the thumbnail rater
Thumbnails are judged at roughly 210 by 118 pixels in a feed, not full screen. Most fail for the same reasons: text too small to read at that size, no clear focal point, contrast that disappears against the platform's own background, or no visual gap that makes someone curious.
Each thumbnail is scored on readability at small size, contrast, emotion, curiosity gap and text amount, and you get concrete changes rather than vague advice.
How to use it
- 1Upload one to four thumbnails.
- 2Choose the platform and optionally describe the video.
- 3Read the winner and the reason it wins.
- 4Work through the problems and fixes for each one.
- 5Use the suggested A/B test to confirm it in the real world.
Questions
How many thumbnails should I compare?
Two or three is the sweet spot. With one you get an assessment; with two or more you get a ranked comparison and a winner.
What actually drives thumbnail clicks?
A single clear focal point that survives being shrunk, high contrast against the platform's background, a face with a readable emotion, three to five words at most, and something unresolved that makes people curious.
Should I trust the score over my own data?
No. The score predicts based on established patterns. Your own A/B test on your own audience always wins, which is why every result ends with a test suggestion.