How to use the Image Compressor
- Drag and drop photos onto the area above, or click it to choose files. You can select several at once.
- Set the quality. Around 70–80% cuts the file size a lot, and most people can't see the difference.
- For high-resolution images such as phone photos, set the max width/height to about 1920px to make the files much smaller.
- When you change a setting, the images are compressed again automatically. Check the results, then save each file on its own or click Download all.
How image compression reduces file size
An image's file size depends on its resolution (width × height in pixels) and its compression quality. Photos from recent smartphones are 4000×3000px or larger and often weigh 3–8MB each. For viewing on the web or in a messaging app, 1920px is plenty. Halving the resolution leaves only a quarter of the pixels, so the file gets much smaller.
JPG and WEBP use lossy compression, which throws away detail the human eye barely notices. A lower quality setting gives a smaller file, but if you go too low, edges start to look blurry and blocky.
Recommended settings by use
| Use | Max size | Quality | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blog posts and online store product images | 1280–1920px | 75–80% | JPG or WEBP |
| Email and messaging attachments | 1920px | 70% | JPG |
| Online forms and applications (e.g., 1MB limit) | 1280px | 60–70% | JPG |
| Passport-style photos and profile pictures | 800px | 85% | JPG |
| Screenshots and logos (transparent background) | Original | 85% | WEBP or same as original |
How to compress a photo to under 1MB or 500KB
Job applications, government websites, school portals and other upload forms often have a file size limit. Follow these steps to get under the limit while keeping as much quality as possible.
- Start with a max width/height of 1920px and 75% quality. Most typical phone photos will come out under 1MB.
- If the file is still too big, lower the max size to 1280px. Reducing resolution usually causes less visible damage than cutting the quality setting a lot.
- For stricter limits such as 500KB, lower the quality to 60–65% and keep the output format as JPG.
- If the photo must be an exact pixel size (as with passport or ID photos), first set the dimensions with the image resizer, then use this tool just to reduce the file size.
The results list shows the size before and after compression and the percentage saved. If a file is still over the limit, change the settings and check again.
Things to know when compressing PNG images
PNG is a lossless format, so the same photo can be several times larger as a PNG than as a JPG. For photos, simply saving as JPG or WEBP cuts the file size a lot. JPG doesn't support transparency, though, so transparent areas turn white. Choose WEBP if you need to keep a transparent background.
If you save a PNG in its original format, the file only gets smaller when you also lower the resolution. If the compressed result is larger than the original, it's better to keep using the original file. This tool marks those files for you.
Why use a browser-based compressor
- Privacy: your photos are never uploaded to a server, so personal and work images stay on your device.
- Batch processing: compress a whole set of photos with the same settings and download them all at once.
- No sign-up: the tool is free, with no account and no software to install.