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Image Compressor

Make photos and images smaller with a quality preset, optional resizing and a before/after check. Free and private.

Runs in your browserNo sign-up requiredNo watermark

Drag & drop an image, or click to browseTap to choose an image

Your compressed image will appear here.

What Is an Image Compressor?

An image compressor reduces a file's size by adjusting how much visual detail is kept — trading a small, often invisible amount of quality for a much smaller file. It's essential for faster-loading websites, staying under email attachment or upload limits, and saving storage space, without needing to touch the image's actual pixel dimensions. Unlike resizing, which throws away pixels, compression keeps every pixel but stores it more efficiently — which is why a well- compressed photo can be a fraction of the original size while still looking sharp at normal viewing sizes.

How to Use This Compressor

  1. 1Add your imageJPG, PNG, WebP or iPhone HEIC. It stays on your device.
  2. 2Pick a qualityBalanced (80%) suits most photos. High keeps more detail; Small saves the most space.
  3. 3Shrink the size if it's a phone photoPhone photos are often 4000 px wide. "Up to 1920 px" is plenty for screens, WhatsApp and websites, and cuts the file far more than quality alone.
  4. 4Compare, then downloadDrag the before/after line to check faces and text, then download. You see the saving before you save.

How Compression Actually Works

  • Detail reduction, not resolution reduction — unless you also pick a smaller size, compression keeps every pixel dimension exactly as it was. It reduces file size by simplifying color transitions and discarding detail the human eye barely notices, especially in smooth areas like skies or skin tones.
  • Quality is a spectrum, not a switch — a JPEG at 95% quality and one at 100% quality often look completely identical side by side but differ meaningfully in file size, because the format is very inefficient at storing that last sliver of detail.
  • WebP and JPEG compress differently under the hood — WebP tends to win on photos with lots of fine texture, while the gap narrows on simpler images like screenshots or graphics with flat color areas.

Where Compression Matters Most

  • Website speed — a single uncompressed hero image can be the single largest thing a browser downloads on a page; compressing it is often the fastest way to cut load time.
  • Email and messaging — compressed photos send faster and are less likely to get silently downsized (and quality-mangled) by the platform itself.
  • Storage and backups — compressing a large photo library before archiving it can cut total storage needs dramatically with no visible difference in most photos.
  • Upload limits — many forms, CMS platforms, and marketplaces cap file size; compressing gets a photo under the limit without cropping or shrinking it.

Good to Know

  • Auto format picks JPEG for photos and WebP for images with transparency, so logos and cut-outs keep their see-through background instead of turning black.
  • Reducing the size (pixels) usually saves far more than lowering quality: halving width and height leaves a quarter of the pixels.
  • 70–85% quality usually looks identical to 100% at normal viewing size but is much smaller.
  • If a photo is already well compressed, re-saving it can make it bigger. The tool tells you, and offers to keep the original.
  • Need to hit an exact limit such as 50 KB for a form? Resize by KB finds the right quality for you.
  • The photo is processed in your browser and never uploaded. Hidden details such as GPS location are left out of the download.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I compress a PNG?

PNG has no quality setting, so the compressor saves it as JPEG or WebP, which usually makes it many times smaller. If the PNG has a transparent background, keep Auto or WebP so the transparency is kept; JPEG would fill it with a colour.

Why is my compressed image bigger than the original?

The original was already compressed efficiently, and saving it again at a higher quality can add bytes. Lower the quality or choose a smaller size, or keep the original; the tool flags this and offers the original file.

Will compressing reduce image quality?

At high quality settings (80% and above) the difference is usually invisible to the eye. Lower settings trade more visible quality for a smaller file — the live preview shows you exactly what you're getting before you download.

JPEG or WebP — which should I choose?

WebP generally compresses better at the same visual quality and is supported by all modern browsers. JPEG remains the safer choice if you need guaranteed compatibility with very old software or a platform that explicitly requires it.

What quality percentage should I actually use?

For most photos, 75–85% is the practical sweet spot — meaningfully smaller than full quality with no visible loss for typical viewing. Go lower (50–65%) only if file size is the priority over fine detail, like a quick preview thumbnail.

Does compressing an image remove its metadata (EXIF)?

Yes, incidentally — re-encoding an image through this tool strips EXIF metadata as a side effect. If removing metadata (like GPS location) is your actual goal, the dedicated EXIF Viewer & Remover tool makes that explicit and shows you what was there first.

Can I compress several images at once?

This tool is built for compressing one image at a time with a live preview. For a whole batch, resize them together first with the Bulk Image Resizer, or compress each one individually if quality control per image matters.

Is my image uploaded to a server?

No — compression happens entirely in your browser using the Canvas API.