Image editing software
"What should I use to make thumbnails?"
I'm a Photoshop guy through and through, but there are plenty of alternatives that are good enough to make effective YouTube Thumbnails.
Free
Paint.NET
OS: Windows
Great alternative to Photoshop that I grew up with. Relatively simple to use and powerful enough to handle your thumbnail creation needs.
PhotoPea
OS: Windows, Mac, Linux... Basically anything with a modern browser.
It's like Photoshop... in your browser! Similar to Pixlr
GIMP
OS: Windows, Mac, Linux
Very powerful image editor.
It's like Free Photoshop basically, but many people find the UI confusing / difficult.
Pixlr
OS: Windows, Mac, Linux... Basically anything with a modern browser.
Another Photoshop Alternative that runs in the browser. Similar to PhotoPea
Canva*
OS: Windows, Mac, Linux... Basically anything with a modern browser.
Price: Free (Forever) / $20 USD (Per Month)
Canva is pretty popular for image editing and making thumbnails. It has a variety of templates (both free and paid) to use.
Personally, I strongly dislike Canva. The templates are sometimes tacky and objectively bad, and I feel like it's a waste of money.
Paid
Photoshop
OS: Windows, Mac
Price: $22.99 USD (Per Month)
The tried and true industry-loved editing software. Huge community around it (Plenty of tutorials).
Pairs very well with other Adobe applications, which must be purchased separately or as part of a Creative Cloud subscription.
The only / main reason I do not recommend this is the cost, but if you're fortunate enough to have your school / workplace grant you a free license, give it a shot!
Affinity Photo
OS: Windows, Mac, iOS (iPad)
Price:
- ~$59.99 USD (Buy once, own forever) for Windows/Mac,
- ~$14.99 USD (Buy once, own forever) for iOS
- Free Trial is offered
Popular alternative to Photoshop with similar capabilities and advanced features. Worth looking at the Trial if you're looking to purchase some professional software without being forced into a subscription.
Other Image Editing tools
While these websites / programs are not individually good enough to handle all your image-handling needs, these "honourable mentions" can be very helpful in your process(es).
Thumbs Up
OS: Anything with a modern browser
Price: FREE (Forever)
Allows you to preview what your video's title and thumbnail would look like on a variety of devices on YouTube.
Remove.bg
OS: Anything with a modern browser
Price: FREE (Up to a certain resolution)
Easy tool to remove backgrounds without any effort. Great for thumbnails and other quick edits. I wouldn't bother with the paid version though.
Pixelcut
OS: Anything with a modern browser
Price: FREE (With some limitations)
Easy tool with a variety of features such as background removal and upscaling.