Large images slow down websites, fill up storage, and bounce back from email size limits. The good news: you can dramatically shrink an image's file size while keeping it looking great. Here's how compression actually works and how to do it for free.
Lossy vs. lossless: what's the trade-off?
- Lossy compression (JPEG/WEBP) removes data the eye barely notices. You get much smaller files, with a quality slider to control how aggressive it is.
- Lossless compression (PNG) keeps every pixel but saves less space.
For photos, lossy is almost always the right choice — you can cut file size by 60–80% with no visible difference.
Option 1: Quick compression with a quality slider
Use the Image Compressor. Upload your photo, drag the quality slider, and watch the file size update live. Around 70% quality is the sweet spot for most photos — big savings, no noticeable loss.
Option 2: Compress to a target file size
Need to get under a specific limit (say 100 KB for a form upload)? The Image Optimizer lets you set a target size in kilobytes, and it automatically finds the best quality that fits. Perfect for upload limits.
Option 3: Resize before you compress
A 4000-pixel-wide photo is overkill for a website that displays it at 800 pixels. Resizing is often the biggest win of all. Use the Image Resizer to scale it down to the dimensions you actually need, then compress. Smaller dimensions + compression = tiny files.
Choosing the right format
- JPG — best for photographs.
- PNG — best for graphics, logos and images with transparency.
- WEBP — modern format with the best size-to-quality ratio for the web.
You can switch between them with the Image Converter.
A quick workflow for the web
- Resize to the maximum dimensions you'll display.
- Convert to WEBP (or JPG) if it isn't already.
- Compress to ~70% quality, or to a target size.
This three-step routine routinely turns a 5 MB photo into a 150 KB web-ready image with no visible quality loss.
Is it private?
Yes — all of these tools run entirely in your browser. Your images are never uploaded to a server, so they stay completely private.
Start with the Image Compressor and see how much smaller your images can get.