Compress an image to 20 KB
For forms that take nothing bigger. The 20 KB target is already set: add a photo or signature and download a copy that fits.
Drop an image, or click to choose
JPG, PNG or WebP. Add several to compress them together.
Need several changes to one photo? The Photo editor does crop, text, filters and blur together.
How to get an image under 20 KB
- Add your image. The 20 KB target is already chosen, so the compressed copy appears straight away next to the original.
- Check the size and the picture. The new size shows under the preview. If the picture looks blocky, crop away background or resize it to about 300 × 400 pixels first, then compress again.
- Download. Save the file and upload it to your form. Several images download together as one zip.
What fits in 20 KB
A photo straight from a phone is often 2 to 5 MB, so 20 KB means making it one or two hundred times smaller. Lowering quality alone cannot do that at full size: there are simply too many pixels. The tool first tries lower quality, and when that is not enough it also shrinks the width and height until the file fits. That is why a 20 KB copy is always a small picture.
The table shows what we measured. At 300 × 400 pixels both photos fit under 20 KB at 50% quality; at 400 × 500 only the smoother one does. Faces on a plain wall behave like the smooth photo. Busy backgrounds behave like the detailed one.
| Pixel size | Smooth, 50% | Smooth, 70% | Detailed, 50% | Detailed, 70% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300 × 400 | 10 KB, fits | 14 KB, fits | 16 KB, fits | 23 KB, too big |
| 400 × 500 | 15 KB, fits | 21 KB, too big | 25 KB, too big | 35 KB, too big |
| 480 × 640 | 24 KB, too big | 33 KB, too big | 39 KB, too big | 55 KB, too big |
Measured in Chrome on 2 November 2026: two photos cropped to 3:4 and saved as JPG at 50% and 70% quality. Smooth is a lake photo that is half plain sky; detailed is a forest. Your photo will land somewhere near these.
Photo or signature
A photo looks best at 20 KB when it is cropped close. Remove background around the face with the crop tool first, so the bytes go to the part that matters.
A signature is mostly plain paper, which compresses very well, so a scan cropped tight around the ink usually lands far below 20 KB with no visible loss. If your scan is a PNG, set Output to JPG; PNG keeps every pixel and can stay large.
When the form also asks for a pixel size
Some forms set both a file size and a width and height, for example 20 KB and 200 × 230 pixels. Do the pixels first with Resize image, then bring the result here. A small image reaches 20 KB at a much higher quality, so it stays sharper than one squeezed from full size.
The full tool
This page opens Compress image with the target already set to 20 KB. Every other option is still there, so you can change your mind without leaving. For other jobs, see all image tools.
- Compress image to 50 KB: Get a photo under 50 KB while keeping it clear.