Compress Image to 500KB – High Quality

Compress Image to 500 KB

Reduce large photos to under 500 KB while keeping high quality for printing, listings and uploads. Batch compression in your browser, no upload.

Your files are processed in your browser and never uploaded.

Maximum file size

Output format

Browsers can't save HEIC, so HEIC photos are saved as JPG.

Drop images here

Choose files

HEIC, JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, GIF, BMP · up to 50 megapixels each · you can also paste

How to use

The target is pre-set to 500 KB. Drop in your photos, including HEIC files from an iPhone.
Each photo is compressed at the highest quality that fits; most keep their full resolution.
Download the results individually or as a ZIP.

Features

High quality retained: 500 KB leaves room for a detailed, high-resolution photo with no visible compression.
Full resolution where possible: Quality is adjusted first, so many 12 MP photos keep all their pixels.
HEIC converted automatically: iPhone photos are converted to JPG on the way, which most upload forms require.
On-device processing: Your photos are never sent to a server.

When 500 KB is the right target

Half a megabyte is a generous limit that still saves a lot of space. A modern phone photo is often 3–6 MB as JPG, or 1.5–3 MB as HEIC, so compressing to 500 KB typically cuts the size by 80–90% without visible loss. That makes it a popular choice for listing photos where detail matters, for example properties, cars and products, for portfolio sites, and for any upload form that wants reasonably high-quality images without multi-megabyte files.

Resolution is mostly preserved

Because 500 KB is a relatively large budget, the tool can usually keep the full 4032 × 3024 resolution of a 12 MP photo by lowering the JPG quality a little. Only very detailed scenes, such as foliage, gravel, crowds or high-ISO night shots, may need to be scaled down slightly. If a destination displays images at a known size, resizing first, for example to 2048 pixels on the long side, lets the remaining budget go into higher quality.

How it works

Your images are decoded in a background Web Worker. HEIC files are decoded with libheif; JPG, PNG and WebP with their respective WebAssembly decoders. The image is rotated upright, then encoded with MozJPEG several times in a binary search to find the highest quality that fits within 500 KB. If that is not possible at a reasonable quality, the image is scaled down with Lanczos resampling and the search repeats. Metadata including GPS location is removed.

Listing photos

Property and vehicle listing sites usually show photos in a gallery around 1000–1600 pixels wide, with an option to view them full screen. A 500 KB JPG holds enough detail for both, which is why it is a common recommendation for listing photos.

Tips

Batch your uploads. Add a whole set of listing photos and download them as a ZIP.
Prefer JPG for forms. Choose WebP only if you know the destination accepts it.
Keep your originals for printing large formats or future edits.

Need something lighter? Try 200 KB. Need more headroom? Use 1 MB.

Frequently asked questions

Will my photo look worse after compressing to 500 KB?

For typical photos, no visible difference. A 12 MP photo at 500 KB is somewhat more compressed than the camera's original, but at normal viewing sizes it looks identical.

Where are 500 KB limits used?

Real estate and car listing sites, school and club websites, insurance claims, online portfolios and many content management systems use limits around 500 KB per image.

Can I print a 500 KB photo?

Yes, for typical print sizes. A 3000 × 2000 pixel JPG at 500 KB prints well at 6 × 4 inches and is acceptable at 7 × 5 inches.

What if my image is already smaller than 500 KB?

It is re-encoded at high quality and kept under the limit. If re-encoding would make it bigger, the original image data is kept, with metadata removed.