13 Cool AI Thumbnail Makers for YouTube

Given that AI technology is widely used for images and other visuals materials, it isn’t surprising that companies also offer AI thumbnail generators for YouTube videos. These nifty tools are tailor-made for the social network, boosting your engagement and reducing time spent for content creation.  

The Importance of YouTube Thumbnails

Using online thumbnail makers provides 5 major benefits for creators: 

• Increased click-through rate
• Improved SEO 
• Visual sneak-peak of content
• Boosts subscriber count
• Enhanced professionals 

The thumbnail creation process can be tricky, especially if you have limited graphic design skills. So, by using AI-generated thumbnail images, you can circumvent one of the more time-consuming processes when creating and publishing YouTube videos.

Given that YouTube pays close attention to user metrics, such as click-through rate, time spent on video, likes, and shares, stunning thumbnails are vital for converting the platform’s users. In fact, if you ask just about any expert, you’ll hear that these custom images are every bit as important for your success as the video itself. 

The Emergence of AI Thumbnail Makers for YouTube

The field of AI thumbnail generators is changing at a rapid speed. Although I’ve recently published a post listing the ultimate tools for this particular process, numerous new programs have emerged since then. So, I felt compelled to create another piece that would cover the newcomers. 

In this article, I’ll also compare and contrast the quick change in advanced features and overall technology. If you read my previous post, you’ll notice that the past thumbnail tools were noticeably inferior compared to their new, updated versions. In fact, if I were looking for a powerful tool for high-quality thumbnails, I would much rather refer to this post than the former. 

13 AI Thumbnail Makers for YouTube

In this article, I’ll go through 13 best YouTube thumbnail makers. Besides analyzing their AI-powered features, I’ll also explain what separates them from the pack. 

1. Adobe Express

Adobe Express is a comprehensive visual suite that can help you with just about anything. The platform also comes with a specialized AI-powered tool that can create amazing text effects, retouch old images, and introduce other visual solutions. I was especially stunned by Project Stardust, which allows you to reposition any object in the image.

As for the YouTube thumbnail maker, it’s completely free and can be used without a credit card or any other restrictions. Users can create a new video thumbnail from scratch or tap into Adobe’s pre-made custom thumbnails. The software has numerous customization options, among others, allowing you to upload private photos and use them for image creation.

Like other Adobe programs, the thumbnail generator comes with a plethora of effects. You can mess around with color palettes, zoom in and out various elements, and apply filters to your AI-generated image. I also like the fact that the software uses the drag-and-drop method, making it ideal for new creators.

2. Snappa

The company management advertised the tool as a complete marketing solution. Snappa allows you to create material for social media platforms, website pages, and a wide range of ads. The users also gain access to a massive library with over 5 million graphic design templates. That way, you don’t have to start from a blank canvas.

The same pre-made templates can be utilized for AI image generation. Given the 200+ available fonts and more than 100,000 shapes and vectors, you’ll always have the necessary design elements for your project. Similar to Adobe, Snappa utilizes the drag-and-drop function, making the entire process a breeze. 

3. Simplified

Whether you’re a social media manager, video editor, content writer, or some other professional working within the digital marketing space, Simplified can be the right solution to most of your problems. This advanced platform offers integrations with Google Drive, Unsplash, Giphy, Pixabay, and other tools, allowing you to manage the entire creation process from a single dashboard.

The thing that sets Simplified apart is its wide range of AI-generated elements and features. Its artificial intelligence digital designer can be used to create brochures, logos, posters, and other promotional items with a click of a mouse. 

Among others, Simplfieid allows you to create eye-catching thumbnails with minimal effort. You can utilize Brand Kits to instantly add colors, designs, and logos or you can access pre-designed YouTube thumbnail templates. Advanced users can also play around with Background Remover and Magic Resizers, ensuring that your image files are suitable for the YouTube platform. 

Further Reading: 25 Best AI Video Translators to Grow Your Audience

4. Appypie

Most people recognize the name Appypie for its website builder platform. The software helps you create amazing sites without any coding skills, making it perfect for small business owners who work on a budget. Appypie also offers a wide variety of social media marketing, search engine optimization, and other sales and business tools. 

As for the company’s AI generators, you can use them to create videos, images, logos, avatars, QR codes, NFTs, and more. When it comes to the thumbnail design process, users have access to 47 pre-made templates that can serve as a good starting point. Still, I think these designs are somewhat limited, and you’ll likely have to create your own.

You can design custom-made visuals by inputting a relevant prompt. Once the software creates an original image for your YouTube, you can do all sorts of basic edits, such as resizing, cropping, and adding text. Unfortunately, Appypie is somewhat limited in terms of editing features, especially when we compare it to thumbnail industry heavy hitters like Adobe or Simplified. 

Further Reading: YouTube Thumbnail Best Practices: The Definitive Guide

5. Fotor

Professional designers love Fotor for its extensive photo editing features. The software allows you to create and manipulate images, thus securing top-tier content for your website and social accounts. Among others, you can create collages, enhance relevant images, turn photos into art, and remove backgrounds.

As of late, the company has started experimenting with AI technology, bringing us tools like image, face, and art generator, photo enhancer, photo eraser, background remover, and avatar creator. While I’ve seen better AI programs, these ones will do the trick for most users. 

The YouTube thumbnail AI is one of these advanced tools that allows you to create images by inputting a text description in a box. The software will process your query and deliver a personalized thumbnail that is perfect for your channel. If you’re not satisfied with the results, you can always modify the image by changing its style, adding text, or tweaking various elements. 

Further Reading: Best 15 AI Photo Editors for Your Next Project

6. Pixlr

Besides creating captivating thumbnails, Pixlr can remove objects and backgrounds, make grids, crop, resize, expand, and resize images, and perform various touch-ups. Although you can use the thumbnail creator for free, premium features give you access to numerous fonts, design elements, and beautiful thumbnail templates. 

The program works pretty much like any other AI image software – All you need to do is input text prompts, and you’ll get suitable visuals for your video content. If you use the Generative Fill function afterward, you can modify the newly-created images and give them a new twist. 

The thing that separates Pixlr from the competition is its wide variety of styles. This intuitive platform allows you to choose between anime, neon, line, origami, digital, and many other styles to create unique branding for your YouTube channel. You can also choose between attention-grabbing color schemes, dynamic lighting, and intriguing compositions. 

Further Reading: 13 Unbelievable AI Prompt Generators to Maximize Your AI Content Creation

7. Veed.io

Veed.io is one of the better online platforms for video editing. The software gives you access to just about any tool and feature you’ll ever need to maximize your YouTube content. Among others, you can try out the AI background removal tool, video, image, and avatar generator, voice dubber, and eye contact AI.

Once you create a thumbnail, you can transfer the image file into the platform’s editor. Here, you can add text, emojis, shapes, logos, and various other elements. Users can also change the file format so it’s suitable for social media and tweak the background. 

Even if you don’t like the AI-generated image, you can still access various stock photos within the dashboard. 

Further Reading: 15 Powerful YouTube Tools You Need to Grow Your YouTube Audience

8. Plus AI

This AI-powered platform is best used for presentations and slideshows. In fact, if you check its artificial intelligence features, you’ll notice that most of them focus on creating layouts and converting text into slides. 

The company’s thumbnail wizard might seem a bit off-brand, but there are still many users who will find value in this software. The generator utilizes textual prompts to create attractive thumbnails for YouTube and other channels. Once you create the image, it will be sent to your email address.

Unfortunately, I can’t really recommend Plus AI to serious content creators. The lack of editing features is noticeable, making it stand out in a bad way compared to other software in this category. 

9. Thumbnail.AI

Finally, we get to Thumbnail.AI, a program that truly specializes in thumbnail creation. Besides YouTube, the program can also help you out when creating website articles and various social media posts. 

As for editing features, they are scarce but well-placed. You can add various specialized elements to your AI-designed thumbnails, such as YouTube or Facebook banners. There are also arrows and similar designs, which are more than useful when creating captivating visuals for the YouTube platform. 

While the program isn’t as good as Adobe or Simplified, it still provides great value (especially if we consider that it’s free). 

Further Reading: 15 AI Image Enhancers to Improve Your Photos

10. Visme

If you’re looking to create and edit complex content formats, you should definitely check out Visme. The all-in-one design platform allows you to create all sorts of promotional materials and web content, ranging from forms and surveys to printables, company documents, infographics, presentations, and YouTube videos.

The company’s thumbnail software is just perfect if you’re looking for something different. Content creators can utilize existing templates or modify them with numerous tools. You can also add widgets to graphically present various figures. I especially liked the animation maker, which allows you to create dynamic GIFs.  

Further Reading: 23 Recommended Tools for AI Content Creation

11. PlaceIt

Many veteran graphic designers mention PlaceIt as their software of choice. The software is perfect for various layouts, mockups, videos, and other marketing materials. 

Among others, you can utilize this platform to create incredible thumbnails for your YouTube and other accounts. After choosing from a long list of pre-made templates, you can run the image through its editing tool to polish small details.

I didn’t like this program too much. Although you can tweak different elements (which will be enough for most users), you have no control over their placement. In other words, you’re heavily reliant on predefined visuals and have to work within their confines. 

Further Reading: YouTube Marketing Strategy: 13 Tips to Help You Grow Your Business with YouTube

12. FotoJet

Like other platforms on the list, FotoJet offers a wide variety of graphic design tools, templates, and editing features for creating perfect visuals for your brand. Besides making collages, the software allows you to implement various changes, such as rotating and flipping images, putting overlays, and splashing colors over your visuals. 

 Before creating a customized YouTube thumbnail, you can tap into a large library of templates for ideas. My favorite thing about FotoJet is its clipart; you can add funky emojis, shapes, and other elements that are perfect for social media. Of course, like with other programs, you can insert text and change its font and size.

13. Thumbly

Thumbly offers several solutions tailor-made for YouTube channels. Aside from the thumbnail generator, you can gain lots of value from the title generator and thumbnail analysis tool. By utilizing these three programs in conjunction, you can significantly boost your click-through rates and channel performance.

In my opinion, Thumbly is one of the better generations I’ve seen on the market. It uses text-to-image technology to create visuals for your brand. I also liked that you can choose between numerous YouTube categories, allowing much more customization. Lastly, you can also add your own photos to customize the thumbnail further. 

Conclusion

By reading this article, you should have a much better understanding of available thumbnail tools on the market. It’s worth noting that some of these programs are noticeably better than the rest (especially the first few entries), so I suggest you take your time to research all of them. 

I would especially advise that you check the editing features, template libraries, and the quality of AI outputs. 

Hero Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash