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Runs on your device - the file never leaves it

Compress a photo to the size you were asked for

Set the limit - 100 KB for a form, 500 KB for a shop, 2 MB for a print order - and drop your photos. The compressor lowers quality step by step and shrinks the long edge only when it has to, then shows what each file became.

Short answerLast edited October 31, 2026

The Image Compressor reduces a photo to a file size you name, such as 200 KB for a form or 1 MB for an email, or to a set maximum side length. It lowers the quality until the file fits, and the compression runs in your browser.

8quality steps tried per photo
3resize passes before giving up
0bytes sent to a server

A photo is mostly information you do not need

A 12 megapixel phone photo carries about 12 million colour points, and a shop thumbnail will show it at 600 pixels wide. The camera keeps detail for a print; the screen throws most of it away. That is why the same photo can drop from 4 MB to 180 KB and still look identical where it is actually used.

A compressor has two levers, and they are not equal. Quality throws away fine detail that the eye barely registers - hair, fabric texture, the noise in a shadow. Dimensions throw away pixels, which is cheaper per byte but visible: text on a screenshot turns blurry, a product label becomes unreadable. This tool pulls the quality lever first and only shortens the long edge when quality alone cannot reach the target, so a 600 KB request does not return a 400 pixel photo.

The third lever is the format. WebP stores the same picture in fewer bytes than JPG at the same visual quality, and it keeps transparency, which JPG cannot: a transparent PNG saved as JPG gets a white box behind the subject. If a form accepts WebP, take it; if it does not, JPG at quality 80 and a sensible width is still far smaller than the original.

Before you drop the files
  • Check the limit you were given - forms often say it in KB, shops in MB
  • Know whether transparency matters (PNG, WebP) or not (JPG)
  • Keep the originals: compression is one-way
  • For screenshots with text, try WebP before dropping the resolution
  • For print orders, ask for the pixel size, not the file size

Typical ceilings you will run into

Limits move; check the current number on the service before uploading
WhereTypical limitWhat happens at the limitBetter target
Job application forms100-500 KB per photoupload rejected after the form is filled150-300 KB, 1000 px wide
Email attachment20-25 MB per messagethe whole message bounces5 MB in total is safe
Marketplace and shop listings2-20 MB per imagethe listing editor refuses the file300-800 KB, 1600 px
Print orderspixel size, not file sizea warning that the photo is too smallkeep the original
Web pagesno hard limit, but speed mattersslow pages lose visitorsunder 250 KB per hero image

If the target is a range rather than a number, aim for the middle: a 300 KB photo passes a 500 KB form and still looks sharp on a retina screen. Uploading exactly at the ceiling leaves no room for the service re-encoding your file, which can push it over.

Three choices, then the batch runs

1

Set the target

Pick 100 KB, 500 KB, 1 MB or 2 MB. The number comes from the form or the shop, not from a guess.

2

Pick the long edge

1920 px is a good default for web photos. Keep the original only when the file goes to print.

3

Check and download

Each row shows the new size, dimensions and quality. Drop several files and take them all as one ZIP.

Compression questions, answered plainly

Does compressing a photo reduce its quality?
Yes, slightly - that is how the size drops. The question is whether the difference is visible where the photo is used. A 1600 pixel photo at quality 78 shown at 800 pixels on a screen is indistinguishable from the original for almost everyone; a screenshot of text at the same setting is noticeably softer. The result rows show the quality used, so you can compare two runs before choosing.
Are my photos uploaded to your server?
No. The file is read by the browser, drawn on a canvas and encoded there. Nothing is sent anywhere, which is also why the tool keeps working in a plane or on a slow connection. The only thing the server receives is an anonymous count that a photo was compressed.
Why is my file still above the target?
Some images cannot go smaller without becoming unusable - a detailed photo of foliage, a night shot full of noise, or a PNG with many flat areas. The tool then returns the smallest version it could make and marks the row as the closest possible. Crop the photo, switch to WebP, or lower the pixel width and try again.
Should I use JPG or WebP?
WebP if the destination accepts it: smaller at the same quality and it keeps transparency. JPG when a form, an older system or a printer asks for it. PNG is the wrong choice for photos - it is lossless, so a photo stays large; it is the right choice for logos and screenshots with sharp edges.
Does this remove EXIF data such as GPS location?
Yes. Re-encoding on a canvas drops the metadata, including the camera model, the shooting date and the GPS coordinates. If you want to keep the date, note it before you compress; if you want the location gone, this does it as a side effect.
How many photos can I compress at once?
There is no fixed limit - the batch runs one file at a time so the phone or laptop stays responsive. A few dozen photos are fine; several hundred will take a while and are better split into groups, because every step happens on your device.

The form has a limit. The photo does not have to lose.

Drop the file, set the number the form asked for, and download the version that fits.

Compress a photo

Quick facts

  1. Halving the longest side cuts the pixel count fourfold, which usually shrinks a photo more than dropping the quality slider does.
  2. Compressing an already compressed JPEG again loses more than compressing the original once at the target size.
  3. JPEG splits the picture into 8×8 pixel blocks and stores a discrete cosine transform of each block, which is where its block-shaped artefacts come from.ITU-T
  4. JPEG has no alpha channel, so transparency always becomes white or black when a picture is saved as JPG.ITU-T
  5. Google reports that WebP files are 25% to 34% smaller than JPEG files at the same visual quality.Google Developers

Questions people ask

How do I compress a photo to a specific file size?
Enter the target size, such as 200 KB, and choose JPG or WebP. The compressor reduces the quality step by step until the file meets the target. Very small targets may need a smaller pixel size as well.
Does compressing a photo reduce its quality?
It removes some detail, and the amount depends on the target. A moderate reduction is hard to see at normal size. Compressing a file that is already compressed loses more, so start from the original when you can.
Which format compresses photos the smallest?
WebP is usually the smallest at the same visual quality, followed by JPG. PNG is much larger for photographs, because it is lossless, so use it only for graphics and images that need transparency.

What this page is about

  • JPEG

    A lossy still-image format standardised as ITU-T T.81 in 1992 and still the default format of most cameras and phones.

  • WebP

    An image format published by Google in 2010 that stores lossy and lossless pictures, transparency and animation in one file type.

  • PNG

    A lossless image format defined by the W3C with an 8-bit alpha channel and gamma information, designed for the web in 1996.

  • Canvas

    The HTML element that gives a page a pixel buffer to draw on and export as PNG, JPEG or WebP.

Official sources cited on this page

  1. Recommendation T.81: Digital compression and coding of continuous-tone still imagesITU-T
  2. WebP: An image format for the WebGoogle Developers
  3. PNG (Portable Network Graphics) Specification, Third EditionW3C
  4. HTML Living Standard (canvas, file input, media elements)WHATWG

Continue with the same file

Each of these opens what the tool above produces. Use “Use in another tool” under the result to carry the file over — it moves from tab to tab inside your browser, never to a server.

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Switched-off tools are not listed here: only what works right now.

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