$12 covers a channel
30 credits a month on the smallest plan: one thumbnail for every upload of a channel that posts daily. Pikzels' smallest plan is $40 a month, in credits that reach their full monthly amount only after the first months.
PIKZELS ALTERNATIVE
WThumb vs Pikzels
Pikzels sells credits from $40 a month for a set of tools. WThumb starts at $12 for 30 credits (1 credit = 1 thumbnail), makes the landscape and the Shorts version from one brief, works with your face or none, and exports at 2048 × 1152 where Pikzels exports 1280 × 720.
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Pikzels facts checked on
AT A GLANCE
- Price to start
- WThumb: $12 a month
- Pikzels: $40 a month
- Output size
- WThumb: 2048 × 1152, no upscale needed
- Pikzels: 1280 × 720
- 16:9 and 9:16 from one brief
- WThumb: Yes, both at once, recomposed
- Pikzels: One format per request
- Faceless from a reference with a person
- WThumb: Yes: the person is taken out
- Pikzels: Not stated
- Your face in the thumbnail
- WThumb: At generation, no extra cost
- Pikzels: Persona training, 50 credits
WThumb and Pikzels, side by side
| What is compared | WThumb | Pikzels |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest plan | $12 a month for 30 credits ($9 a month billed yearly) | Premium: $40 a month for up to 150 thumbnails ($28 billed yearly) |
| Largest plan | $56 a month for 300 credits | Ultimate: $80 a month for up to 450 thumbnails |
| How use is counted | One finished thumbnail uses 1 credit, whatever it shows | 10 to 20 credits per thumbnail, recreate or edit, by model; monthly plans ramp their credits up over the first months |
| Free to try | 2 free credits, no card | A free trial; its length and credits are not stated on the pricing page |
| Output size | 2048 × 1152 (16:9) or 1152 × 2048 (9:16), straight from generation | 1280 × 720 |
| 16:9 and 9:16 | 16:9, 9:16 or both from one brief, each recomposed for its frame | One format per request, per its API documentation |
| Faceless from a reference with a person | Yes: the person is taken out and the frame rebuilt without anyone | Not stated |
| Your face | Your photo goes in as the thumbnail is made, at no extra cost; save 1, 2 or 5 personas by plan | A Persona trained from 3 photos, 50 credits |
| Library with outlier scores | Thousands of thumbnails from popular channels, each with its outlier score; free with an account, Recreate in one click | Not offered |
| Start from | A YouTube link, any image, or a plain description | A thumbnail link or image (Recreate), or a prompt |
| Changes after generation | Describe a change in plain words for a new version, 1 credit each | Text prompt or painted-mask edits, 10 to 20 credits each |
Pikzels prices and plans are from Pikzels' own pages (its pricing, FAQ, feature pages and API reference on pikzels.com), as read on September 23, 2026. The WThumb column comes from WThumb pricing and the product. If something here is out of date, tell us from the help button and we will correct it.
WHY WTHUMB
More for less, in both formats
Full HD+ with no upscale
Every thumbnail comes out at 2048 × 1152 (1152 × 2048 for Shorts), sharper than 1080p, straight from generation. Nothing to upscale and nothing extra to pay. Pikzels exports 1280 × 720.
Landscape and Shorts from one brief
Ask for 16:9, 9:16 or both at once. WThumb recomposes the idea for each frame instead of cropping, so a landscape reference becomes a real Shorts thumbnail and the other way round. Pikzels' API takes one format per request.
Faceless, even from a reference with a face
Skip the photo and WThumb takes the person out of the reference and rebuilds the frame without anyone. Any winning thumbnail can become a faceless one: made for faceless channels and for creators who automate their uploads. Pikzels' pages do not describe making a thumbnail without the reference's person.
Your face at no extra cost
Save a persona once and your face goes into the thumbnail as it is made, in the reference person's place. No training fee and no separate swap step. On Pikzels a Persona costs 50 credits to train.
A library of thumbnails that won
Thousands of thumbnails from popular channels, each with its outlier score: the video's views over its channel's median. Sort by it, press Recreate, and the winner becomes your brief. Free with an account. Pikzels has no library of outlier thumbnails.
What Pikzels has that WThumb does not
- A manual editor: text-prompt and painted-mask edits on any image, 10 to 20 credits each.
- Titles, a score and an API: a title generator, the Pikzels Score, and a public API billed apart from app credits.
Pick WThumb if
you want finished thumbnails in both formats at 2048 × 1152, with your face or none, from a winner you picked, and a bill that matches the thumbnails you make.
Start freePick Pikzels if
you want to fine-tune results by hand with masks, score variants and write titles in the same tool, or build on an API.
FAQ
What people ask before switching
Yes. On September 23, 2026, Pikzels' cheapest plan was $40 a month ($28 billed yearly), paid in credits. WThumb's is $12 a month for 30 credits ($9 billed yearly), and each thumbnail uses 1 credit.
Pikzels exports 1280 × 720, and its pages list no larger size or upscale option. WThumb exports 2048 × 1152 for 16:9 and 1152 × 2048 for 9:16, straight from generation.
In WThumb, yes: ask for 9:16, or for both formats at once, and the idea is recomposed for the vertical frame instead of cropped. It works the other way round too. Pikzels' API takes one format per request.
Yes. Skip the photo and WThumb takes the person out and rebuilds the frame without anyone, which is what faceless channels and automated uploads need. Pikzels' pages do not describe this.
No. WThumb has no manual editor, no thumbnail score, no title generator and no API. It makes finished thumbnails, from a winning reference or a plain description, with your face or none, and revises them when you describe a change.
Yes. New accounts get 2 free credits, one thumbnail each, and no card is needed. Pikzels offers a free trial too; its pricing page does not say how many credits it includes.