Compress JPEG
Shrink JPG and JPEG files with an adjustable quality slider.
Runs in your browser. Your files never leave your device.
- Adjustable quality
- Batch compress
- Keeps the JPEG format
How to compress a JPEG
- Drop your JPEG or JPG files here.
- Move the quality slider.
- Download the smaller JPEGs.
Picking a quality setting
| Quality | Effect | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| 95 to 100 | Barely smaller than the original | Printing, archiving |
| 75 to 85 | Visually identical on screen, often half the size or less | Everyday web and email use |
| 60 to 70 | A small size drop starts to show in fine detail | Thumbnails |
| Below 50 | Visible blocky artifacts around edges | Only when size matters more than looks |
Why detailed photos compress less
JPEG saves space by grouping similar-looking blocks of pixels together and storing the differences between them. A smooth sky or a plain background has a lot of similarity to simplify, so it shrinks a lot. A busy photo of leaves, gravel or fabric has far less repetition, so the same quality setting produces a bigger file.
JPEG re-compression tips
- Compress from the original photo each time you need a different size, not from an already-compressed copy, since each JPEG re-encode loses a little more detail.
- A photo saved straight from a phone or camera is usually already JPEG at a high quality, often 90 or above, so compressing it once at 75 to 85 is normally enough.
- If you need a guaranteed file size like 100KB instead of a quality number, use TabbyKit's compress-image-to-100kb tool instead.
Compress JPEG FAQ
What quality keeps photos looking the same?
75 to 85 is visually identical to the original for most photos, while cutting the file size well below half.
Does this work on PNG or WEBP files too?
Yes. Any image you drop is converted to JPEG and compressed, since this tool's job is producing small JPEG files.
Why does a photo with lots of detail compress less?
JPEG saves space by simplifying areas that look similar. Busy, highly detailed photos have less similarity to simplify, so they stay larger at the same quality.
Can I compress many JPEGs at once?
Yes. Drop as many as you like and download them together as a ZIP.
What is the difference between JPEG and JPG?
Nothing. JPG is just the three-letter file extension some older systems required; JPEG is the full name of the same format.
Does compressing remove the photo's metadata?
No. This tool only changes the pixel compression. Camera and location details in the EXIF data stay in the file. Use TabbyKit's Remove EXIF tool if you want those gone too.
Will my photo lose color depth?
No. JPEG compression affects file size and fine detail, not the number of colors available, so gradients still look smooth at any quality above about 60.