Compress Image for Email
Shrink your photo to about 1MB so it attaches and sends without bouncing.
Drag & drop your image here, or
Reduces width and height so the image stays sharp at the target file size.
Why compress images for email?
Most mail providers cap a single message at 20–25MB, but the practical limit is lower than the stated one. Attachments are re-encoded for transit, which inflates them by roughly a third, so a 20MB folder of photos can fail against a 25MB limit. Recipients are the other constraint — a 6MB photo takes real time to download on mobile data. Around 1MB per photo keeps quality high enough that nobody notices, while letting you attach a dozen images without trouble.
What to expect at 1024KB
Typical results when preparing photos for email:
| Starting file | Typical result |
|---|---|
| One 12MP phone photo (around 5MB) | around 1MB, no visible change |
| Ten holiday photos (around 50MB) | around 10MB — sends comfortably |
| Scanned document | full resolution, text unaffected |
If you are sending more than about fifteen images, a shared link is more reliable than attachments no matter what size they are.
How it works
- Select your file using the box above — it stays on your device.
- We compress it in your browser, adjusting quality and dimensions until it fits under 1024KB.
- Download the result — your original file never leaves your device.
What to do next
- Need to go smaller than 1MB for a stricter mail server? Compress JPG to 500KB →
Frequently asked questions
What are the actual attachment limits for Gmail and Outlook?
Gmail rejects messages over 25MB and offers a Drive link instead. Outlook.com caps at 20MB, and corporate mail servers are often stricter — 10MB is common. Compressing to around 1MB per photo keeps you clear of all of them.
Why did my 20MB email fail against a 25MB limit?
Attachments are encoded for transit, which adds roughly a third to their size. 20MB of files becomes about 27MB inside the message.
Will the recipient notice any quality loss?
At around 1MB, essentially none. The difference only becomes visible if they zoom past 100% or print the photo at a large size.
Does this remove location data from my photos?
Yes. Re-encoding drops EXIF metadata including GPS coordinates — worth knowing when you are emailing photos to people you do not know well.