Reels and Shorts cover maker: pick a frame, add a title, check the grid
Pick a frame from your video, add a title in the safe area, see how Instagram’s grid crops it and download a 1080 × 1920 JPG. Free; nothing is uploaded.
By Mellow · UpdatedMake your cover
The title stays within 65–888 across, 288–1248 down on the 1080 × 1920 cover: the area clear on Reels and on Shorts, which also lies inside the profile grid’s crop.
On your Instagram profile grid
The grid shows the middle 3:4 of the cover, from 240 to 1680 pixels down; the strips above and below stay hidden there.
On Instagram, tap Edit cover before you share the reel and add this picture from your device. On YouTube, add it in YouTube Studio on a computer: Content, then Shorts, the Short’s edit button, and Upload file under Thumbnail.
Opens Mellow Hub. Signing up and connecting your accounts are free; publishing starts with a 7-day free trial. What you made here waits in this browser and goes into your first post, which you can change before anything is sent.
How do you make a cover for a reel or a Short?
Pick a frame or a picture, put a short title in the middle and export it at 9:16. On a 1080 × 1920 cover the maker keeps the title within 65–888 across, 288–1248 down, in pixels: the area that Meta’s and Google’s safe zones leave clear, which also lies inside the 3:4 part the profile grid shows. On Instagram, tap Edit cover before you share the reel to choose a frame or add the picture from your device; Instagram’s Help Center says the cover can’t be changed once the reel is uploaded. On YouTube, a custom Shorts thumbnail can be added only in YouTube Studio on a computer, from a verified account.
What each app lets you do with a cover
| Cover | Instagram Reels | YouTube Shorts |
|---|---|---|
| A frame from the video | Yes, with Edit cover in the app, or the slider under Cover photo on a computer | Not described on YouTube’s thumbnail help page |
| Your own picture | Yes: Edit cover, then add one from your device | Yes, in YouTube Studio on a computer only, from a verified account |
| Change it after posting | No: “At the moment, you can’t edit your cover photo after you’ve uploaded it.” | Yes: Content, Shorts, the Short’s edit button, then Upload file under Thumbnail |
| Recommended size | 420 × 654 pixels (1:1.55) | 2160 × 3840 pixels (9:16), at least 640 pixels tall |
| File | Not stated | JPG or PNG, up to 50 MB from a computer |
Sources, read on 7 October 2026: Instagram Help Center: Reel size and aspect ratios on Instagram; Instagram Help Center: Record a reel on Instagram; About Instagram: How to make Instagram Reels, the complete 2026 guide (28 September 2026), which says the cover “is what shows on your profile grid”; YouTube Help: Add custom thumbnails on YouTube. The Instagram pages above give no figure for the grid itself: the 3:4 crop is how Instagram’s own profile showed each reel’s cover on instagram.com that day. The clear area comes from Meta’s and Google’s safe zones; the safe zone checker explains them.
What makes a cover work in the grid
- Three to six words. The grid tile is small on a phone; a short title stays readable there, and the caption carries the rest.
- The middle of the picture. The grid hides the top and bottom 240 pixels of a 1080 × 1920 cover, so keep faces and words between 240 and 1680 pixels down.
- Contrast before colour. On a busy frame, put the words on a plate or give them an outline; the presets above do both.
- A promise the reel keeps. Instagram’s own guide to reels suggests treating a strong first line of text in the opening frame as the reel’s headline: pick a frame or title that matches what the first seconds deliver.
- The same look across covers. One position and one colour set for every reel makes the grid read as a set.
Questions
What size should a reel cover be?
Instagram’s Help Center recommends 420 × 654 pixels (1:1.55) for a reel’s cover photo. YouTube recommends 2160 × 3840 pixels (9:16) for a Shorts thumbnail, at least 640 pixels tall. The maker exports 1080 × 1920, the 9:16 shape of the video itself, with the title in the middle: cut to 1:1.55 from the middle, 119 to 1801 pixels down, it keeps the whole title.
Can I change a reel’s cover after posting?
Not according to Instagram’s Help Center, which says: “At the moment, you can’t edit your cover photo after you’ve uploaded it.” So choose it before you share: tap Edit cover, then pick a frame from the reel or add a picture from your device.
Can I add a custom thumbnail to a YouTube Short from my phone?
No. YouTube’s help says custom thumbnails for Shorts can only be added in YouTube Studio on a computer, and only from a verified account. There, open Content, then Shorts, then the Short’s edit button, and choose Upload file under Thumbnail.
Why is my reel cover cut off on my profile?
The profile grid shows each reel as a 3:4 tile cut from the middle of its 9:16 cover, so on a 1080 × 1920 cover the top and bottom 240 pixels do not show. Keep words and faces between 240 and 1680 pixels down; the maker keeps the title well inside that.
Is my video uploaded?
No. The video or picture stays in this page: the frame is read and the cover is drawn in your browser, and the JPG is made on your own device.
Then schedule the reel
Mellow Hub publishes one vertical video to Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts, and to X, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, Pinterest and Facebook, now or on a schedule. Its Creative Studio also designs thumbnails from a short brief, in 16:9 or a vertical format: see thumbnails and video publishing.
Schedule on Instagram and TikTokHow long can an Instagram Reel be?
This tool is free and needs no account. Mellow Hub is paid, after a 7-day free trial, and publishes only what you, or an assistant you have authorised, send or schedule.
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