How to reduce photo file size

For email, web, and uploads · ~5 min read

Photos from modern phones and cameras are often 5–15 MB each — too big to email, slow to upload, and heavy on websites. Here's how to shrink them quickly without a visible quality drop, all free and in your browser.

The fastest method (2 steps)

1. Compress. Open the compressor, drop your photo, and set quality to around 80%. You'll usually see the file shrink by 60–80% instantly. For many photos at once, drop them all — batch is unlimited and you can download a ZIP.

2. Resize if still large. If a photo is enormous (e.g. 6000px wide) but will only be viewed on screen, use the resize tool to bring the long edge down to ~1600–2000px. This alone can cut size by half or more.

Which format should I use?

For photos, JPG at 80% is the safe universal choice. WEBP is even smaller (25–35%) and works everywhere modern — use the converter. Avoid PNG for photographs; it's meant for graphics and produces huge files for photos. See the format guide.

Target sizes

For email, aim under 5 MB per photo (most limits are 10–25 MB total). For websites, aim for 100–300 KB per image — see our web optimization guide. For messaging apps, almost anything under 2 MB sends instantly.

Frequently asked

Does compressing lose quality? At 75–85% the loss is usually invisible, while the file shrinks a lot.
Is it private? Yes — everything runs on your device, nothing is uploaded.
Can I do many at once? Yes, batch is unlimited and exports a ZIP.

Start now with the free compressor.