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Compress an image to 20 KB

Reduce JPG, PNG, WebP or HEIC photos to under 20 KB without uploading. Strict cap used by many government and exam portals. Keep pixel size modest (≤ 600 px on the long side) and use JPG.

Drop a photo here, or tap to choose

JPG · PNG · WEBP · HEIC — files never leave your browser

0 photos uploaded — ever.

All processing happens locally in your browser.

Strict cap used by many government and exam portals. Keep pixel size modest (≤ 600 px on the long side) and use JPG. The encoder binary-searches the JPEG/WebP quality to fit just under 20 KB while keeping the image as sharp as possible.

What needs a 20 KB photo?

20 KB is one of the strictest caps you'll meet — it appears on a handful of older Indian government portals (some PSU recruitment forms) and on legacy school-application systems. Hitting it requires small pixel dimensions; do not expect a 1024×1024 photo to fit.

How the compressor hits 20 KB

We binary-search the JPEG quality between 0.40 and 0.95 to find the highest setting whose encoded output fits under 20 KB. For most photos at typical document dimensions this lands within 1.5 KB of the target after 6–8 iterations. If quality 0.40 still overshoots, we progressively scale the canvas down by 10% and try again — the editor only ever reduces resolution as a last resort.

What if the output is still too big?

Reduce pixel dimensions. A 600×600 photo can never shrink to 20 KB as far as a 413×531 one can. Switch the size mode to a passport preset, or set custom pixel dimensions.
Switch format to WebP. WebP typically gives 25–35% smaller files at equivalent quality. Some upload portals reject it, so check the spec page first.
Crop tighter. Less background means less detail to encode, which lets the encoder use more bits on the face.

How to use this page

Drop your JPG, PNG, WebP or HEIC photo above.
Pick a size preset (passport, square avatar, custom pixels) — or leave it on "Free" to keep the original dimensions.
The target is already set to 20 KB. Click Generate and download.

Privacy

Every step happens inside the browser tab you have open. Your image is decoded, cropped and re-encoded by the same JavaScript engine that runs this page — there is no upload, no temporary file on a server, and no "processed copy" cached by us afterwards. When you close the tab, the blob is gone. We document the full pipeline on our Methodology and How it works pages.

FAQ

Is 20 KB enough quality for a passport photo?

It's tight. The pixel resolution will need to stay around 600×600 or smaller for the face to remain recognisable.

Why is the output still above 20 KB?

If the source resolution is very high, the encoder cannot reach the target without progressive downscaling. Reduce the pixel size or switch to WebP.

Does it work with iPhone HEIC files?

Yes, HEIC is converted to JPEG locally before compression.

Does compressing to 20 KB blur the photo?

For a 413×531 px passport photo at 20 KB, the output is visually indistinguishable from the original on a phone or laptop screen. Below ~30 KB at the same dimensions you start to see mild softening; below ~15 KB JPEG block artifacts become visible.

Will the file be exactly under 20 KB?

The compressor stops the search at the first quality that fits, so the output is guaranteed to be ≤ 20 KB. You'll usually land 1–5 KB under the limit.

What happens to my image after I close the tab?

It is freed from your browser's memory like any other image you opened. We never received it, so we have nothing to delete on our side. See Trust & Safety for the full policy.