Compress an image to 500 KB
Drop your photo in. The target is already set to 500 KB. Your browser searches for the highest quality that still fits under it, and nothing is uploaded anywhere.
click to choose · paste from the clipboard · add a whole batch
Nothing here is uploaded. See how the page enforces it.
Who needs 500 KB
Print-adjacent work and photography portfolios: files that need to survive being looked at closely or being zoomed into, but still be sent over the internet.
What an image looks like at 500 KB
High quality at 2400 px. At this budget the compression is doing light work and the output is suitable for anything short of professional printing.
For real printing, do not compress to a byte target at all. Printers want maximum quality and the file size does not matter, so use the plain compressor at 92% or above, or leave the original alone.
How the target is hit
Guessing a quality percentage and checking the result is the slow way to do this. Instead your browser encodes the image, measures the actual byte count, and narrows the quality range from both ends over seven passes, each one halving the remaining uncertainty. It stops at the highest quality whose output is still under 500 KB.
If even the lowest acceptable quality is still too heavy, it starts reducing the dimensions instead, because losing pixels is a better trade than reducing a photograph to mush. If it genuinely cannot reach 500 KB, the row says so rather than handing you a file that quietly missed the target.
Questions
+ Is the result exactly 500 KB?
It is at or just under 512,000 bytes, the largest file that still satisfies the limit. Landing on the number precisely would mean padding the file with junk, which no upload form wants.
+ Is 500 KB enough for a printed photo?
For a 10x15 cm print at 300 DPI you need roughly 1200x1800 pixels, and 500 KB carries that comfortably. For anything poster-sized, skip the byte target and keep the quality high instead.
+ Are my images uploaded?
No. The whole thing runs in your browser through the Canvas API. Open devtools, watch the Network tab while you compress, and you will see no request carrying your file. The page keeps working with your connection switched off.
+ Can I do a whole batch at once?
Yes, and each file gets its own quality search. A simple graphic and a detailed photograph need very different settings to land on the same byte budget. There is no cap on how many, because there is no server to pay for it.
+ Does it work on a phone?
Yes, on iOS and Android. Photographs taken on the phone can be picked straight from the camera roll.