Compress Image

🗜ī¸
Click to upload or drag and drop

Image files only (Max 7MB)

ℹī¸ How it works:
  • Upload your image file
  • Drag the quality slider and watch the new file size update live
  • Download the smaller file

Compress an Image and Make the File Smaller

Need to make a picture smaller so it fits an upload limit or an email attachment? This free image compressor reduces the file size of a photo while leaving the picture itself the same size on screen. Drag the quality slider and a live preview shows the exact new file size before you download, so you decide the trade-off rather than guessing.

How to Compress an Image

  1. Click the upload area above or drag and drop your image (up to 7 MB).
  2. Drag the quality slider between 10 and 100. The preview updates the file size as you move it.
  3. Click download to save the smaller file.

Choosing a Quality Level

The slider starts at 80, which is the setting most photos should use — the saving is large and the difference is very hard to see. Below about 60 you may start to notice softness and blotchy patches in smooth areas such as skies. Above 90 the file gets noticeably bigger for very little visible gain. If you are unsure, leave it at 80 and check the preview.

Key Features

  • Live size preview – see the new file size before committing to a download
  • Never larger – if compressing would grow the file, you get your original back instead
  • Dimensions untouched – the width and height in pixels stay exactly as they were
  • Private – files are deleted automatically within one hour, and nothing is watermarked

When You Might Need This

  • Getting a photo under an email attachment limit
  • Meeting an upload size limit on a form, portal or job application
  • Reducing photo file sizes so a website loads faster
  • Shrinking images before uploading to social media
  • Saving storage space on a phone, laptop or cloud drive

Supported Formats

You can upload JPG/JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP or TIFF, up to 7 MB. JPG and WebP respond most to the quality slider because they are lossy formats. PNG is a lossless format, so the slider controls how many colours are kept instead — which is where PNG savings actually come from. If you want to change the format rather than the size, use Convert Image.

Frequently Asked Questions

They change two different things that are both loosely called "size". Compressing reduces the file size in KB or MB while the picture stays the same width and height. Resizing reduces the width and height in pixels, which also shrinks the file as a side effect. If a website rejected your photo for being too many MB, compress it. If it rejected it for being too many pixels wide, resize it. For a stubbornly large file, resize first and then compress.

Because PNG is lossless — it stores every pixel exactly, so nothing is thrown away and nothing is approximated. JPG throws away detail your eye is unlikely to miss, which is why a photo saved as JPG can be five or ten times smaller than the same photo as PNG. PNG is the right choice for screenshots, logos, line art and anything needing a transparent background. JPG is the right choice for photographs.

Not at a sensible quality setting. Compression does not blur an image the way an out-of-focus photo is blurred; instead, heavy compression produces faint blocky squares and muddy patches, usually visible first in skies and shadows. At the default quality of 80 most people cannot tell the compressed version from the original. Use the live preview to check before downloading.

Most email services cap attachments at around 20 to 25 MB in total, and many web forms are far stricter. Start at quality 80 and read the size in the preview. If it is still too large, lower the slider a little and check again. For a photo straight off a modern phone, resizing the width down to around 1600 pixels first, then compressing, usually makes a dramatic difference with no visible loss at normal viewing size.

Yes on both counts. Your file comes back in the format you uploaded, and a transparent background stays transparent — useful for logos and screenshots, where a JPG would fill the clear area with a solid block.

For photographs, quality 70–85 is the usual sweet spot and typically cuts the file by well over half. Detailed photos with lots of texture survive heavy compression better than smooth gradients, logos and flat colour, where blotches show up sooner. Screenshots containing small text degrade fastest of all, so keep those higher or leave them as PNG.

No. The width and height in pixels stay exactly the same — only the file size changes. To change the dimensions, use Resize Image instead.

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