Twitch takes a profile banner at 1200 x 480 px, up to 10 MB. Most people treat it as a fixed billboard, but Twitch stretches it whenever the viewer's browser window is wider than the file.
Where it shows
- Behind the profile block at the top of your channel page
- The channel header on the About tab
- The profile header in the Twitch mobile app
The safe zone
The banner sits behind the profile block at the top of the channel page, and the avatar, channel name and follow button print over its left side, so a wordmark placed there is hidden. Twitch scales anything shorter or taller than 480 px to 480 px high, and stretches the image when a window is open wider than the upload, which makes the outer thirds the parts most likely to distort. The middle band, offset to the right of the profile block, is the only area you can rely on.
Quirks worth knowing
- Twitch scales images shorter or taller than 480 px to 480 px high, so a taller file gives up width rather than gaining height.
- The banner is stretched when a viewer's browser window is open wider than the image, which is why a 1200 px wide file goes soft on an ultrawide monitor.
- Animated GIF is accepted here, unlike the offline screen, and the animation has to fit inside the same 10 MB cap.
- A 5:2 strip is a shorter, wider shape than the 16:9 header most channel art templates assume, so a generic banner template usually needs a relayout.
- This is a separate asset from the video player banner, and dropping a 16:9 offline screen into this field squashes it into the strip.
- Twitch's help portal does not render for automated readers, so the 1200 x 480 px size, the 10 MB cap and the .gif, .jpg and .png list here come from the Kudos Twitch size guide, which quotes Twitch's account settings page.
Common mistakes
- Centering the wordmark, then finding the avatar and channel name printed on top of it.
- Filling the strip with small text that turns unreadable as soon as the banner is stretched on a wide monitor.
- Uploading a 1920 x 1080 px offline screen into the profile banner field.
- Sending a 15 MB animated GIF that the 10 MB cap rejects.
What we recommend
- Export at 1200 x 480 px, or wider at the same 480 px height, so there are spare pixels before Twitch has to stretch anything.
- Put the schedule or the social handle in the right half, clear of the avatar and the channel name.
- Use a flat color or a soft gradient across the outer thirds, where stretching is hardest to notice.
- Keep type short and large, since the strip is only 480 px tall before any scaling happens.
Common questions
Why is my Twitch banner blurry?
Twitch stretches the profile banner when a viewer's browser window is wider than the uploaded file, and pulling a 1200 px wide image across a 2560 px monitor softens every edge. Export wider at the same 480 px height to give it more pixels to work with. Flat backgrounds hide the stretch far better than photographs.
What is the difference between a Twitch banner and an offline screen?
The profile banner is the 1200 x 480 px strip behind your profile information at the top of the channel page. The offline screen is the 1920 x 1080 px image that fills the video player when you are not live. They are uploaded in different fields and neither works in the other's place.
Can a Twitch profile banner be animated?
Yes, this field accepts .gif alongside .jpg and .png inside the 10 MB limit. The video player banner does not accept animation. Keep any loop slow, since it sits directly under the channel name people are trying to read.
Why is part of my Twitch banner covered?
The avatar, channel name and follow button are drawn on top of the banner's left side. Anything placed there disappears behind the profile block. Move the artwork to the right half and let the left side be background.
More answers on thumbnail, carousel and cover questions are on the FAQ.