How to compress an image to under 100 KB
Job portals, government forms and email often reject photos over 100 KB, and a phone photo is usually 3 to 6 MB. Getting it under the limit takes two changes: fewer pixels and a lower quality setting. Here is how to do both and still keep the photo looking sharp.
Why your photo is so large
File size depends on three things: how many pixels the image has, the file format, and the quality setting. A 12-megapixel phone photo has about 4,000 × 3,000 pixels, which is far more than a form or a web page needs.
Step 1: reduce the pixels first
Resizing saves the most space. Halving the width and height cuts the pixel count to a quarter. For most uses, these sizes are enough:
- Profile or ID photo for a form: 600 × 600 px or smaller
- Photo inside an email or a document: 1,200 px wide
- Website image: 1,600 px wide at most
Use the Image Resizer to set the width. It keeps the proportions, so the photo does not stretch.
Step 2: compress it
- Open the Image Compressor and choose your photo.
- Leave the quality at 70. The tool shows the new size straight away.
- If the size is still above 100 KB, move the quality slider down in small steps until it is under the limit.
- Download the result.
Between quality 60 and 80 most people cannot see a difference from the original. Below 40, you start to see blocky patches in skies and blurry edges around text.
Choose the right format
- JPG is the safe choice for photos. Almost every form and website accepts it.
- WEBP gives a smaller file at the same quality, but some older upload forms reject it. Check which formats the form accepts.
- PNG is for screenshots, logos and images with text. PNG photos are very large, so convert them to JPG before compressing.
To change the format without changing anything else, use the Image Converter (PNG, JPG, WEBP).
If it is still too big
Go back to step 1 and make the image smaller. A 600 px photo at quality 70 is usually 40 to 80 KB. Reducing pixels again works better than pushing the quality very low, because a small, clean image looks better than a large, blotchy one.
Is it private?
Yes. The compressor works inside your browser, so your photo is processed on your own device and is not uploaded to a server. That matters for ID photos and documents.