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Compress an image to 500 KB

For strict upload limits, 500 KB is preset. Ideal for profile pictures and online forms.

Drop images here

or tap to choose. Several files at once.

Choose files

Step by step

  1. 500 KB and JPG are preset. For a profile picture it's worth cropping the photo first: a smaller area needs less space and keeps more quality.
  2. Optionally choose “Long side at most …” under “Dimensions” and enter a value such as 1200 pixels. The quality then has to drop less to get under 500 KB.
  3. Drop the image and tap “Convert”.
  4. Open the result and look at edges, hair and skin tones. If it looks blotchy or blocky, set the long side a little smaller and convert again.
  5. Download it and upload it to the portal.

What you can use it for

  • Profile pictures on portals and forums: Many profiles only show the picture small. A 500 KB photo is more than enough for that and won't be rejected on upload.
  • Course and exam registrations: Some registration forms ask for a photo or a document with a very small file size. With the preset you meet that requirement in one step.
  • Images for newsletters: Small images load faster when someone opens an email, especially on the go. 500 KB per image is a sensible ceiling; go smaller with the “Target size” field.
  • Galleries on your own website: For galleries with many photos, a fixed limit keeps the page light. Drop every image of a gallery at once and compress them together.

Where 500 KB is required

Strict limits around 500 KB are common for profile pictures, club and school portals, older company portals and some exam registrations. For websites, images of this size are also a good balance of quality and load time.

What happens

A phone photo is usually brought down to a long side of about 1,500 to 2,000 pixels. That's plenty for screens, but a print larger than 4 × 6 inches will look softer.

Go to tool: Compress and convert images

Frequently asked questions

Is 500 KB enough for an application photo?

For an online application, yes. Keep the original file for large prints.

Can I set a different limit?

Yes. You can change the “Target size” field freely, for example to 300 or 800 KB.

Why does the photo look worse at 500 KB than at 1 MB?

At half the file size, more image information has to go. Fine structures like hair, grass or noise in dark shots take up a lot of space and are the first to soften.

Will it come out at exactly 500 KB?

The result is always under the limit, usually just below it. An exact byte count can't be planned with JPG, because the size depends on the image content.

Does the tool count 1 KB as 1000 or 1024 bytes?

As 1000 bytes. So 500 KB means at most 500,000 bytes. That keeps the file under the limit even if a portal counts strictly in bytes.

Does WebP help with such tight limits?

Often, yes: at the same file size WebP and AVIF usually achieve better quality than JPG. Check first whether the portal accepts these formats. If not, stay with JPG.

What about screenshots with lots of text?

In screenshots, JPG artefacts show up around the letters first. Only reduce the dimensions as far as the text stays readable, and check the result zoomed in before uploading.