Circle Crop for YouTube

Where does YouTube show the picture as a round image?

The channel picture is shown as a circle on the channel page, next to videos, and beside comments.

The channel picture is a circle on the channel page, beside videos, and beside comments. At comment size it is close to the 98 pixel render the help page names, and often smaller. Design for that circle. A detailed banner is a different asset and is not cropped here.

What size does YouTube actually publish?

Channel branding help: JPG, GIF, BMP, or PNG (no animated GIFs), file should not exceed 15 MB, and the picture renders at 98×98 px. A separate artist-avatar article says official artist images should be JPG, GIF, or PNG at 1:1 and 800×800 px. That 800×800 line is for official artist channels, not a general upload requirement.

YouTube does not get a fake official pixel size on this page. Where the help text gives a range or a render size, that text is quoted below. A 512 pixel export is labeled a general recommendation, including on the button, and it is not presented as YouTube’s specification.

Do not treat 800 by 800 as the requirement for every channel. The artist article is explicit about official artist channels. For a normal channel, this page’s 512 button is a general recommendation so you have a sharp square above the 98 pixel render size. The file rules that are official for the profile picture are the types, the 15 MB cap, the ban on animated GIFs, and the 98 pixel render.

How should I crop before I upload?

Put the mark or the face in the center. The circle crop on YouTube will hide corners. Text along the edge of a square logo fails at 98 pixels. The preview strip goes even smaller, which is useful for comment threads.

The help steps for changing the picture run through YouTube Studio: Customization, then the profile picture control. Those are branding steps, not a crop recipe. Do the circle here if you want the frame before upload.

What file should I download?

JPG, PNG, GIF, or BMP are the types in the branding article, and animated GIFs are excluded. PNG or JPG from this editor covers the usual case. Export a still. If you are an artist channel following the other article, 800 by 800 at 1:1 is the figure that article states, and Custom can type 800.

The mock is a generic channel row. It is not a YouTube screenshot.

What if YouTube changes the screen?

Two URLs are listed because the statements live on two pages. Check both dates if you rely on the artist size. The render size and the artist size answer different questions.

How do I use the file on YouTube?

A circle crop for YouTube is the channel picture, which YouTube says it renders at 98 by 98 pixels. The 800 by 800 line is a separate article for official artist channels, so a normal circle crop for YouTube does not inherit it. Center the mark, because that picture is often seen beside a comment, close to that 98 pixel render.

Frequently asked questions