How to Compress an Image to a Smaller File Size (Even to 50 KB or 20 KB)
Anyone who's filled in an Indian government exam or job application knows the moment. "Photograph: JPG, 20–50 KB. Signature: 10–20 KB." Your phone photo is 3.4 MB. The form rejects it, the deadline is tonight, and the portal is slow enough already. Image compressor has a target-size box built for exactly this, plus the usual quality and format controls.
Hitting an exact size
Type a number in Target size, KB (or choose a preset) and the page searches for the highest quality that fits under that size. If even the lowest quality is still too big, it reduces the image dimensions step by step until it fits. If it truly can't get there, it tells you the smallest size it reached instead of silently failing.
The presets cover common ranges for photo and signature uploads, but they aren't official limits for any particular form. Every form sets its own rules, often including pixel dimensions, so read the instructions and type the exact target.
Steps
- Drop, paste or choose one or more images.
- Pick Save as: same format, JPG, WebP or PNG.
- Set a quality, or set a target size.
- Check the table, which shows before, after and the change for each file. Compare shows the original and the result side by side.
- Download a single file, or Download all as ZIP.
Images are compressed as soon as you add them, so you see results immediately.
It never makes a file bigger
Re-encoding an already well-optimised image can make it larger, which is a common annoyance with simpler tools. Here, if the new file would be bigger than the original in the same format and size, you get the original picture back (with its metadata removed) and it's marked in the table. To squeeze it further, try WebP, a lower quality, or a smaller longest side.
Format choices
- JPG: best for photos, universally accepted by forms.
- WebP: usually smaller than JPG at similar quality; check that your destination accepts it.
- PNG: lossless. It only gets smaller if you also reduce the longest side. Keeps transparency.
Saving to JPG fills transparent areas with a colour you choose, white by default for most uses.
The signature problem
Signature uploads often fail on contrast, not size. Sign with a black or dark blue pen on plain white paper, photograph it in daylight, crop tightly around the signature, then compress to the target. A tight crop means the KB budget goes on the signature instead of on empty paper.
Batches
You can process up to 200 images per batch, one after another, which is handy for shrinking holiday photos before sharing or preparing product images for a website. Set a longest side (say 1600 px for web use) along with quality to get consistent results.
Privacy
The tool page says images are decoded and encoded in the browser tab, nothing is uploaded, and the files disappear when you close the tab. The metadata removal mentioned above also strips things like camera location in the kept-original case. Google ads appear on the page, as on the rest of the site.
FAQ
How do I get a photo under 50 KB or 20 KB? Type the number in Target size and let it search. It lowers quality, then dimensions, until it fits.
Why didn't a file get smaller? It was already well compressed. Try WebP, a lower quality, or a smaller longest side.
Does PNG keep transparency? Yes, in PNG and WebP. JPG fills it with a solid colour.
Are the presets official? No, they're common ranges. Check your form's exact limits.
Before the next form rejects your photo, run it through Image compressor.
— Alok Kumar Singh