Image Compressor
Shrink an image by quality, or compress it to fit a specific size limit.
Your files never leave your device — processing happens in your browser.
Drop an image here
or paste from your clipboard. Your file is processed on this device and is never uploaded.
Making an image smaller without wrecking it
Compression works by throwing away information the eye is bad at noticing. In a photograph that is a remarkably good trade: at quality 80 a JPG is typically a fifth of the size of the original with no visible difference at normal viewing distance. The trade gets worse as the quality drops, and it gets worse faster on some images than others.
Two ways to compress, and when to use each
By quality is the right mode when you want the image to look good and the file size is merely a nice-to-have. Pick a quality, look at the result, adjust if you need to.
To a target size is the right mode when something else has set the rule for you — an upload form that rejects anything over 2 MB, an email attachment limit, a job application portal. Rather than making you guess at quality settings until one fits, the tool searches for the best quality that meets your limit.
Which output format compresses best
- JPG — the safe choice. Every piece of software made in the last thirty years opens it. Use it when the file is going to someone else.
- WebP — roughly 25–35% smaller than JPG at the same visual quality, and it keeps transparency. Every current browser supports it. Use it for images going on a website.
- AVIF — the smallest of the three, sometimes dramatically so. Encoding is slower, and support outside browsers is still patchy. Use it when size matters more than compatibility.
What makes compression show
Lossy compression assumes it is working on a photograph — smooth gradients, soft edges, noise. Where that assumption holds it is nearly invisible. Where it breaks, damage appears quickly:
- Text and line art develop a smudged halo around hard edges. Screenshots need a much higher quality than photos, or a lossless format such as PNG.
- Large areas of flat colour — skies, studio backgrounds — turn into visible bands or blocks.
- Fine repeating detail such as fabric or foliage turns mushy before anything else does.
If your image is mostly one of those three things, compress it less hard than you would a photograph, and check the preview before downloading.
Questions
Is my image uploaded anywhere?
No. Compression runs inside your browser on your own device. You can confirm it by opening your browser’s developer tools, switching to the Network tab, and compressing a file — no request carrying your image appears, and the tool keeps working with the network switched off.
What quality setting should I use?
For photographs, 75 to 85 is the range where compression is essentially invisible. Below about 50 you will start to see blocky patches around edges and in areas of flat colour such as skies. For screenshots or images containing text, stay above 85 — sharp edges show compression damage much earlier than photographs do.
How does compressing to a target file size work?
The tool encodes your image several times at different quality settings, narrowing in on the highest quality that still fits under the size you asked for. It keeps that version. If even the lowest quality cannot get under your target, it tells you so and gives you the smallest file it managed rather than failing silently.
Why did my file get bigger instead of smaller?
This happens when the original was already compressed harder than the setting you chose, or when a lossless PNG of a simple graphic is converted to a lossy format that stores more detail than the image actually contains. The result panel shows both sizes so you can see it immediately — when the output is larger, the original is the better file to keep.
Is there a file size limit?
None imposed by us. The limit is your device’s memory: a decoded image needs roughly width × height × 4 bytes regardless of how small the file is on disk, so a very high-resolution photo can exhaust a phone. If a file is too large for your browser, the tool says so in those terms rather than asking you to pay.
Does compressing twice make a file smaller still?
Barely, and it damages the image. Every lossy compression pass discards detail permanently, and compressing an already-compressed file mostly adds new artefacts rather than saving space. Always compress from the best original you have rather than from a previously compressed copy.