I bought a plan for Pikzels AI thumbnail generator to save you time and money.
In this post, I will review Pikzels and consider whether it’s worth it or not.
Quick Recap
Here’s a short summary of the post for the busy readers.
Pikzels is the best AI thumbnail generator I’ve tested. For example, here are two thumbnails I made with it:
This tool does it all so you don’t need to learn how to use different edit and customization features.
Just tell the AI what you want to see and it will get the job done.
The only thing I dislike is that the free trial is very limited and there’s a huge watermark in the free thumbnails.
I recommend giving Pikzels a shot. If you want to try it cheaper, use the code JALLI50 to get 50% off from your first month.
Let’s dive into the review.
Disclaimer: This post has affiliate links at no cost to you.
My Experience with Pikzels
Let me show you my results with Pikzels as well as how it works to set realistic expectations.
Let’s start creating a basic viral thumbnail first. Then I will show you how to add your face to it, customize it, and take it to the next level.
Create Thumbnail
The workflow in Pikzels is simple. Just tell the AI what you want to create.
For example, you can try an input like: “A man swimming underwater, looking terrified at the camera while a shark looms menacingly in the background.”
Then wait for 20 seconds.
After waiting, you will see the first version of your thumbnail.
That’s awesome! Though, to be fair, AI has been capable of doing this for nearly two years now. Tools like ChatGPT could handle tasks like this pretty easily.
That aside, let’s dive into what sets this tool apart.
For every image, you get three main options:
- Redo
- Edit
- Faceswap
After one round of Redo, here’s a new version of the thumbnail I got earlier:
Remember that AI is always a dice roll. You have to play with it to get the optimal results and to learn what works and what doesn’t. One tip is to use simple inputs. Don’t say too many things in one go.
The “Thumbnail Copy” feature
Now, let’s get into the feature that makes Pikzels such an incredible AI thumbnail maker.
It’s the Recreate feature. With this, you can grab a thumbnail from your favorite channel and generate a similar one effortlessly.
For example, here’s a good thumbnail I found on YouTube.
I want to create a similar thumbnail for my video as well.
To do this, I only need to link to the video in the Pixzels app. It will then take care of the rest.
On YouTube, you can find the shareable link by clicking on the three dots of the video:
Then copy the link to the clipboard.
Then paste the link to Pikzels. Also, tweak the Inspiration weight and tell the AI what you want to change in the original thumbnail.
For example, I told the AI to say $500/day instead of $100/day.
Here’s the result I got:
Pretty cool, huh? It has exactly the same vibe and style as the original one. Here’s a side-by-side check:
Perfect!
Keep in mind that you can customize these thumbnails however you want. For instance, here’s what happened when I asked the AI to darken the background and change the shirt to blue:
Also, I told the AI to remove the helmet. Here’s the new version:
Boom! Just like that the helmet is also gone.
One thing to note is that editing your image may slightly change parts you didn’t intend to edit. This happens because AI still struggles with maintaining perfect consistency in characters.
However, I think this one is good now:
Cool!
Now, there’s still one big issue—the thumbnail doesn’t look like me at all. It’s just a completely random, non-existent person.
But the good news is that there’s a Face Swap feature that puts your face into the thumbnails.
The Face Swap
To use it, click on the FaceSwap feature.
Then upload the thumbnail and your picture respectively.
Hit generate and wait for 20 seconds.
For instance, here’s my result:
Here’s the image I used (the real me, that is.)
Lastly, I told the AI to remove the glasses as I never wear those. After some simple AI instructions and re-generations, here’s the final version of my thumbnail:
That’s pretty close to how I look! With a bit more editing on the hair and body type, it could match even better.
Tip: One step at a time
When making or editing thumbnails with Pikzels, take it step-by-step. Start with simple instructions to create the thumbnail, then make edits one at a time.
Here’s how I created the thumbnails above:
- Recreate
- Edit: “Darker background”
- Generate
- Edit: “Remove glasses”
- Generate
- Edit: “Remove background helmet”
- Generate
- Edit: “Change background color”
This approach keeps the AI from getting overwhelmed. Stick to one or two instructions per edit.
That’s the key to creating amazing thumbnails with AI.
Pikzels Pricing
Pikzels.com has three plans — Essential ($14/mo), Premium ($28/mo), and Ultimate ($56/mo) — billed annually.
- Essential: Basic features, 2400 credits, 240 thumbnails/year.
- Premium: Most popular, more tools, 18000 credits, 1800 thumbnails/year.
- Ultimate: All features unlocked, 54000 credits, 5400 thumbnails/year.
Higher tiers provide more credits, features, and advanced tools.
Get 50% off with code JALLI50 for the first month.
Pros
- Easy to use. Just tell the AI what you want to see and it will create a thumbnail to match that.
- Best results. I’ve tested a lot of these and Pikzels gave the best results.
- Face swap. The thumbnails obviously don’t look like you. But thanks to Pikzels, you can do a realistic face swap to make the person in the thumbnail look like you.
- The inspiration feature is epic. Pikzels allows you to copy an existing thumbnail and create similar-styled thumbnails based on that.
Cons
- A free trial is bad. The free trial is nonexistent. You can create 5 thumbnails with a HUGE watermark. It’s useless to my eyes.
- Inconsistent results. Sometimes you have to spend credits to get bad results and inconsistent edits.
- Very expensive. You get 300 thumbnails for $80/month. In reality, you have to create at least 20-30 thumbnails with edits to get one good one.
- Everyone will do this soon. The problem with tools like this is that they work for a while. Then once everyone uses them, it will dilute the impact of epic thumbnails and give it an “AI-generated garbage” vibe.
My Honest Take
If you’re new to making thumbnails, give Pikzels AI a try. It can save time and spark ideas.
That said, there’s a catch.
When everyone has access to tools like this, those eye-catching, viral thumbnails people once loved can start to feel like “generic AI-generated content.”
Still, tools like Pikzels.com are so new that they haven’t watered down the impact of great thumbnails—at least not yet. Only time will tell.
Stay on top of trends and know what works.
Lately, YouTube seems to be shifting toward minimalistic content with fewer edits. Thumbnails are following suit—simple, accurate designs are making a comeback, letting the content speak for itself.
Get 50% off paid plans with code JALLI50.
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned!