Compress Image
Make a photo or graphic smaller in kilobytes. Move the quality slider and the page re-encodes the image straight away, showing the real file size next to the original so you can judge the trade-off.
Lower quality gives a smaller file. Around 70–80 is a common starting point for photos; check the preview.
Your image is compressed inside your browser and is never uploaded to our server.
How to use the Compress Image
- Drop a JPG, PNG or WebP image onto the box, or click to choose one.
- Pick the output format. JPG suits photos; WebP suits photos and graphics and can keep transparency. The page suggests one based on your file.
- Drag the quality slider. The file is re-encoded each time and the Compressed and Change figures show the real new size.
- If the image is wider than you need, type a smaller width. This usually saves far more than lowering quality alone.
- Compare the two previews, zooming in on detailed areas, then press Download.
How the compression works
Your browser decodes the image, draws it onto a canvas, and saves it again with its built-in JPG or WebP encoder at the quality you choose. Both formats are lossy: they throw away fine detail that is hard to notice, and the lower the quality, the more they throw away. The sizes shown are the actual size of the file you will download, not an estimate.
Re-encoding is not magic, though. If your original was already saved at a low quality, saving it again at a higher one makes the file bigger while the picture gets no better. The page tells you when that happens instead of hiding it. PNG is lossless and the browser offers no quality control for it, so the PNG option only helps when you also reduce the width.
Getting a small file that still looks good
- Reduce the pixel size first. A 4000-pixel-wide phone photo shown at 1200 pixels on a website carries over ten times as many pixels as it needs. Use the width box, or Resize Image for more control.
- Check the details, not the thumbnail. Compression shows first as blocky patches in smooth skies, halos around text and smearing in hair or foliage. Open the preview at full size before you decide.
- Use photos as JPG or WebP, not PNG. PNG is designed for exact pixels in graphics, screenshots and logos; for photographs it produces large files.
- Compress from the original. Every lossy save loses a little more, so keep your untouched original and always start from that.
What is not kept
The new file holds only the pixels. Camera metadata (EXIF) such as the capture date, camera settings and GPS location is removed, along with any embedded color profile; in images using a wide color profile, colors can shift slightly. Animated GIFs become a single still frame. With JPG, transparent areas turn white.
Frequently asked questions
Are my images uploaded to a server?
No. The compression is done by your own browser on your device. The image is not sent anywhere, which also means very large images depend on the memory of your device.
Why did the compressed file come out bigger than the original?
Your original was probably already compressed more strongly, or saved with a better encoder, than the settings you chose. Saving it again cannot recover lost detail, so a higher quality only adds bytes. Lower the quality, reduce the width, or keep the original.
What quality setting should I use?
There is no single right number, because it depends on the picture. Start around 70–80 for photos, look closely at the preview, and lower it until you can see a difference you don't accept. Images with text or sharp edges need a higher setting than soft photos.
Can I compress a PNG without turning it into a JPG?
You can save it as PNG again with a smaller width, which reduces the size. The browser cannot reduce PNG colors or tune PNG compression, so if you need a much smaller file with transparency, WebP is the better choice here.
Does compressing remove the location data from my photo?
Yes. The saved file contains no EXIF metadata at all, including GPS coordinates. Your original file on your device is not changed.