Podcast cover art checker
Drop your show or episode art to check it against what Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube ask for, see it at the sizes listeners see, and download a fixed 3000 × 3000 copy.
- Free, no sign-up
- Your image stays on your device
- Specs checked November 10, 2026
Drop your cover art
The show cover, or episode art: JPG or PNG. Everything is checked in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
Apple Podcasts', Spotify's and YouTube's published specs, read on November 10, 2026.
Podcast cover art size in 2026
- Apple Podcasts
- 3000 × 3000 px1400 to 3000 px square through an RSS feed; PNG or JPG; no transparency
- Spotify
- Square (1:1)The highest resolution you have; TIFF, PNG or JPEG
- YouTube podcast
- 1280 × 1280 pxA 1:1 playlist thumbnail; JPG or PNG, 10 MB from the app, 50 MB from a computer
- Episode art
- Same as the coverOptional; not every app shows it
- One file for all three
- 3000 × 3000 JPGSquare, RGB, no alpha channel
Sources: Apple Podcasts for Creators: Show Cover · Apple Podcasts for Creators: Episode Art · Spotify for Creators: Podcast specification doc (Podcast Delivery Specification v1.10) · Spotify for Creators: Uploading cover art · Spotify for Creators: Thumbnails · YouTube Help: Create a podcast in YouTube Studio · YouTube Help: Add custom thumbnails on YouTube, read on November 10, 2026.
One file that works everywhere
Apple's rules are the strictest, so design to them. Apple asks for a 3000 × 3000 Show Cover, accepts 1400 × 1400 to 3000 × 3000 when the art comes through your RSS feed (as it does from most podcast hosts), takes PNG or JPG, and says the art can't contain transparency and shouldn't contain an alpha channel. Spotify's delivery spec only asks for a fully square image in the highest resolution available, and YouTube recommends 1280 × 1280 for the square thumbnail of a podcast playlist, so the same 3000 × 3000 file covers all three.
Export it as a JPG and the transparency question goes away: a JPG can't hold an alpha channel. A PNG from Canva or Figma often keeps one, and rounded corners saved with see-through edges fail Apple's rule outright. Leave the corners square: the apps round them for you (podcasts.apple.com draws covers with 5 to 7 px corners at 90 to 184 px wide).
Make it readable at 90 pixels
Apple's best practices for a Show Cover: make the podcast title clear and prominent, keep the text in strong contrast with the background, limit extra text and logos, and if your background is black or white, use a slightly different shade so the cover doesn't blend into the app. Apple's own Show Cover template marks the whole square as the art safe area, so nothing is cropped; the risk is size. We measured the web players in Chrome on November 10, 2026: podcasts.apple.com shows covers at 184 px in its charts and episode art at 90 px in episode lists, and open.spotify.com at 190 px on show cards. The checker previews your art at those sizes on a light and a dark background. Mixing the episodes too? The LUFS meter checks the audio against Apple Podcasts' −16 LUFS and Spotify's −14, and the Spotify video podcast checker checks a video episode against Spotify's video specs.
Embed this checker
Teachers, bloggers and course creators can put this podcast cover art checker on their own page for free. Paste the code below into your page's HTML. It loads from markstudios.com, so it stays current when we update the numbers.
Questions, answered.
Anything else? Message Mark and you'll get a written reply within one business day.
What size should podcast cover art be?
3000 × 3000 pixels, square, saved as a JPG or PNG with no transparency. That is the size Apple Podcasts asks for, it meets Spotify’s request for a square image at the highest resolution you have, and it is above the 1280 × 1280 YouTube recommends for a podcast thumbnail.
What is the minimum size for Apple Podcasts artwork?
1400 × 1400 pixels. Through an RSS feed, Apple accepts show covers from 1400 × 1400 to 3000 × 3000 and prefers the largest size. Anything smaller, larger or not square is outside that range.
What size is Spotify podcast cover art?
Spotify’s Podcast Delivery Specification asks for a fully square (1:1) image in the highest resolution available, as TIFF, PNG or JPEG. It sets no pixel minimum, so 3000 × 3000 works for Spotify and Apple alike. Spotify says a new cover typically shows within 24 hours.
What size is a YouTube podcast thumbnail?
Square, not 16:9: YouTube asks for a 1:1 thumbnail for podcast playlists and recommends 1280 × 1280 pixels. It takes JPG or PNG, up to 10 MB from the mobile app and 50 MB from a computer.
Can podcast cover art have a transparent background?
No. Apple says show covers and episode art can’t contain transparency and should not contain an alpha channel. Rounded corners exported with see-through edges are the usual cause; the apps round the corners themselves. Fill the background, or export a JPG, which can’t hold transparency.
Do I need separate episode art?
No, it is optional. Apple takes episode art at the same size as a show cover (3000 × 3000, or 1400 to 3000 through RSS, PNG or JPG). On Spotify, episodes use the show’s cover unless you add one, and not every app shows episode art.
Is a Spotify video thumbnail the same as cover art?
No. Cover art is square. A Spotify video thumbnail is a separate horizontal 16:9 image, suggested at 1920 × 1080, that the Spotify mobile app shows for video episodes on the show page, the episode page and in search. Audio episodes show the cover art instead.
Rather have the episodes edited?
Mark Studios edits multi-camera podcast episodes, cleans the audio and cuts clips for Shorts and Reels, and you work directly with Mark.
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