How to reduce image file size without losing quality
Most images are far heavier than they need to be. These five steps, in order of impact, make them light enough for email, forms and websites.
1. Reduce the dimensions first
This is by far the most effective step. A 12-megapixel phone photo is about 4000 × 3000 pixels; a website rarely shows images wider than 1600 to 2000 pixels, and an email preview even less. Halving the width and height divides the number of pixels by four, and the file size by three to four. Use Resize image with "Longest side" set to 1920 or 1600 px.
2. Lower the quality a little
Photos saved by phones and cameras use a very high quality, often 92 to 98%. Re-saving them at 75 to 80% typically saves 50 to 70% of the size, with no difference you can see at normal viewing size. Compress image shows the size before and after so you can compare.
3. Choose a modern format
WebP is usually 25 to 35% lighter than JPG at the same quality, and AVIF lighter still. If the destination accepts them, convert to WebP. For logos and screenshots stored as PNG, reducing them to 256 colors often divides the size by three or four.
4. Remove the metadata
Camera data, GPS location, thumbnails and editing history can add from a few to several dozen kilobytes. It is also private information. Every tool on this site removes it; Remove EXIF data does it without touching the image itself.
5. Hit an exact size limit
When a form says "maximum 100 KB" or "under 2 MB", trial and error is tedious. Compress to a size finds the highest quality that fits under the limit, and reduces the dimensions only if quality alone is not enough.
What to avoid
- Saving a JPG again and again: each save loses a little detail. Always start from the best original.
- Converting a photo to PNG to "improve" it: the file gets much larger and no detail comes back.
- Going below 60% quality on photos with skies or skin: color banding becomes visible.