How to compress an image
- Choose, drop or paste your images.
- Pick Light, Balanced or Strong, or fine-tune with the slider.
- Optionally set a maximum width or change the format to JPG or WebP.
- Check the saving on each file, then download them or a ZIP.
The three ways an image gets smaller
- Lower quality: JPG and WebP can discard fine detail you are unlikely to notice. This is what the presets and slider control.
- Fewer pixels: a max width scales big photos down. A 4,000 pixel wide phone photo shown at 1,200 pixels has around nine times more pixels than it needs.
- A more efficient format: WebP is usually smaller than JPG at similar quality, and both are far smaller than PNG for photos.
The biggest savings usually come from combining them. A large phone photo with a max width and Balanced compression can drop from several megabytes to a few hundred kilobytes.
Light, Balanced or Strong
Light keeps the image very close to the original and still trims size, good for photos you care about. Balanced is the everyday choice for email, documents and websites. Strong squeezes hardest and suits thumbnails or when a strict upload limit matters more than detail. Look closely at faces, text and smooth skies after using Strong, as that is where compression shows first.
PNG is lossless, so a quality setting has less to work with on PNG files. For PNG photos, converting to JPG or WebP makes the real difference. Screenshots with text may be better left as PNG.
Need a specific size, like under 100 KB?
This tool is for making files smaller in general. If a form says the file must be under a set size, the Resize image to KB tool keeps adjusting until it gets under your target.
Compression runs in your browser and your photos are never uploaded. Hidden details such as GPS location are not copied into the compressed files.
Questions people ask
Does compressing an image reduce quality?
Lossy compression removes some detail, but at Light or Balanced it is hard to spot at normal viewing size. Keep your original if you might need full quality later.
Why did my PNG barely get smaller?
PNG is lossless, so there is little to trim without changing format. Convert photos to JPG or WebP, or set a max width, for a bigger saving.
Can I compress lots of photos at once?
Yes. Add them together, apply one setting and download everything as a ZIP.
What is a good size for email attachments?
Many email services cap attachments at around 20 to 25 MB in total, so a few photos at a few hundred KB each are comfortable. Check your provider's limit.
Will compressing change the image dimensions?
Only if you set a max width. Otherwise the width and height stay the same.