Less per thumbnail as you grow
$0.23 a thumbnail on the Creator plan and $0.19 on Studio, your face and the full size included. On ThumbGen a thumbnail is 15 credits, about $0.38, and each face swap or upscale is another charge.
THUMBGEN ALTERNATIVE
WThumb vs ThumbGen
ThumbGen sells credit packs and charges 15 credits for every step, with 2K and 4K as paid upscales. WThumb plans cost as little as $0.19 a thumbnail, and every thumbnail comes out at 2048 × 1152, in both formats if you want, with your face or none.
Start free
ThumbGen facts checked on
AT A GLANCE
- Price to start
- WThumb: $12 a month
- ThumbGen: $2 pack (80 credits)
- Output size
- WThumb: 2048 × 1152, no upscale needed
- ThumbGen: Not stated; 2K or 4K upscale, 20 or 25 credits
- 16:9 and 9:16 from one brief
- WThumb: Yes, both at once, recomposed
- ThumbGen: Not stated
- Faceless from a reference with a person
- WThumb: Yes: the person is taken out
- ThumbGen: Not stated
- Your face in the thumbnail
- WThumb: At generation, no extra cost
- ThumbGen: Face Swap, 15 credits
WThumb and ThumbGen, side by side
| What is compared | WThumb | ThumbGen |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | A monthly or yearly plan, from $12 a month for 30 credits (1 credit = 1 thumbnail) | One-off credit packs: $2 for 80, $15 for 600, $25 for 1,000, $60 for 2,400; credits never expire |
| Price per thumbnail | $0.40 on the smallest plan, $0.23 and $0.19 on the larger ones (monthly) | 15 credits, about $0.38; with a 4K upscale, 40 credits, about $1 |
| Output size | 2048 × 1152 (16:9) or 1152 × 2048 (9:16), straight from generation | Base size not stated; 2K or 4K by upscaling, 20 or 25 more credits |
| 16:9 and 9:16 | 16:9, 9:16 or both from one brief, each recomposed for its frame | Aspect ratios not stated |
| 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 | Face Swap after generation, 15 credits a swap |
| 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 prompt or an uploaded reference; a YouTube link is not stated |
| Free to try | 2 free credits, no card | Its pages differ: 30 free credits on sign-up, or no free credits and a $2 trial |
| Rights to your thumbnails | Yours to use commercially, including on a monetized channel | Yours, but its terms keep a worldwide, royalty-free license to use them for marketing |
| Changes after generation | Describe a change in plain words for a new version, 1 credit each | Edit by text prompt or change the expression, 15 credits each |
ThumbGen prices and plans are from ThumbGen's own pages (its homepage, credits guide, terms and blog on thumbgen.io), 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
Full HD+ in every thumbnail, with no paid upscale
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. ThumbGen does not state its base size and charges 20 or 25 more credits for 2K or 4K.
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. ThumbGen's pages do not state which aspect ratios it makes.
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. ThumbGen's pages do not describe this.
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 ThumbGen each Face Swap is a separate 15-credit step.
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. ThumbGen has no library of outlier thumbnails.
What ThumbGen has that WThumb does not
- Credits that never expire: one-off packs from $2, for someone who makes a thumbnail now and then.
- A Mixer and Variations: build from your own assets, or ask for several variations of one design, 15 credits each.
Pick WThumb if
you publish regularly and want every thumbnail at 2048 × 1152, in both formats, with your face or none, at $0.23 or less on the larger plans.
Start freePick ThumbGen if
you make a thumbnail only now and then and would rather buy a small pack of credits that never expire.
FAQ
What people ask before switching
Per thumbnail on the larger plans, yes: $0.23 on Creator and $0.19 on Studio, against about $0.38 for ThumbGen's 15 credits before any swap, edit or upscale (September 23, 2026). For an occasional thumbnail, ThumbGen's $2 pack is the smaller spend.
ThumbGen does not state its base resolution; it sells 2K and 4K as upscales for 20 or 25 extra credits. WThumb generates 2048 × 1152 for 16:9 and 1152 × 2048 for 9:16, with nothing extra to pay.
Yes. Save a persona once and your face goes in as the thumbnail is made, in the reference person's place, at no extra cost. On ThumbGen, Face Swap is a separate step at 15 credits.
Yes. Skip the photo and WThumb takes the person out of the reference and rebuilds the frame without anyone. ThumbGen's pages do not describe this.
WThumb's terms let you publish, edit and use your thumbnails commercially, including on a monetized channel. ThumbGen's terms say you own them but keep a worldwide, royalty-free license for ThumbGen to use them for marketing, research or service improvement.
Its pages disagree: the homepage says new accounts get 30 free credits, and its credits guide says there are no free credits and offers a $2 trial of 80 credits. WThumb gives every new account 2 free credits, one thumbnail each, no card needed.