Need a smaller image for email? Compress it in your browser
Quick answer
Upload your image, choose a quality level or a target file size in KB, and download the smaller result. A photo usually shrinks the most; a screenshot or graphic responds less.
- 1Upload your image.
- 2Choose a quality level, or a target file size.
- 3Compress.
- 4Download the smaller file.
Free, no sign-up, and your file is read on your own device rather than uploaded.
A photo from a phone camera is usually far larger than it needs to be for email, a form upload or a website - modern phones shoot at a resolution and quality built for printing, not for attaching to a message. Compression re-encodes the image at a lower quality, trading a small, often invisible drop in sharpness for a much smaller file.
This works on JPG, PNG and WebP images, either by picking a quality level directly or by giving a target file size in KB and letting it find the quality that gets closest to it - useful when a portal or form states an exact limit.
Step by step
Pick a quality level, or a target size
Drag the quality slider directly, or switch to target-size mode and enter a KB limit - the tool searches for the quality that lands nearest it.
Image CompressorCheck the result and download
The new dimensions and file size are shown before you save, so you can confirm it meets what you needed.
Image Compressor
Tips
- For an exact limit - a form that rejects anything over 2 MB, for instance - use target-size mode rather than guessing a quality percentage.
- A photograph compresses much further than a screenshot or a graphic with flat colours and text, since JPG compression is built around the kind of detail a real photo has.
- If the image also needs different dimensions, not just a smaller file, resize it first - a smaller image at the same quality is naturally a smaller file too.
Common problems
The compressed image still looks too large for the limit.
Switch to target-size mode and enter the exact KB limit you need - it searches for the quality setting that gets closest, which is more reliable than guessing a percentage.
The image looks visibly softer after compressing.
That is the trade-off at a lower quality setting. Try a higher quality percentage, or resize the image to smaller dimensions instead of compressing hard at full size - a smaller photo often looks better than a heavily compressed large one.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I make an image smaller for email?
- Upload it to the Image Compressor, choose a quality level or a target file size, and download the result. Most email limits (commonly 10-25 MB per message) are comfortably met by a single compressed photo.
- Can I compress to an exact file size?
- Yes - switch to target-size mode, enter the size in KB, and the tool searches for the quality setting that gets nearest to it.
- Does compressing reduce the image dimensions?
- No - compression only changes quality, not width or height. Use the Image Resizer if you need smaller dimensions as well.
- What formats are supported?
- JPG, PNG and WebP can all be uploaded and compressed, with the output format your choice.
- Is my image uploaded to a server?
- No. Compression happens entirely in your browser, on your own device.
Related image tools
- Image ResizerResize to exact pixels or a percentage, without distorting the image.
- PNG to JPGConvert a PNG to a smaller JPG, with transparency handled properly.
- JPG to PNGConvert a JPG into a lossless PNG, entirely in your browser.
Related articles
- Images
How to resize an image without installing software
Upload your image, set the new width or height (the other dimension can scale automatically to keep the proportions), and download the resized file.
- Images
JPG or PNG? How to choose, and convert between them
JPG compresses the image for a smaller file, at a small cost to quality, and has no transparency - use it for photographs. PNG stores the image losslessly and supports transparency, at a larger file size - use it for screenshots, diagrams, logos and anything with sharp lines, text or a transparent background.