How to reduce a photo to 100 KB for a job application or upload form

Drop the photo into Compress image. The target already starts at 100 KB, so the compressed copy appears straight away; check it and press Download. At 100 KB a normal portrait or document photo usually keeps its full width and height and looks the same on screen.

Steps

1. Open Compress image and drop the photo on the box, or click to choose it.
2. Check that Compress by shows File size and the 100 KB preset is selected. It is the default.
3. If your photo is a PNG, set Output format to JPG. Many upload forms only take JPG anyway.
4. Read the line under the preview: the original size, the new size and how much smaller it got.
5. Press Download and upload the new file to the form.

Why 100 KB is an easy target

A cap of 100 KB leaves plenty of room for a face or a page. In our tests, a smooth photo (a lake under plain sky) saved at 750 × 1000 pixels came to 67 KB at 70% quality. A detailed forest photo at the same size came to 81 KB at 50% quality. A form photo against a plain background behaves like the smooth one.

That is why the tool rarely needs to touch the pixel size at 100 KB. It searches for the highest quality that still fits, and for most photos that search ends at a quality where you cannot see a difference at normal viewing size. Only very large, very detailed pictures get scaled down, and then the longest side drops to 2048 pixels first.

Pick the right target for the form

Forms rarely explain their limits, but the wording gives clues:

The custom box takes whole numbers, and the KB / MB switch next to it changes the unit. Aiming a little under the limit covers forms that count 1,000 bytes as a kilobyte, while the tool counts 1,024.

The photo also has a minimum size

Some portals reject a file for being too small: below a stated KB figure, or below a pixel size. Compressing to 100 KB never makes a file bigger, so if your original is already 40 KB and the form wants at least 50 KB, compression cannot help. Re-export the photo from your camera roll at full size, or retake it.

If the form gives an exact pixel size, such as 413 × 531 or 600 × 600, set it in Resize image first with Pixels and Crop to fill, then compress the result.

Use Quality mode when there is no cap

When a site just says "keep it small" and names no limit, switch Compress by to Quality. The slider runs from 5% to 100% in steps of 5; the hint suggests about 80%, which keeps a photo clean while still cutting the size. You get the file size as a result instead of choosing it.

Troubleshooting

• The PNG hardly shrank. PNG output stays lossless and ignores quality. Choose JPG or WebP output.
• The form says "invalid format" for a WebP. Many older forms only accept JPG. Choose JPG output, or convert it with Convert image.
• Text in a scanned document looks fuzzy. Crop away the margins so more of the 100 KB goes to the writing.
• The file came from an iPhone as HEIC. Compress takes JPG, PNG and WebP. See how to convert HEIC to JPG first.

Questions

Does the photo leave my device?

No. The compressed copy is made in your browser, and the photo is not uploaded.

Can I do several application photos together?

Yes. Add several files; each one is compressed to the same target, and Download all gives you one zip.

Will 100 KB look worse than the original?

On screen, usually not. The tool keeps the highest quality that fits, and at 100 KB that is normally high. A print at a large size may show the difference.

Should I compress or resize?

Compress for a KB limit, resize for a pixel limit. If a form states both, resize first, then compress.