Compress Image Online Free

How to compress an image

1. Drop in a JPG, PNG or WebP file.
2. Drag the slider to the size you want to come in under.
3. Press Compress and download the smaller file, which keeps its original name.

Where the savings come from

Two things make photos heavy: resolution and quality settings. A modern phone shoots at 12 megapixels or more, but a full-width image on a website is rarely more than 2,000 pixels across, and an email attachment needs far less than that. The tool caps the longest edge at 1,920 pixels, enough for any screen including retina displays at typical viewing sizes, and then re-encodes at a quality level chosen to hit your target.

That combination is why a 6 MB photo routinely comes out under 500 KB with no visible difference. You are not throwing away detail you could see; you are throwing away detail that was never going to reach your eye.

Choosing a target

For email attachments, 1 MB per image is generous. For a website, aim for 200 to 400 KB on large hero images and under 100 KB on thumbnails. Page speed is a ranking factor, and images are almost always the heaviest thing on a page. For printing, compress less: print resolution is far higher than screen resolution, so detail you cannot see on a monitor still shows on paper.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a minimum size?

No. Small files compress fine, and a 400-byte icon still shrinks. What you cannot do is set a target below 100 KB with the slider; if you need a strict figure under that, resize the image first.

Why did my file barely change?

It was already optimised. An image that has been compressed once has little left to remove, and squeezing it again mostly costs quality without buying much space.

Does the format change?

No. A PNG stays a PNG and a JPG stays a JPG. If you want a format change as well, use one of the converters. WebP in particular will usually beat both.

Are my photos uploaded?

No. Compression runs in your browser, so the photos never leave your device.